KCRag Forum

aknowledgeableperson wrote:What strikes me a funny about subsidies for senior housing is that as a whole the older generations are more wealthy than the younger ones.

The problem with that analysis, as you noted, is that this only is true "as a whole." There is vast inequality among incomes within each age tranche, including seniors. In fact, because seniors have exited the employment market (basically, nobody hires anyone over 50 for a white collar job, de facto if not de jure), seniors without wealth are likely condemned to a low-income future. The income gap strikes again!

Younger people still have time to generate income and to accumulate wealth via savings and investments.

chrizow wrote:i think this will be a pretty interesting test of market-rate residential development in midtown. armour has come a long way, mostly due to MAC, but even at the inception of its rebirth, it was not hard to see that Armour is a very handsome street, and immediately adjacent to some pretty high-end single-family residential housing. by contrast, linwood is far less appealing of a street, and this building is more of an island.

I walked extensively through the area around this building over the weekend. What struck me more than anything is just how much the design of the infrastructure, i.e. Linwood Boulevard itself, is holding the area back more than the surrounding uses on Linwood (though those aren't all fantastic). The street is massively wide and is signed no parking, which results in high speed "free flow" traffic and roadway that is nearly impossible to cross on foot. However, if you step back from Linwood onto 33rd or 34th Street, or even 31st Terrace (one of my Top 5 blocks in KC), you find generally well-maintained homes and a handful of small apartment buildings in various conditions. It is hard not to think that if the city could simply get its infrastructure right (right-sizing of the street, possibly on-street parking, bike lanes) Linwood could be a great street and the area between 31st and Armour would flourish. Just my armchair planner two-cents.

I especially think Wyandotte between Linwood and Penn Valley Park is a missed opportunity. This should be a connection point between the park and the midtown neighborhoods to the south. But, it's difficult to cross Linwood at that intersection because of the traffic and the street is generally gloomy until you get to the Off Broadway Theater area. Personally, I would like to see Wyandotte closed from Linwood to the theater and have it remade as bike and pedestrian only. Eventually, I would like on-street bike lanes from the Trolley Trail at Mill Creek park to Penn Valley through the neighborhood.

beautyfromashes wrote:I especially think Wyandotte between Linwood and Penn Valley Park is a missed opportunity. This should be a connection point between the park and the midtown neighborhoods to the south. But, it's difficult to cross Linwood at that intersection because of the traffic and the street is generally gloomy until you get to the Off Broadway Theater area. Personally, I would like to see Wyandotte closed from Linwood to the theater and have it remade as bike and pedestrian only. Eventually, I would like on-street bike lanes from the Trolley Trail at Mill Creek park to Penn Valley through the neighborhood.

Agreed! This is my go-to to get to the park and crossing Linwood sucks. It's also a bit sketch since there's never anyone around on Wyandotte here. It could be a really cool street though.

That stretch of Linwood is unattractive. If there was an area ever in need of a makeover, it's that one.

There are several things that need to happen along that stretch of Linwood between Gillham and Troost. Get rid of the remaining single-family houses, and replace them with small low-rise apartment buildings. Not too many units or there will be parking issues. I doubt any developer would spring for a below-grade parking garage anyway, since it might be hard to get the financing for that extra. I doubt anyone is going to fix up those existing houses, because it's not that great fronting a busy street. There is a reason that no one has, when houses on the side streets have already been. Linwood is a street that should have apartment buildings instead of houses.

When you take out the single family houses, and those parcels are cleared, there is an opportunity to push the sidewalks inward to create some street parking. The street needs to be re-landscaped, and trees planted to create the nice canopy that Armour Boulevard has.

I would slowly remove most of the retail along that stretch as businesses close, and make it a residential stretch. There isn't really a need for retail on those blocks anymore, since there are more obvious retail spots on Troost, and to some extent along Gillham. Old neighborhoods like that don't need as many retail spaces as in the past. One wants to encourage that on Troost anyway.

Here's my opinion on what needs to happen for that stretch on Linwood to be redeveloped:

1. 3200 Gillham Rd needs to be sold and redeveloped, along with the car wash across the street. Those two properties seem to be magnets and harbors for vagrants and other shady characters.

