OFFICIAL - ARTerra (21st and Wyandotte)

[voltopt]

Levitt should just build a park on land he already owns - like the parking lot on SW BLVD where that terrible "Boulevard Central" sign is.  Its only a block away from the PCB site, with greater visibility!

[LenexatoKCMO]

"We need a park in the crossroads" is codeword for "we need a place for all of our dogs to take a dump other than the sidewalk".  PVP is a very easy walk for humans wanting to go find greenspace, but it isn't very handy when Fido needs to be let out at 7:00 AM.  

[chrizow]

maybe there should be a little dogpark somewhere, not a 1/6-acre "park."  and it shouldn't be in such a high-profile location. 

first people clamored for dedicated parking in or adjacent to the building and now they want an adjacent place to take their dogs out? 

[LenexatoKCMO]

There continues to be a critical dog waste issue in the freighthouse district.  For some reason the area seems to attract all of the dog owners who are smart enough to realize they shouldn't keep their retriever in an apartment in the loop, but aren't smart enough to figure out that the xroads isn't much better.  It should be mandatory for selling/leasing agents faced with dog owners to ask "do you realize there isn't a blade of grass within several blocks of here?".

[chrizow]

let them crap on the sidewalk, then make the owners pick it up and put it in a bag.  this is the rule in many cities.  there is no reason that loft-dwellers in a former industrial neighborhood should have the ability to let the dogs out as though they were back in Olathe.

i pity the fool who walks into a Freighthouse "greenspace" to chuck the 'bee or have a picnic and realizes - too late - that the entire parcel is filled with feces.  

[chingon]

This was the second most upsetting thing I read in todays paper.  I don't quite get why people who clearly want to live in Brookside move to the Crossroads and then commence to whining about not having the ammenities of a yard.

[LenexatoKCMO]

let them crap on the sidewalk, then make the owners pick it up and put it in a bag.  

Good luck with that.  

The sidewalk in front of our building has piss stains running the length of it.  The parking lot has three little flower beds that have long been used as a crapping ground by dozens of dogs - the landlord has repeatedly tried posting notices that residents will be fined for it to no avail so they recently tried elevating the flower beds 2.5 feet above ground level with retaining walls - the dog owners actually go to the trouble of lifting their dogs up into the elevated flower beds so they can leave a load.  

[chrizow]

this is a problem with the dog owners, not the amenities of the crossroads.  seriously, if you have a dog and require a place to take it outside, move to the 99.9999% of the city that is appropriate for that.  it just seems incredible to me that dog owners will move into a freight house district and expect there to be a place for Fido. 

if nothing else, it sounds like the building owners should have just banned dogs in the first place.

[DaveKCMO]

the arts park should be at one of the gateways to the crossroads (the boulevard, main street, broadway, 18th), not hidden in some dark corner only for residents and shit-machines. build infill here and make copaken offer his retail space to artists for a reduced price (since incentives are being used).

[voltopt]

Maybe he should locate the park on land he ALREADY owns at Central and Southwest Boulevard, in the dilapidated parking lot that sits empty there.  It is a more central location and a better use of the land.



*edit* image link added

[chrizow]

i agree that SW Blvd @ Central is a better location, but it seems like a high-profile corner like that would be better used for something a little, well, high profile? 

i'm fine with the idea of a "pocket park" or even a pocket dog park amongst Xroads buildings, just not down by the Leedy. 

[HalcyonKC]

This looks like a pretty simple choice from the city's perspective:
1.  Put an expense generator on the land (the park option).
2.  Put a revenue generator on the land (new building).

I think it's pretty obvious they'll go with the new building.  A park would just devolve into another poorly-maintained drag on city funds.  It would only make sense if there were such a lack of green space that a new park would boost the value of surrounding buildings by more than the value of the new building itself.

