KCRag Forum

Groups studying how to better connect riverfront to Columbus Park

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/gr ... umbus-park

Feds give Port KC $2M to help remove railroad crossings near Berkley Riverfront

The Port Authority of Kansas City received a $2 million federal grant to support eliminating three at-grade railroad crossings near Berkley Riverfront, removing “dangerous barriers” as the area sees development gain momentum.
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Port KC CEO Jon Stephens called the crossings “dangerous barriers” and said that removing them is key to the riverfront’s continuing growth. More than 1,000 people now live on the riverfront, and many more people visit the area daily, he said in the release.
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The grant will back planning and development to remove the Lydia Avenue crossings, which lack a sidewalk and bicycle right-of-way, according to the release. Eliminating the three crossings will “improve mobility and connectivity” for current and future residents.
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https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... 2023-06-09

Plans were submitted in May for the Beer Garden associated with the hotel going up. https://compasskc.kcmo.org/EnerGov_Prod ... ab=reviews

KC Current may buy most remaining Berkley Riverfront properties for $800M development
https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... d-use.html

Key bits...

- The Port Authority of Kansas City on Monday will consider a measure that would authorize the sale of 10.71 acres to KC WFC StadCo LLC.
- The Current contemplates 1,038 multifamily residences, 210,000 square feet of office, 53,000 square feet of retail and multiple structured and surface parking spaces across five-and-a-half undeveloped riverfront parcels, according to Port KC documents released Friday afternoon.
- The multifamily development would include 10% of units set aside for renters earning up to 50% of the area's median family income, or $1,025 per month for a one-bedroom apartment under 2023 federal standards.

Those square footages seem a little low to me for how much ground is still available. Not like terribly low…just makes me think either you’re going to have some monster parking podiums or buildings that are less tall than this forum wants.

horizons82 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:27 pm Those square footages seem a little low to me for how much ground is still available. Not like terribly low…just makes me think either you’re going to have some monster parking podiums or buildings that are less tall than this forum wants.

Building heights in that area don't really matter much tbh

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 3:03 pm KC Current may buy most remaining Berkley Riverfront properties for $800M development
https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... d-use.html

Key bits...

- The Port Authority of Kansas City on Monday will consider a measure that would authorize the sale of 10.71 acres to KC WFC StadCo LLC.
- The Current contemplates 1,038 multifamily residences, 210,000 square feet of office, 53,000 square feet of retail and multiple structured and surface parking spaces across five-and-a-half undeveloped riverfront parcels, according to Port KC documents released Friday afternoon.
- The multifamily development would include 10% of units set aside for renters earning up to 50% of the area's median family income, or $1,025 per month for a one-bedroom apartment under 2023 federal standards.

me thinks

Resi + Parking: 1.8 Million SQFT
Office + parking .5 Million SQFT

TheUrbanRoo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:03 pm
Building heights in that area don't really matter much tbh

This forum, rightly or wrongly, has complained for years about suburban-esque density down there. These numbers do not indicate a substantial increase to downtown-level density given the amount of land included. However, if they maintain large parking ratios for this development and the stadium, the development will look tall (like the lights downtown)

I’m not personally upset by that, I just don’t think people should get their hopes up based on the announcement.

They can always revise things upward, but that’s rare.

The 10 year timeline on this plan makes me think that they'll be able to upsize depending on demand as well as change parking ratios depending on the frequency of the streetcar.

My ideal world would be for them to make this project look like Assembly Row in Boston, just shrunken down a bit, but I'm expecting a more low- to mid-rise development with nothing exceeding 10-stories. I could also see parking being wrapped by the new buildings (like Union) rather than being a podium to a. larger building, but we'll see.

I imagine we'll see a master plan rendering soon to see just what it is they're planning.

KC Current doing all this and SKC is still out there in the suburbs thinking it's 2009 and people care about the Legends complex still lol.

Messaged a few people with some info that I know and I now am pretty confident in what we'll see when the plan gets out. Definitely a major, and positive, step in the right direction for this area. Implementation is key, but I'm confident that PortKC and Current ownership will deliver something great.

If you know where to look, you too can get a peek but it might not last forever.

Sent my drone up for a fly around of the Current Stadium...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6AA-klncn4

I haven't heard or seen anything to suggest this will be different than the ongoing development down there, largely car-oriented suburban-style 4 or 5 over 1. Height really isn't important to me, but overall density and design of the neighborhood to promote walkability is...so far it has been a miss for this poster.

Chris dropped some details on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chris_stritzel/stat ... 349134849/

Looks like nice grid-building, density & diversity of uses vs previous developments. Hopefully all that parking is well hidden!

^Thanks for sharing.

The motion was approved 7-1 today and will be up for final approval later this year.

There was big time opposition by KCPS, but that was to be expected.

Overall, the phased construction period will last from 2024-2034 barring any unforeseen circumstances. Renderings and specific plans for Phase 1 will be released in the coming months, but for now, we have a master-plan site plan and it's very close to things I've seen before.

I'm hoping this is completed since it'll represent a major step in the right direction for the riverfront. Parking will always be a subject of debate here, but this is a much smarter usage of land than Union, Core or the LuxLiving project.

A few facts brought up during the meeting:
- Office and Retail will have a 15-year tax abatement period with 10 of those years having an abatement at 75% and the remaining 5 at 30%.
- Residential will have a 10-year abatement period with 5 of those years having an abatement at 95% and the remaining 5 being at 90%.
- Over a 25-year span, $30 Million will be contributed to the taxing jurisdictions.
- Project has a $35 Million infrastructure investment.

It seems like most retail ad lobbies will be concentrated along the "Game Day" street bisecting the development with a few spaces fronting the park trail. This I'm in full support of because these two areas will be far more hospitable to pedestrians than Berkley Parkway.

I'm certainly interested to see renderings of how all this looks and how this takes shape. This is a very ambitious project, but it will be a positive one at the end of the development process. I just wish it were being built faster, but phasing it allows for changes in scope based on demand.

This is giving me Washington DC's Navy Yard vibes

Some unit counts from traffic study.

trexel94 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:58 am This is giving me Washington DC's Navy Yard vibes

There are 18,000 housing units in Navy Yard. This project proposes 1,000.

I would like to see some actual designs before totally hating on this project. As of now my concerns are:

1. Past track record of PortKC developments on the riverfront as being too suburban.
2. Excess parking
3. Related to #2, it feels like this development looks in on itself and turns its back to Berkley Parkway which is fast becoming a stroad and future pedestrian and bicycle concern.
4. This is only proposed for a thousand units but a ton of public money is being spent to bring streetcar to the riverfront, significantly complicating route logistics and for a return that doesn't seem that promising.
5. PortKC making all of the financial and ownership decisions before community stakeholders have had a chance to weigh-in is concerning.

Open to critique on all of these.