Fed will sell headquarters to Townsend

[Tosspot]

No. Optimism. A foreign word to most on this forum.

Perhaps a valid point, though we shouldn't automatically always assume that development always equates with progress.

[LenexatoKCMO]

We have seen hideous development mistakes made with disastrous consequences for decades in this city.  Why isn't it valid for us to be alarmed when we see some of the same mistakes made in contemporary projects.  Albeit, bitching about a name may be ticky-tacky but I think it is entirely valid to question surface parking lots, bad street interaction, destruction of usable density when empty space is available, bad land use, etc, etc.  Just because there is finally getting to be economic impetus for development, doesn't mean we should all just happily accept development that makes many of the same mistakes that got us into trouble in the first place.  Quality control is a good thing.

[voltopt]

i am exceedingly optimistic.
i also don't like homogonized names from anywhere, USA.

why not call these things something unique to kansas city?

for instance, instead of east village, why not call it "Lincoln-Coles" after a nearby historic neighborhood name?  or build a small park in it and call it cherry park, or near charlotte, or admiral park?
things like garrison park, columbus park, etc. are much more interesting than Soho, Soho south, etc.

Wall street tower?  One Park Place?
why not the Mercantile?
why not Penn Valley Heights? or Penn Valley Condominiums?

there are neighborhood names, and old block names that are almost defunct that are singular to places in kansas city and could allow for unique, yet not disneyfied, place names.
things like Atkins, Lykins, etc.

there are more... i should research it...

[beautyfromashes]

why not Penn Valley Heights?

Hmmm... Something doesn't quite seem right about this one.

[Long]

No. Optimism. A foreign word to most on this forum.

Some criticism is valid.  Mistakes made that we can learn from.  Some criticism and concern is significant and calls for dramatic change, but sometimes a comment is just a passing thought.  I think the naming conventions are lame.  No, that's not a big deal, and I think by applying a little common sense, one could recognize the degree of negativity and criticism implied.  

A lot of people have this mentality that "we should be thankful we're getting what we're getting."  No. . . we should appreciate the positive contributions made, but that doesn't mean we should sit back and close our eyes to the potential negative impacts.  This stuff needs to be addressed.  Someone needs to be willing to stand up and defend the standard, because there will always be people in a position of power that will look to cut corners, the standard of "good enough" constantly gets lower and lower.  Good enough implies "less than what we felt we deserved, but we'll take it," and good enough is the (lower) precedent set for the next project.  So the next good enough is a little less than the last good enough, and so on and so forth.

I think just about everyone on this forum knows and appreciates that great strides this city is making downtown.  We don't need to ballwash every single developer and project.  People will point out exceptional work, things that go above and beyond, and people should point out concerns they have.  

That said, does the naming convention of projects really matter?  Ultimately, no, I never meant to suggest it did, and I'm sorry I didn't hold your hand and post a disclaimer.  I think its lame, I think it reflects a certain mentality, that dirty gritty downtown still needs a layer of gloss to attract a certain demographic, and that's unfortunate, but it's a necessary evil.  I think it would be cool if BMA were still BMA, if the Federal Reserve were just a building with an address that people know as the old Federal Reserve, but whatever, it's just a tiny quibble in the grand scheme of things.

[macnw]

Where in the world is all development done correctly?  The answer. Nowhere. Is KCMO any different? Somewhere, somehow people think every project should or will meet their high expectations. I guess when people start putting up their own dough, then they can make all the decisions. Until then, why can't we accept the developments for what they are or aren't. Being critical of everything is too easy. I can accept criticism, but there are beneficial aspects of projects also, which seems to get overlooked all too often.

[Long]

Maybe we need a ratio system.  Only one critical thought allowed per positive thought.

I guess I don't need someone to say fuzzy happy things to know whether their criticisms are valid or if they are uninformed complaints.  You can tell if someone is intelligent, informed, passionate, or if they just like to complain, or if they have an ego bigger than their brain. 

I find that the most outspoken critics are more informed, appreciative, and passionate about the subject matter than many people who praise everything at the drop of a hat.

[Long]

Where in the world is all development done correctly?  The answer. Nowhere. Is KCMO any different? Somewhere, somehow people think every project should or will meet their high expectations. I guess when people start putting up their own dough, then they can make all the decisions. Until then, why can't we accept the developments for what they are or aren't. Being critical of everything is too easy. I can accept criticism, but there are beneficial aspects of projects also, which seems to get overlooked all too often.

Even when you complete your own project, if you think it's perfect, then you haven't learned anything.  You don't build the perfect project, and then consider any subsequent project a success as long as it lives up to the first.  Every project or product can be better, and you should always strive to make the next project better than the last.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Where in the world is all development done correctly?  The answer. Nowhere. Is KCMO any different? Somewhere, somehow people think every project should or will meet their high expectations. I guess when people start putting up their own dough, then they can make all the decisions. Until then, why can't we accept the developments for what they are or aren't. Being critical of everything is too easy. I can accept criticism, but there are beneficial aspects of projects also, which seems to get overlooked all too often.

Of course nothing is perfect, no project will ever be perfect, and no city will ever be perfect.  But thats a cop-out.  Wouldn't you prefer to live in a city where fewer development mistakes are made?  The people  who are concerned about these sorts of things are never going to win every battle - hell with the lax oversight in this town we aren't likely to win many at all.  However, it is important for developers to know that there are some vocal folks in this city who care passionately about development, who will call them out when they do something particularly stupid.  People who will get fired up if you tear down a usable building for a surface lot.  People who will write the papers and the city and whaterver else, when you propose to tear down some historic building for a suburban style Blockbuster video.  If the people who care passionately about development don't complain about boneheaded development, who will?  And if no one demands better, we will never get better.  If the message sent to developers is - "this town is hungry for development at any cost - we don't care whether it is sensible development or not" - what do you think we are going to get?  

