KCRag Forum

Bartle Hall expansion is moving forward. The City is advertising for a Construction Administrator for the project.

From the City's website:

Provide design and construction administration for Convention Center.
Posted 04/10/2003

The City Architect desires to contract with a design professional firm or team of firms to provide design, production and construction administration services for a major expansion of the Kansas City Convention Center. The expansion is envisioned to include a new, 40,000 s.f. (minimum) ballroom/multi-function space, a new central kitchen, structured parking for up to 1,300 vehicles, related service components and extensive modification/modernization throughout the existing facilities. The new expansion will require design elements to achieve a USGBC “LEEDâ€

I think I'll bid for this

I wonder what kind of art work will be included in this. If the project runs $100M that would be $1M for art.
Should it be something that makes a big splash or should they spread the wealth through out downtown?

I would like to see something BIG!

I thought it had to be used in the project....maybe I'm wrong..

how about adding two more pylons? Wonder if the expansion will need aerial support like that...the renderings don't show that it will.

KC wrote:I thought it had to be used in the project....maybe I'm wrong..

how about adding two more pylons? Wonder if the expansion will need aerial support like that...the renderings don't show that it will.

I have never been impressed by those massive hair-curlers on Bartle. I'd like to see something that makes lazy people want to get out of their cars to take a closer look.

The Construction Advisor has been selected!

G2G...glad to see you back, it's been awhile

7 month old baby and bustling job!

yeah I figured....

sounds like costs are rising...nothing critical yet...

hmm, rising costs in a big project, who would have thought.

I actually like the sky stations on Bartle Hall. They make an otherwise ordinary structure a bit more interesting. It also adds something to the skyline that is unique.
They also look cool from a distance when they are lit at night. If you look at advertising brochures for Kansas City, those sky stations almost always appear somewhere. They have become an icon of sorts.

When one is some distance away, they give the effect that Bartle Hall is like a great ship. That design effect ties in quite nicely with Municipal Auditorium, which has that art deco steamship motif in it's architecture. It was a common design motif in the 1920s and 30s.

Actually, one day when I was down at the Liberty Memorial taking photos, two different groups of visitors asked me about those sky stations. One group was Japanese and they were taking a lot of photos of them. LOL.

When the performing arts center is completed, it--and those sky stations as a backdrop--will make that hillside look very futuristic.

"Everything's up-to-date in Kansas City." -- from the musical, Oklahoma

now we've got plans to downsize the ballroom plan? PAC being downsized....we're going to end up with one building for the PAC and Ballroom before it's all over...

keep the original plans people.

This is a classic example of how we get a reputation for inept city government. Costs are now coming in more than double what voters approved. The nature of the project might also change significantly if the ballroom moves south of the loop and replaces the plaza area.

This does not bode well for the mega bond issue that Mayor Barnes wants to propose next year. Voters have already shown that they prefer voting on specific projects, and expect reasonable assurances that they are being presented with accurate cost, revenue, and scope estimates.

they need to quit tacking things onto what they originally planned and get the ballroom built...if other things need done, then find funding for it.....

they mess with the design and they are going to piss off voters.

Hey, I have an idea. Why not scrape the entire plan to build a ballroom over the interstate, and take that money and turn the Empire Theater into a ballroom?

They want a ballroom that will seat 3,000 people. The Empire seated 3,000 people when it opened.

Surely it would be cheaper to renovate an existing building than build one from scratch, and it would save the Empire. Plus the Empire has elaborate interior beauty that no new building today can replicate.

The Empire Ballroom. I like the sound of that. And with its' stage and portable table seating, it could be used to stage dinner theater as well.

A restaurant-quality banquet kitchen could be placed in the basement of the old theater, or in the basement of the new annex.

One could remove the portable seating for live performances--like visiting rock acts.

One could expand the Empire Theater on the west side onto what is now the location of that parking garage being torn down. An addition could be built by tearing out the west wall of the theater building (which has some brickwork buckling already) and make room for the additional seating to hold 3,000 seated people.

One could package the location with a future hotel built on top of the annex space (facing Baltimore), and line the street-level with space for restaurants and clubs.

Then you have a multi-use block that serves local residents and visiting conventioneers. It adds to the entertainment district; gives the bureau of tourism the ballroom they want; and saves an old building.

Having the theater be multipurpose makes it more financially viable, since it could be adapted for several uses.

And since Kansas is trying to pursue legal gambling, maybe Missouri will come to their senses and see that riverboat gambling is really a farce, and pass legislation that would allow casinos downtown and in the River Market. Then the Empire Ballroom could even be converted into a casino at a later date.

The casino thing is just thinking outside the box though.

Just a thought. LOL.

I want to present some additional ideas for reuse of the Empire Theater, and specifically address past attempts to lure the House of Blues franchise into the Empire.

What about this idea? Instead of the House of Blues taking out a long-term lease on the building, why not build the facility in such a way that House of Blues could use it on an ad hoc basis. On weekends, it could be "House of Blues at The Empire Ballroom."

Under this plan, House of Blues wouldn't carry so much risk, and they could use the theater when they had acts booked. If House of Blues isn't interested, why not approach the B.B. King's blues club franchise and propose the same deal? The one in New York City is quite successful.

One could also rename the Empire Theater: "The Charlie Parker Ballroom." I'm sure the black community would support that, and it would pay homage to one of the City's native sons.

To take this one step further, the Empire Ballroom could be equipped to accommodate television production. The House of Blues, or B.B. King's franchises could then produce live or taped televised performances from the facility.

Imagine: "Live from House of Blues at the Empire Ballroom (or Charlie Parker Ballroom) in downtown Kansas City, Missouri..."

With all the live country music talent in nearby Branson, acts could be brought to perform in Kansas City. This would be a cross-pollenation strategy designed to promote and expand both cities' marketing efforts.

The City could also invite talk shows like Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, David Letterman, Late Night with Craig Kilborn, Live with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, The View, and the Tonight Show to broadcast from the facility. They often take their shows out-of-town.

Another interesting idea would be for Kansas City officials to invite future U.S. presidential candidates, and Missouri's future candidates for the U.S. Senate and the Governor's Office, for live televised debates in front of an audience. The City could do that if it had a facility of this type.

Now another option is back...building the ballroom on Barney Allis Plaza...

I'm not a fan of this considering we would be getting rid of greenspace in the heart of the city.....

this option would also close central between 12th & 13th.

The 3 options now are:

- Over I-670 as Bartle is now
- North of 670 south of 14th, between Wyandotte & Baltimore
- On Barney Allis Plaza

Final decision should come next month.

I'm for whatever gels best with the surrounding development plans such as PAC and SoLo distict.

Over 670...this would literally connect the PAC to the loop/convention district which will help infilling from the south loop to Crown Center.

I say no to Barney Allis Plaza. Either of the other two options are fine. Over 670 makes the most sense because it keeps the complex clustered together better and, as previously stated, helps with infill. On the other hand the 14th Street location would mean new development right up to the edge of the south loop ghost town.

If the city govt was a private company they would be out of business by now...LETS GET MOVING PEOPLE!!! Enough considering and reconsidering and considering again. Move some dirt...or even better, don't move any at all and build it over 670.