KCRag Forum

okay, faulty memory...it's surrounded by chain-link fence rather than jersey barriers.  Pretty quiet though some work is being done inside.  There was a ventilation fan and I saw one worker with a hard hat enter the building.  If it's interior demo for a renovation that is wonderful.  The language online about demolition and the 'dangerous building' signage made me fear the worst.







it appears part of the windows of the neighboring building have been bordered up for protection:


backside showing where they had previously demo'd the one-story portion:


several of these are posted on the building:

staubio wrote: DNA has confirmed: it is coming down. Emergency demo, so 72 hours or less.

what's the emergency?  and who pays for an emergency demolition?

Critical_Mass wrote: what's the emergency?  and who pays for an emergency demolition?

Emergency just means it poses an imminent threat of collapse. And yes, it has "all of the sudden" become dangerous when the developer/owner decided not to fix it, so there are tough questions to be asked.

Something smells rotten here. 

Staubio, this is BS.  I'm gonna have to join DNA to express my anger!

isn't there a city phone/email to flood to stop this?

Here's an idea:

prop it up with supports and send the bill to the 'developer', rather than tear it down

someone needs to go down there and chain him/herself around it.

call the news, blow up twitter & facebook. stop destroying history.

Wow, seems like a really neat building. Would be a real shame.

trailerkid wrote: someone needs to go down there and chain him/herself around it.

So I guess you will be the first one to do it.

Wow, that's really too bad.  I've always liked that building.

It looks like it isn't a real threat and the developer has leverage, but the renovations are looking too expensive so without a plan, it has to come down. It might not be 72 hours but fencing already in place isn't a good sign.

Finally! There will be more parking downtown!

why aren't there any ramifications if it is on a historic register?

FWIW, I sent the following email (which I whipped together pretty quickly) to Kevin Collison @ the Star:

"Mr. Collison:

I'm writing you in hopes that you might shed some light in your column or through other means on yet another needless demolition of an historic building in our downtown. Recently, chain link fencing and dangerous building notices have turned up on the building at 900 Baltimore. The building is slated for an emergency demolition that could occur as soon as 72 hours from now. There is no plan in place for what will replace this beautiful and historic structure. I hope that you might devote some of your energy and persuasion as the Star's development columnist to draw attention to this sad event as it appears we may lose yet another piece of our urban fabric. Below you'll find a link to an ongoing forum thread that includes the opinions of many concerned Kansas Citians. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you."

I'll be happy to keep everyone updated if I hear anything back.

Also, this is my first post...ever. 

Awesome!  Way to be proactive.  Thanks for posting.

There needs to be emailing to city council people and the Mayor as well. Historic buildings are supposed to be flagged so that council members are notified when a demolition permit is filed on one.  This happened after Executive Hills tried to demolish the Empire Theater by getting a demo permit approved by the City planning department on a Thursday afternoon. Had I not been monitoring the building almost daily on KIVA, I wouldn't have had time to tip off Kevin Collison, and he wouldn't have had time to write an article in time to get city leaders to stop it.

The same thing happened with the Law Building, a demolition permit was filed so that the demolition would begin on a weekend before anyone would know about it, and try and stop it.

I also sent a similar letter to Russ Johnson. These situations leave me feeling frustrated and powerless.

Here is the contact information for those of you who want to email City officials:

Mayor Mark Funkhouser
City Hall, 29th floor • 414 E. 12th St. • Kansas City, MO 64106 •
Phone: (816) 513-3500
Fax: (816) 513-3518
E-mail: mayor@kcmo.org

Council Members

City Hall, 22nd floor • 414 E. 12th St. • Kansas City, MO 64106

1st District Councilwoman Deb Hermann

Phone: (816) 513-1624
(816) 513-1612
Assistant: Terri Wolfe • terri_wolfe@kcmo.org

1st District Councilman Bill Skaggs

Phone: (816) 513-1619
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Jackie Burton • jackie_burton@kcmo.org

2nd District Councilman Ed Ford

Phone: (816) 513-1601
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Lisa Minardi • lisa_minardi@kcmo.org

2nd District Councilman Russ Johnson

Phone: (816) 513-1622
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Traci Gleason • traci_gleason@kcmo.org

3rd District Councilwoman Melba Curls

Phone: (816) 513-1605
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Reva Simmons • melba_curls@kcmo.org

3rd District Councilwoman Sharon Sanders Brooks

Phone: (816) 513-1608
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Kimberly Randolph • kimberly_randolph@kcmo.org

4th District Councilwoman Beth Gottstein

Phone: (816) 513-1616
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Jim Giles • jim_giles@kcmo.org

4th District Councilwoman Jan Marcason

Phone: (816) 513-1617
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Susan Borge • susan_borge@kcmo.org

5th District Councilwoman Cindy Circo

Phone: (816) 513-1633
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Gina Boucher • gina_boucher@kcmo.org

5th District Councilman Terry Riley

Phone: (816) 513-1629
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Schylon Clayton • schylon_clayton@kcmo.org

6th District Councilwoman Cathy Jolly

Phone: (816) 513-1602
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Lisa Sturgeon • lisa_sturgeon@kcmo.org

6th District Councilman John A. Sharp

Phone: (816) 513-1615
Fax: (816) 513-1612
Assistant: Araceli Gallegos • araceli_gallegos@kcmo.org

Here is a quick "cut and paste" email list to contact City officials and their assistants:

mayor@kcmo.org,terri_wolfe@kcmo.org,jackie_burton@kcmo.org,lisa_minardi@kcmo.org,traci_gleason@kcmo.org,melba_curls@kcmo.org,kimberly_randolph@kcmo.org,jim_giles@kcmo.org,susan_borge@kcmo.org,gina_boucher@kcmo.org,schylon_clayton@kcmo.org,lisa_sturgeon@kcmo.org,araceli_gallegos@kcmo.org

Be sure to caption the entire list. It might require scrolling to the right.