[macnw]

What is that forum members are doing to encourage change in KCMO? Complaining that they don't like a project? How does that work? Saying and doing are two different birds. Anyhow, I thought architecture was supposedly open to interpretation? Nelson Art Gallery? You have every right to be critical of something. Do I have the same rights to appreciate something? What makes one interpretation right or wrong? The current hot trend? What someone has learned in a book? Your assumptions, like many, are generalized. What you like, everyone should like. And if they don't, they are wrong? 

[Tosspot]

Next time you're in town look me up and I'll personally walk you around Westport and show you all the fuck-ups in all their gory, hideous detail -- and then try tellling me all this over again.

[LenexatoKCMO]

What is that forum members are doing to encourage change in KCMO? Complaining that they don't like a project? How does that work? Saying and doing are two different birds. Anyhow, I thought architecture was supposedly open to interpretation? Nelson Art Gallery? You have every right to be critical of something. Do I have the same rights to appreciate something? What makes one interpretation right or wrong? The current hot trend? What someone has learned in a book? Your assumptions, like many, are generalized. What you like, everyone should like. And if they don't, they are wrong? 

You are tallking about architecture - I am talking about development.  Architecture is an art.  Development is a science.  With development we do have a lot of knowledge about what does and doesn't work.  Sure the two may overlap at times.  However, putting a pedestrian-hostile facade on a building in downtown may or may not be bad architecture; it is undoubtedly bad development.   Tearing down a structure that provides good density for a structure with low density may or may not be bad architecture, but it is almost always bad development.  Putting a structure in a neighborhood that has a use entirely inappropriate for the neighborhood may or may not be bad architecture, but it is almost always bad developmnet.  

You may question the effectiveness of this website as a platform for effecting this change but I posit that it does indeed have a use.  It helps to better inform people who do not have a good grounding in sound urban development.  I know I have learned much since joining.  It helps convert some of this population from being the uninformed, all-accepting, push-overs you seem to want everyone to be.  It has more direct impacts as well.  I know that in relation to the plans for redeveloping the Italian Garden's lot - some forumers were incensed enough after reading the discussion on here to go to the planning and development meeting and participate in the process.  Ultimately that process led to the city requiring the developer to drop two poor planning aspects of the development - a sky walk and a pedestrian hostile street level.  It may be little, but every little bit helps.  

[ComandanteCero]

Macnw, I think most everyone here are optimistic about the city and its potential to grow into an even better city.  If no one cared, and no one thought the city was worth worrying about, I don't think anyone would be on here posting.  However its precisely because we know what we have today, and what we have lost as a result to short sighted planning and development decisions in the past (and present ((i.e Law Building)). that many of us keep a sharp and critical eye on development in this town and what impact it will have not only on existing urban fabric, but the future of the area.

You also have to be able to tell the difference between a serious concern (urban planning, streetscape related), and just shooting the breeze observations about cliched development names.  I'm not going to lose sleep over the fact that this particular project's name is uninspired, but I sure as hell will get worked up about podium buildings that take away from the potential urbanity of the city.   

[macnw]

All I'm saying is people better get their act together and do something constructive. Not living in KC anymore, I must rely on the current residents to do their part. Websites are a start. Going to take a lot more to get things done. Just don't read too much about preservation in KC. Let's be realistic what we can do. Bad planning will never go away. Not enough people care and or will do what it takes to change the status quo. I will be interested to see how this plays out.

[springtime]

"Hopefully they can redo the gawdawful north facade and cut out some windows."

The north side of the Fed building is where the row of elevator shafts are.  There is no way to add any windows to the north side.  I am told that when the building was built in the 1920s, they envisioned that they might add an additional to the north, and connect to the existing elevator shafts.  That is why the north side is brick, while the rest of the building is stone.

[moderne]

Sales office for The Reserve opening soon at 9th and Walnut.

[voltopt]

"Hopefully they can redo the gawdawful north facade and cut out some windows."

The north side of the Fed building is where the row of elevator shafts are.  There is no way to add any windows to the north side.  I am told that when the building was built in the 1920s, they envisioned that they might add an additional to the north, and connect to the existing elevator shafts.  That is why the north side is brick, while the rest of the building is stone.

Even if there wasn't an addition planned, another building on the north side of that block could conceivable cover that side.  The building is designed to be part of a block, like the Scarrit Building, the Commerce Building, the Mark Twain Tower, and the Professional Building, unlike buildings that are meant to stand alone, like City Hall or the Fidelity Bank and Trust Building.

[moderne]

It seems this will be the next condo project to come on line downtown, as the Cordish condos have not begun construction, and the current tennants will be moving out early next year.  It should greatly change the demographics east of Grand.

[bahua]

OPTIMISM, n.
    The doctrine, or belief, that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong. It is held with greatest tenacity by those most accustomed to the mischance of falling into adversity, and is most acceptably expounded with the grin that apes a smile. Being a blind faith, it is inaccessible to the light of disproof -- an intellectual disorder, yielding to no treatment but death. It is hereditary, but fortunately not contagious.


Ambrose Bierce rules the world.

[FangKC]

I've always hoped that an addition, or another building, would be placed up against the north wall of the old Federal Reserve Bank.

Click on link to see the back and side of Federal Reserve Bank building.

http://www.kcskyscrapers.com/kcpics/v/B ... e.jpg.html

Here is a graphic showing an addition to the old Federal Reserve building, and addition of another building to the east of Grand Temple.