Long-term prognosis of Power and Light District

[KCPowercat]

chriz...I value your opinion and enjoy p&l so don't be so sure

[mean]

Snarky comments about d-bags are 100x more entertaining than serious socioeconomic political discussions.

Also, it's true!

[KCPowercat]

the same people that make these snarky comments about people not like their circle of friends will also be the ones saying how backwards KC is and not forward thinking on issues....ohhh lovely irony.

[chrizow]

Snarky comments about d-bags are 100x more entertaining than serious socioeconomic political discussions.

Also, it's true!

[ComandanteCero]

mean's Venn diagram= +1

[staubio]

I'd bet the farm that there are at least 5 awesome people that like Power and Light, and I think Blake Cordish has to be all in on the like P&L simply for the cash cow.

[chrizow]

I'd bet the farm that there are at least 5 awesome people that like Power and Light

the diagram indicates that one of these people is KCP, and the others are awesome skanks.  sounds right to me!

[teclis]

As someone who has recently moved back to the KC area after being gone for the last few years, I just don't understand the hate. Here is what I see, a downtown that had absolutely nothing to offer for entertainment on the south side of the loop, to now having the best movie theater in town, some nice choices for the people who DO live downtown to eat at, and the best urban grocery store that I have ever seen. As someone who has lived in San Diego, Seattle and Denver, I promise you they would all LOVE to have something that compares to that store. Could they do more, absolutely! However I would recommend to the ones that think this is a waste, remember what this place was like before and that NO ONE stepped up and offered to come up with something better. I think any plan that helped save the Midland, the President, the Empire, brought HR Block downtown and added a downtown arena deserves some major credit. All I know is that I would have loved all this when I lived downtown, and I'm almost 40 and don't drink! Just remember that it has only been a couple of years and during one of the worst economic times in history.

[mean]

I'd bet the farm that there are at least 5 awesome people that like Power and Light, and I think Blake Cordish has to be all in on the like P&L simply for the cash cow.

Good call on Cordish. Should have put him all in there.

[KC-wildcat]

As someone who has recently moved back to the KC area after being gone for the last few years, I just don't understand the hate. Here is what I see, a downtown that had absolutely nothing to offer for entertainment on the south side of the loop, to now having the best movie theater in town, some nice choices for the people who DO live downtown to eat at, and the best urban grocery store that I have ever seen. As someone who has lived in San Diego, Seattle and Denver, I promise you they would all LOVE to have something that compares to that store. Could they do more, absolutely! However I would recommend to the ones that think this is a waste, remember what this place was like before and that NO ONE stepped up and offered to come up with something better. I think any plan that helped save the Midland, the President, the Empire, brought HR Block downtown and added a downtown arena deserves some major credit. All I know is that I would have loved all this when I lived downtown, and I'm almost 40 and don't drink! Just remember that it has only been a couple of years and during one of the worst economic times in history.

Some very inconvenient truths in this post.  Those who loved downtown because others hated it are now struggling to cope with the idea that "poser" suburbanites are intruding on their turf.  They hate that outsider, non-pioneer types are jumping on the DTKC bandwagon. 

I'll never identify with the people that thought DTKC was kosher pre P&L.  Lived in this town my whole life.  For 27 years DTKC had been slowly deteriorating in the desolate shit hole that it was in 2005.  Now it's cool again and some people can't stand it. 

Odd dynamic. 

[KCPowercat]

I think that's why I love dt so much more now....I wouldn't call myself a pioneer but was down here way before it was 'cool' by the masses....so now I have the old downtown with its fun lesser known places and the p&l now that gives people the open mind to come try things out....after they see p&l and then I sneak them off to a non-p&l place, they get to see both sides....and I can now enjoy a fun unbeat atmosphere at p&l or a lesser known downbeat place....all in walking distance.  It rocks.  (not to mention the best grocer in the city)

[KCKev]

Eventually, as the excitement wares off, it all will be torn down for parking, as is the Kansas City way.

[im2kull]

I love the P&L District..

