Search found 771 matches

by Gretz
Wed Apr 09, 2014 5:50 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Union Hill Development
Replies: 376
Views: 124335

Re: Union Hill Development

They expect the three buildings that are framed on 30th to be completed starting in late May with the westernmost one and the other two, including the one on Gilham trailing behind by a couple of months. They are starting on the rest of the single families in 6-8 weeks. The other two Gilliam apts, s...
by Gretz
Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:22 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Union Hill Development
Replies: 376
Views: 124335

Re: Union Hill Development

That's straight from the horses mouth last fall. They got a late start and the builder they contracted the single families out to wasn't staffed to be able to do them all at once so they just did every other one on McGee, presumably to give them space to work/excavate, etc. The final plans have them...
by Gretz
Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:04 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Union Hill Development
Replies: 376
Views: 124335

Re: Union Hill Development

There will be more houses on McGee. 3 on the West side of the street and 5 on the East. The salt-boxes the next street over have big yards but the ones on McGee will have practically no yards once filled in. They are supposed to start on the remaining McGee houses and the 3 colonials at 30th & G...
by Gretz
Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:48 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Martini Corner near 31st/Gilham
Replies: 479
Views: 268557

Re: Martini Corner near 31st/Gilham

Looks like the Velvet Dog's successor is about ready to open on the 24th. The below went out via the Union Hill neighborhood association distro: Barrel 31 is a chic-casual, urban restaurant specializing in bourbons and whiskeys from around the world opening in Kansas City’s Union Hill neighborhood. ...
by Gretz
Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:02 pm
Forum: General Kansas City
Topic: Google picks KCK/KCMO for ultra fast fiber network
Replies: 1799
Views: 373924

Re: Google picks KCK/KCMO for ultra fast fiber network

My reply from the head of the commerce committee is below. Sounds like they have at least paused the bill and are considering changes. Really need to keep up the pressure on them to get it scuttled, however: "Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me regarding Senate Bill 304, a bill enacting...
by Gretz
Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:11 pm
Forum: General Kansas City
Topic: Google picks KCK/KCMO for ultra fast fiber network
Replies: 1799
Views: 373924

Re: Google picks KCK/KCMO for ultra fast fiber network

http://m.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2014/01/31/kansas-bill-broadband-fiber-google-ban.html Biz journal and Star are reporting on this as well. Hopefully there will be enough of a groundswell to stop it. Committee head in charge can be reached at julia@senatorjulialynn.com if any of you Kansans ...
by Gretz
Fri Jan 31, 2014 3:07 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.
Replies: 965
Views: 342471

Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Guess the thought needs to be rounded out. There is a certain amount of money that "needs" to be spent to bring these buildings back to glory and income production. Is that number $3.7 million? I doubt it, but for the sake of explanation, let's say it is. Then let's say that the income st...
by Gretz
Fri Jan 31, 2014 12:09 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.
Replies: 965
Views: 342471

Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

You'd still need 37,000 people to give $100. I'd be shocked if you could raise 5 grand on kickstarter. 3.7 million dollars is just not a reasonable sum to raise via crowd sourcing. Unless you get a deep-pocketed benefactor that is willing to take a big loss on the project for the sake of the neighbo...
by Gretz
Wed Jan 22, 2014 7:32 pm
Forum: General Kansas City
Topic: The KCMO School District
Replies: 1091
Views: 262999

Re: The KCMO School District

AKP is right that there are exceptional charters that do really well despite high poverty rates. There are also regular public schools that do so. The point is that on average charter schools don't do any better than public schools when you adjust their results for the poverty level of their students.
by Gretz
Wed Jan 22, 2014 2:08 pm
Forum: General Kansas City
Topic: The KCMO School District
Replies: 1091
Views: 262999

Re: The KCMO School District

The reason you pay $25k for your private school (and will probably be paying through the ass once they get to college) is not because your private school or Harvard has some special sauce in the physics curriculum, but because those schools contain all the other good kids - kids who will become you...
by Gretz
Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:55 pm
Forum: General Kansas City
Topic: The KCMO School District
Replies: 1091
Views: 262999

