KCRag Forum

missingkc wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:22 pm They are projecting it will take two full years to build. I thought it might take less time since they're not moving dirt.

Building over an active retail space with no nearby parcel for staging likely adds complexity and thus time.

Baltimore will be closed (again) for a very long time?

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 11:02 pm Baltimore will be closed (again) for a very long time?

With Waddell Reed and Strata (not to mention the Loews hotel), it's will be the premier street in KC's urban core. A lot of density going in there. Wish some of that could wind up on Grand.

If the office building at 13th and Wyandotte, the hotel next to the Crowne Plaza, Waddell and Reed, Three Light, and Strata all happen with overlaps in construction times, that is going to be a very busy corner of the loop.

missingkc wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 7:24 pm If the office building at 13th and Wyandotte, the hotel next to the Crowne Plaza, Waddell and Reed, Three Light, and Strata all happen with overlaps in construction times, that is going to be a very busy corner of the loop.

At this point, 3 of those 2 are pretty much guaranteed to happen/overlap. There is also a possibility that 4 Light gets underway before 3 is done.

6 highrises going up next to each other = maximum boing

Amazing.

Highlander wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:57 pm

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 11:02 pm Baltimore will be closed (again) for a very long time?

With Waddell Reed and Strata (not to mention the Loews hotel), it's will be the premier street in KC's urban core. A lot of density going in there. Wish some of that could wind up on Grand.

The strata car hole will face Baltimore but the lobby will be on Main.

normalthings wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 2:20 pm

Highlander wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:57 pm

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 11:02 pm Baltimore will be closed (again) for a very long time?

With Waddell Reed and Strata (not to mention the Loews hotel), it's will be the premier street in KC's urban core. A lot of density going in there. Wish some of that could wind up on Grand.

The strata car hole will face Baltimore but the lobby will be on Main.

Thanks for the clarification. That general Main to Wyandotte area will be very bustling in a few years. I'd still like to see this boom take out some of the embarrassing surface block scale surface lots on Grand smack dab in the middle of the loop.

RIP pedestrian access.

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:05 am RIP pedestrian access.

Was in a major city on the east coast two weeks ago and ran across several situations blocking pedestrian access. I do understand at times it's needed, but in one example, they were simply installing windows on the first floor of a building, had 12 feet between the building and the sidewalk, yet the sidewalk was blocked off forcing you to walk in the landscaping.

We don't even try here. We let contractors and utility companies come up with any excuse and the city waives any required pedestrian access we have on the books

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:00 pm We don't even try here. We let contractors and utility companies come up with any excuse and the city waives any required pedestrian access we have on the books

Baltimore street isn't a busy walking street anyway, I rarely see people walking on Baltimore between 12th and 14th. There's very little retail on that stretch. You can always walk on the other side

I walk on Baltimore between 12th and 14th several times a day, and so do at least five or six other people.

KC_JAYHAWK wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 7:05 pm

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:00 pm We don't even try here. We let contractors and utility companies come up with any excuse and the city waives any required pedestrian access we have on the books

Baltimore street isn't a busy walking street anyway, I rarely see people walking on Baltimore between 12th and 14th. There's very little retail on that stretch. You can always walk on the other side

Well it's a pretty bad assumption that either side will be open but the law on the books is each side open if over 15 days closure, why are we so subservient letting closures happen?

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:04 pm

KC_JAYHAWK wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 7:05 pm

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:00 pm We don't even try here. We let contractors and utility companies come up with any excuse and the city waives any required pedestrian access we have on the books

Baltimore street isn't a busy walking street anyway, I rarely see people walking on Baltimore between 12th and 14th. There's very little retail on that stretch. You can always walk on the other side

Well it's a pretty bad assumption that either side will be open but the law on the books is each side open if over 15 days closure, why are we so subservient letting closures happen?

I just don't see it as a big deal. Now the road closures are more frustrating for me, but I'd rather see construction downtown and deal with closed roads and closed sidewalks vs a dead downtown. I'm also guessing it's for safety purposes and I'll defer to JE Dunn on that.

How is it a bigger deal to drive another block one direction or another vs. walk it (not to mention those who can't walk well or at all and rely on functioning sidewalk system)?

It's just amazing New York can build 100+ story towers and keep sidewalks open but its impossible for JE Dunn to do so for a 10 story tower, at least that's what they tell the city when requiring closures.

Don’t forget that this is a city that will close a lane of traffic for 2 years so construction workers can park their trucks on their work site. Which is only to say if they will approve that, they will easily close a sidewalk.

Don’t defer to JE Dunn. The contractor is always going to go for what’s efficient for them, not what’s most prudent for the safety of joe anybody. A blanket closure is easier and cheaper than maintaining pedestrian access.

The good ol’ boys like Dunn need to be prodded by citizens (via city enforcement) to follow the new rules. They’re going to try to ignore or skirt them as much as possible. It makes financial sense to do so.

It's frustrating because we specifically put in ordinances that if sidewalks need to be closed more than 15 days (understandable this has to happen) then alternative passage needs to be made on the same side of the street. It's actually done maybe 15% of the time since that was passed.

If a construction site wants to close a lane of traffic so they can park, fine by me. Let them pay the fee and close it. The fees for both aren't nearly high enough if you ask me.

horizons82 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:58 pm Don’t defer to JE Dunn. The contractor is always going to go for what’s efficient for them, not what’s most prudent for the safety of joe anybody. A blanket closure is easier and cheaper than maintaining pedestrian access.

The good ol’ boys like Dunn need to be prodded by citizens (via city enforcement) to follow the new rules. They’re going to try to ignore or skirt them as much as possible. It makes financial sense to do so.

Off topic.... I think that we are nearing the end of the JE Dunn monopoly in downtown Kanas City. McGowan Gordon is the largest constructor in the metro now and has been bidding on these tower projects. I also know of a top-10 US GC whose interested in entering the market. The new entrant 100% does and MG seems to respect pedestrian access.