Just don't want to see it 10 years from now as a cess pool crawling with nothing but drunks, lowlifes, and Jerry Maizer types (Can ya help a man put a downpayement on a cheeseburger).

The P&L district doesn't need to imitate Westport.  It needs to be a full fledged 24/7 center of our city.  However, it needs to offer more than dining and bars to do so.

[KCPowercat]

nobody disagrees

[KC-wildcat]

I think that's why I love dt so much more now....I wouldn't call myself a pioneer but was down here way before it was 'cool' by the masses....so now I have the old downtown with its fun lesser known places and the p&l now that gives people the open mind to come try things out....after they see p&l and then I sneak them off to a non-p&l place, they get to see both sides....and I can now enjoy a fun unbeat atmosphere at p&l or a lesser known downbeat place....all in walking distance.  It rocks.  (not to mention the best grocer in the city)

Agreed.  About two weeks ago some college friends (prairie village) and I were going out on the town.  Some were interesting in going DT but others didn't want to do P&L.  I suggested a compromise:  Go DT but skip P&L.  Went to the Quaff and John's.  Everybody had a blast.  

Pre-P&L, I can guarantee these guys would never even remotely have considered DT as an entertainment option.  

[mean]

I'll never identify with the people that thought DTKC was kosher pre P&L.  Lived in this town my whole life.  For 27 years DTKC had been slowly deteriorating in the desolate shit hole that it was in 2005.  Now it's cool again and some people can't stand it. 

I don't think anybody really thinks DTKC was kosher pre-P&L. It had been on a long downswing, but was slowly starting to come back as early as the 2000-2003 or so timeframe. If memory serves, almost all of the loft conversions and stuff were online years before P&L and people were moving back. Stuff was starting to happen. I wouldn't have called downtown a desolate shithole in 2005 when I lived there, although I might give you 1995, which seems to be about the lowest point I can recall.

Of course, the perception that it was a desolate shithole was a lot more prevalent in 2005, and certainly the spot now occupied by P&L was basically rotting away.

Saving the Empire and Midland, putting in the Cosentino's, and bringing H&R Block downtown are all awesome endeavors. I get that none of that could have happened (at least not anywhere near this quickly) without the larger development, and in that sense it is totally worth it as far as I'm concerned. The bigger question here though is, are the people who come to visit from suburbia going to be so enamored of the thing that they want to live in it? I hope so, but I just can't see it happening. "Great place to visit, wouldn't want to live there."

[KCPowercat]

I have nothing to back this up but I would say the p&l has changed people's opinions about living down here....numbers in a few years should bear that out.

and hey if they just think its a great place to visit but not live....at least it swung one part of their mindset.....not to mention beats their home in the burbs which to me  (and many of us) isn't a fun place to live or visit )

[KCKev]

As I used to live downtown as a kid, I know for a fact Downtown can be good for young folks.

As I look at downtown today, would have to say not so much a good thing for Kids. Nothing much for then to do but get into trouble, but for single adults, Downtown is getting better.

Whats needed is Good retail and things for the kids to do along with the recent Bars/restaurants.

Add 24 hour mass transit ( be it bus or rail) to get outsiders to the City, and you have whats needed to make DT vibrant!

At least I had Stores like Macys,Kreskies,Jones,Toppsies,and the Fountain at Barnie Allis Plaza to run around at as a Kid.

Lots to work on, including Schools/Education to get families moving back.

When I was back a few years ago, I enjoyed P&L District. Didn't go to to many bars except Flying Saucer, but people watching was great. Lots of sexy people there I must say!

[chrizow]

So what do you all think about the long-term prognosis of the P&L district? Will the presence of ghetto-type people not too far away deter suburban whites from continuing to frequent the place at night? Everything in KC seems to be segregated along racial lines.

let's pause to reflect about the question that begat this thread, and see how far we have come.  monumental.

[KCKev]

let's pause to reflect about the question that begat this thread, and see how far we have come.  monumental.

I Guess all we need to do is watch Fox news for all the correct answers  :lol:

Just what constitutes Ghetto status? is 30k a year income considered Ghetto in these times?