KC College Construction boom?

[trailerkid]

I wouldn't really call it a boom, but the Star is reporting on the building activity going on among KC Art Institute, Rockhurst, and UMKC. It seems that almost every higher education institution everywhere has construction on tap all the time. But I would love to see a strong educational and research environment surround Brush Creek...kind of like Kansas City's bustling college district.

[quote]Posted on Tue, Dec. 30, 2003

KC colleges boom with flurry of construction

By LYNN FRANEY The Kansas City Star

The hillside just east of Oak Street and south of 50th Street contains a jumble of stone, brick and wood.

But by next fall that jumble should be transformed into a new dormitory for the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the first residence hall Kansas City's biggest university has built in almost 40 years.

The construction project is just one of many sprucing up college campuses in the Brush Creek corridor in the past few years, with most of them intended to improve student life outside of class.

For example, east from UMKC across Troost Avenue, the Rockhurst University campus is almost unrecognizable from just a few years ago.

Tennis courts being built complement the new baseball field and intramural field. Those changes come amid renovations to several halls, erection of a bell tower and plaza just off the quad, creation of a new entrance at 54th Street, and the addition of outdoor seating to the pub. The private, Jesuit university also transformed a nearby vacant grocery store into the Rockhurst Community Center.

And just north of UMKC at the Kansas City Art Institute, students have a new coffee shop where they can get their java jolt of the day without leaving the cozy campus. The art institute's campus also boasts an impressive new library that contains computer labs and academic counseling offices.

The beautification projects please Carol Grimaldi, executive director of Brush Creek Community Partners. The organization was formed 10 years ago by UMKC Chancellor Eleanor Schwartz.

“Our vision is the development of a world-class cultural and research district surrounded by healthy neighborhoods,â€

[dangerboy]

Anything that enchances higher education in KC is a good thing. We are still lacking a major research university like Wash. U. or Stanford that most really great cities have. Hopefully UMKC will conitnue to grow into that role in the future.

Also announced yesterday was a proposed $190 million bond issue to develop life science research facilities across the University of Missouri System. UMKC would get around $50 million for a new building and labs on Hospital Hill.