2. The building where the ice cream trucks sleep needs to be converted into apartments. It looks like it has the potential to have some pretty sweet industrial loft spaces..

3. Ultimately, I think 31st may need to be redeveloped first. That street has much more low-hanging fruit with the current building stock and less hurdles to clear. Once that is done, then Linwood will follow. I think Troost between Linwood and 31st is likely to be redeveloped before Linwood.

I do know someone just purchased the vacant land on the north side Linwood, east of Charlotte upon hearing about 911 Linwood. The plan is to build townhomes - although I am skeptical that this will happen anytime soon, if at all.

double post

herrfrank wrote:

aknowledgeableperson wrote:What strikes me a funny about subsidies for senior housing is that as a whole the older generations are more wealthy than the younger ones.

The problem with that analysis, as you noted, is that this only is true "as a whole." There is vast inequality among incomes within each age tranche, including seniors. In fact, because seniors have exited the employment market (basically, nobody hires anyone over 50 for a white collar job, de facto if not de jure), seniors without wealth are likely condemned to a low-income future. The income gap strikes again!

Younger people still have time to generate income and to accumulate wealth via savings and investments.

If one reads the data on the younger people they are making less than their parents at similar age, have more debt, and for the long term are projected to make less money over their lifetime than their parents. Of course adjusted for inflation.

While that may be true, it is also true that there is a sizable percentage of Americans --mostly women--who fall into poverty when they retire. It becomes especially difficult to make ends meet if they have high health care costs.

Shouldn't there be more subsidized housing regardless of age?

Probably, since in most cities, there is a large waiting list. But the need for subsidized housing for seniors is growing faster than any other age group.

Was there ever any progress on the 911 linwood project? Seems like it has gone nowhere. In another thread, a poster notes a Troost & "-Linwood - UC/B proposal for 134 units + retail in 3 phases. Still very preliminary."

Whatever is happening, it better happen fast. Affordable housing funding and historic tax credits are both on the chopping block on the federal and state level. I would assume this project would utilize both.

FangKC wrote:Whatever is happening, it better happen fast. Affordable housing funding and historic tax credits are both on the chopping block on the federal and state level. I would assume this project would utilize both.

a
Agreed! Time is short. From reading the last article about this project, the new owner, "Ted Sleder of Brickstone Capital" hoped to turn this into 95-rm market rate apratments by December 2017 and received an 88 percent property tax abatement for 18 years. He had enough cash to pay Husch Legal fees to retain Charles Renner, but perhaps the rest of the financing wasn't fully baked.


http://www.kansascity.com/news/business ... 62252.html

Sleder never purchased the building. He had problems with financing. (His renovation of the Narcissist is finally done, but that took forever with many stops and starts).

There was more interest in the building and one potential buyer seemed to be getting serious, to the point of meeting with neighborhood leaders, but I haven't heard any news on that front for a while so I'm guessing that fizzled out.

The UC/B project for Linwood and Troost is unrelated. It would be for the SW and SE corners of the intersection. I did hear rumors that UC/B was interested in 911 Linwood as part of that project. This was prior to the emergence of the last serious buyer. I wouldn't be surprised if that was still a possibility.

I don't think that 911 Linwood has been actively listed or marketed for quite some time. Clemons Realty was the last group to have the listing that I was aware of, but it looks like that expired quite a while ago.

Future parking lot. The will just isn’t there to redevelop it seems.

Hope it does not go the way of The Defenders across the street. That was the tallest building between DT and the Plaza and the sign on top was almost as familiar as the Western Auto.

moderne wrote:Hope it does not go the way of The Defenders across the street. That was the tallest building between DT and the Plaza and the sign on top was almost as familiar as the Western Auto.

Wow I’ve never even heard of this building. Any pictures?

Does anyone have any idea of where The Defenders got its name? Very strange. Kind of comic book stuff.

It originally had a different name. I remember being in the building in the late eighties on a social work visit to a client, but do not recall when it was torn down. I remember the exterior as having a lot of terra cotta in a gothic deco style.