Re: The KCMO School District

There are quite a few success stories out there with ordinary public schools succeeding with those "left behind" students. Basically that commentator is full of it. Sure, there are some examples of schools doing ok with poor populations, but they are definitely in the extreme minority. Th...
by Gretz
Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:42 pm
Forum: General Kansas City
Topic: The KCMO School District
Replies: 1091
Views: 262999

Re: The KCMO School District

Decent critique of the mass chartering solution being kicked around for the KCSD. http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/come-with-me-if-you-wanna-go-to-kansas-city-thoughts-on-bbq-baseball-and-reformy-bs/ I tend to agree with its conclusions that making the schools independent and private...
by Gretz
Thu Jan 02, 2014 10:59 pm
Forum: Kansas City Transportation
Topic: No More One-Way Streets in Downtown...
Replies: 110
Views: 41468

Re: No More One-Way Streets in Downtown...

as a pedestrian you want to minimize the number of turns cars have to make, as they're the place most likely a driver will hit someone. why do I say this? because most places downtown turning cars are crossing the same place pedestrians have rights to cross at. whereas people are supposed to wait f...
by Gretz
Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:15 pm
Forum: Kansas City Transportation
Topic: No More One-Way Streets in Downtown...
Replies: 110
Views: 41468

Re: No More One-Way Streets in Downtown...

Welp, spent about an hour trying to get to the bottom of which is safer and it looks like there are some good studies showing that one ways are MUCH safer in terms of accident rates for both vehicles and pedestrians, but that these studies are all pretty old, from the 70s and 80s. On the other hand ...
by Gretz
Thu Jan 02, 2014 2:38 pm
Forum: Downtown
Topic: Crown Center: urban disaster, shining star, or in-between
Replies: 1256
Views: 321439

Re: Crown Center: urban disaster, shining star, or in-betwee

It may have had a dark period a few years back, but for the last couple of years at least it had been excellent (aside from slow table service). They had a chef from Japan come in for a month or two, do on the job training and re-design the roll line-up. As someone who eats sushi weekly and is prett...
by Gretz
Thu Jan 02, 2014 1:54 pm
Forum: Kansas City Transportation
Topic: No More One-Way Streets in Downtown...
Replies: 110
Views: 41468

Re: No More One-Way Streets in Downtown...

Can someone remind me why, as a progressive, frequently on foot or bike urbanite I'm supposed to be for one-way to two-way conversions? Is it just to make downtown more accessible to suburbanites? Does it calm traffic, and how much, if so? Because i have to say that I absolutely hate it as a pedestr...
by Gretz
Thu Jan 02, 2014 12:07 pm
Forum: Downtown
Topic: Crown Center: urban disaster, shining star, or in-between
Replies: 1256
Views: 321439

Re: Crown Center: urban disaster, shining star, or in-betwee

Sorry to report the death of Kabuki in Crown Center after 28 years. The main sushi chef cited a dispute over a rent increase as the culprit and mentioned some vague, indefinite plans to "move south." Pity, was the best sushi in town, in my opinion, and only a ten minute walk from my door. ...
by Gretz
Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:39 am
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Martini Corner near 31st/Gilham
Replies: 479
Views: 268557

Re: Martini Corner near 31st/Gilham

By the time I got to the Dog in the very late 90s or early aughts it had turned into an under-age friendly bar populated largely by Rockhurst College kids at least on the few occasions that I was in town from Columbia, visiting friends. I suppose that could have been the result of a particular drink...
by Gretz
Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:56 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Martini Corner near 31st/Gilham
Replies: 479
Views: 268557

Re: Martini Corner near 31st/Gilham

Looks like the "closed for renovations" notice on the Velvet dog was actually true. They are painting the exterior of the building and a few of the plastic sheets covering the windows have slipped down to reveal some sort of major renovation work going on inside. Will be interesting to see...
by Gretz
Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:47 pm
Forum: Urban Core
Topic: Beacon Hill
Replies: 428
Views: 164307

Re: Beacon Hill

Those are single family homes, not flats. Here is the area plan:

http://www.beaconhillkansascity.com/ima ... %20Map.pdf