As for the dogs, that's not a big deal.  My HOA just has a small, woodchip-covered flowerbed area.  There's a box of self-serve dog-doo bags nailed to the side of a small trash receptacle, and everyone takes care of their own dog.  On the off chance they don't, I suppose the woodchips make it pretty easy for property management to shovel it into the trash.  Come to think of it, there's a security camera aimed on the area.  I always assumed that was to keep the area safe at all hours (never know when Fido might have an emergency).  But, I suppose it's possible that maybe the HOA uses it to investigate rogue turds.   

[zonk]

Levitt needs to mind his own business.  He hasn't done jack-shit on any of the property he owns in the crossroads...except to build an ugly ass billboard at 20th & SWB.  How can he dictate how someone else develops their property?  He needs to be carefull, if I were Copaken, I'd fire up the attorneys and sue his ass.  sounds like he's already infriging upon their development rights. 

[Gretz]

If I were Copaken, I'd put a flaming bag of dog poo on Levitt's porch.  Send him a little message.

[KCTigerFan]

A park on this land is a dumb idea.  There are lots of surface lots on which to locate some green space. 

To expand on the dog owner hatred portion of this thread.  Let me get this straight.  We bitch and moan about wanting downtown to grow and become a "real city" yet we don't want dog owners to move in?  Hmmm, seems to me that if we want the condo boom to be successful we would want all types of people.  We are opening a school DT, we subsidize affordable housing, we want diverse lifestyles... Maybe we should focus less on bitching about dog owners and focus on enforcement of the current laws.  Like it or not dog owners are a huge % of the population and a growing demographic.  We need to be accomodating yet focus on enforcement of laws.  Most dog owners actually pick up after their dogs.   

[LenexatoKCMO]

Most dog owners actually pick up after their dogs.   

Keep telling yourself that.  Most dog owners pick up maybe when its convenient or maybe when they think someone is watching.  If you need evidence, take a trip to the very gravel parking lot in question in this thread - you will never find a bigger turd minefield.  I feel sorry for the poor suburbanites that will park near this lot this evening for first friday and try cutting accross it without knowing what is lying in wait.  May god have mercy on their shoes.

[Gretz]

Keep telling yourself that.  Most dog owners pick up maybe when its convenient or maybe when they think someone is watching.  If you need evidence, take a trip to the very gravel parking lot in question in this thread - you will never find a bigger turd minefield.  I feel sorry for the poor suburbanites that will park near this lot this evening for first friday and try cutting accross it without knowing what is lying in wait.  May god have mercy on their shoes.

Actually, most don't even care if you are watching.  I've seen a fair number of pooches droppin dookies in my time DT and I'd say around 20% tops of those incidents ended with the owner whisking a baggie out of his/her pocket and TCB.  Imagine what happens when no one is watching.

[DaveKCMO]

Developers plan new 50-unit condo building in Crossroads

A former Superfund site in the Freight House District that cost $18 million to clean up has been sold to developers who are proposing a 50-unit condominium building.

Copaken White & Blitt and an entity controlled by Hunter Harris of Harris Construction Co. are planning a six-story condo project for the site at 2100 Wyandotte St. The location was once occupied by a structure called the PCB Building because of the highly toxic PCB waste stored there.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency demolished the building two years ago in an expensive dismantling operation that required the toxic wastes to be shipped to a special landfill in Oklahoma. The developers purchased the property from the EPA two weeks ago for about $900,000.

The $16 million condo project would be the first venture into residential work for Copaken White & Blitt, the developer of such marquee projects as the Town Pavilion office tower and Oak Park Mall.

The developers said the project would include enclosed parking and about 8,000 square feet of commercial space along Wyandotte Street.

Construction could begin as early as spring and take about one year. No decision has been made as to whether tax incentives will be sought.

Harris, whose development firm is called Big Prairie Living + Development LLC, said the units’ prices should be in the upper $100,000 to upper $400,000 range.

[jlbomega]

Quote:
No decision has been made as to whether tax incentives will be sought.

Yeah right.  Copaken will line up for his handout just like everyone else.

[K.C.Highrise]

Simmer down. With all the condos comming on line, I doubt they will even start on this thing before 09.