Polsinelli Shughart HQ @ 47th/Broadway

[aknowledgeableperson]

Of course, you and/or others have justified handouts to H&R Block for the P&L since the company "could" have moved to Kansas.  Well it appears this law firm "could" have moved to Kansas also:

There were a lot of incentives we could have used on the other side of the state line.”

.

But I guess this doesn't count for you since incentives were not used to keep the firm in KCMO.

[trailerkid]

This isn't right. Paying for your own building doesn't allow you to do whatever you want.

Go build ons greenfield if that's what they want.

yes, paying for your own building and owning the property does allow you to do whatever you want. remember this building will be owned by Highwoods. they own the Plaza. if they don't have the right to do what they want with their property then who does?

they're only knocking down the Harold's portion of the building which is a 180 from the hysterics going on from you guys earlier today. the design is horrible. they obviously could've spent a little more $ and done something more sophisticated. honestly, all the Plaza mid-rises are the same generic design as this project. what modern tower on the Plaza doesn't belong @ Corporate Woods? there were people on here seriously suggesting a faux Spanish mid-rise? i just don't see the Plaza as the end-all/be-all of Kansas City. i think there's enough faux Spanish, bourgie throw-up in this area to get us through at least a couple more generations.

i don't get all the outrage when we all know the finished product won't look like this--  if it even happens at all considering the growing mob mentality. it's obvious that PS/Highwoods wants a corner entrance/lobby which appears to be the main hurdle in design. i don't think the former Harolds retail space can sufficiently act as a lobby for a 200,000 square foot office building. i'm not co-signing on the design, but if the Harold's corner is more important than the idea of dropping 200,000 square feet of class A office space on the Plaza with no incentives used then KC needs to reassess its priorities.

Where's Grid?

[KCPowercat]

Approved zoning and neighborhood master plans for one doesn't allow for it.

Nobody is going crazy here....just questions on the design and location.....and almost everyone thinks the design sucks.

Back it off the tower or integrate it into the design. Respect the neighborhood you are trying to build in.

[trailerkid]

Approved zoning and neighborhood master plans for one doesn't allow for it.

Nobody is going crazy here....just questions on the design and location.....and almost everyone thinks the design sucks.

Back it off the tower or integrate it into the design. Respect the neighborhood you are trying to build in.

exactly how is the neighborhood being disrespected?

[KCPowercat]

Akp.....if h&r wanted to do the same you bet your ass I would be saying the same things asking the same questions. Respect the neighborhood they so desire to be apart of.

[KCPowercat]

Tearing down the elements that define it, taller than master planned for the location, nasty design.....the real question is how isn't it?  Look at that.

[trailerkid]

Tearing down the elements that define it, taller than master planned for the location, nasty design.....the real question is how isn't it?  Look at that.

doesn't look much nastier than Plaza Colonnade or Valencia Place to me. there's nasty architecture going up every day in the metro disrespecting neighborhoods. this probably wouldn't even be in my top 1000. i'm guessing (if the Plaza was 30% empty) JC Nichols would've torn down a faux Spanish tower or two if he had an office tenant wanting 200,000 square feet of space. like i mentioned there's enough faux Spanish schlock on the Plaza to last multiple generations. the theme of this "neighborhood" isn't going anywhere.

[KCPowercat]

Move it back a half block.....looks taller, leaves the pedestrian streetscape, and fits the plan.

I see no sane reason for this in both location or design.

[trailerkid]

Move it back a half block.....looks taller, leaves the pedestrian streetscape, and fits the plan.

I see no sane reason for this in both location or design.

The tenant/Highwoods wants the corner. The corner is actually quite blank to pedestrians as it is now. maybe the faux Spanish tower is impressive to motorists?

[GRID]

At first I thought this is great!  Finally, the first new development in years announced for urban kcmo.

Then I read about the consequences.  Tearing down one of the plaza's more interesting and urban apartment buildings and displacing the residents that live there as well as replacing a good chunk of plaza retail and architecture with an office building that looks like it has little interaction with the plaza architecturally.

There is so much under utilized real estate in urban kcmo, including the plaza area.

The city should not be destroying what little urban fabric is has and removing what urban residents it has to build new office developments.

Incentives or not, this is a terrible project from an urban planning and design standpoint and the continued lack of interest and investment in downtown by the local business community even after six billion dollars worth of investment by the city is off the charts mind-boggling.

They are not going after incentives because the project would never get approved and they know it.  I'm not saying this should be stopped, but I'm highly disappointed in the continued development patterns of urban kcmo and metro kc in general.  The area simply doesn't get it and the local business community just has little interest stepping up and truly improving KC.  This project would be perfect at the Downtown Denny's site for example.

At least they didn't move to JoCo.  Compared to that, this is a HUGE win for kc and considering that's still kc's biggest threat (joco), then I guess this is a bitter sweet victory.

Bummer....

[GRID]

Why can't this project be done in a way to incorporate the Neptune?  Why are they tearing down so much to build a relatively small office building?  This could easily be built between the retail and the neptune apartments. Why can't they build on top or replace the garage they plan to keep rather than tearing down the neptune and historic retail corner?







What will this streetscape look like after the neptune is torn down?  Will it be the back of a garage?  A dumpster area?  Truck loading dock?

[beautyfromashes]

Why does everyone care about the Neptune?! It doesnt seem to fit the fabric of the Plaza any better than the proposed building.  Does it have some historic significance, because it looks like it was built in 1970.

[smh]

Why does everyone care about the Neptune?! It doesnt seem to fit the fabric of the Plaza any better than the proposed building.  Does it have some historic significance, because it looks like it was built in 1970.

I think the point is they are tearing down well-occupied residential development to put in more offices and in the meantime destroying the Seville style streetscape and ambience that make the Plaza what it is, or at least what it should be. The building removes the pedestrian scale of the area and replaces it with a big office building that should be built at 13th & Grand. That's the overall beef I imagine.

Also, Highwoods sucks.

[kard]

Is this office-only, with no retail (etc) at the street level?

[LenexatoKCMO]

Now that the details are out I will concur that they could have done a far, far better job from both a design and site planning perspective.  Hard to imagine an architect couldn't have done something impressive entirely in the footprint of the parking garage.  Might have cost a bit more, but it would definitely have fit much better and stood a far better chance of withstanding opposition.  

[KCMax]

Is this office-only, with no retail (etc) at the street level?

From the renderings it looks it incorporates street level retail along 47th.

I was all ready to be excited about this, but the tear-downs seem completely unnecessary and awful.

[DaveKCMO]

this probably wouldn't even be in my top 1000.

with a comment like this, it's not even clear why you bother arguing. obviously there are lots people with an emotional connection to the style that makes the plaza better than your average strip mall.

oh wait... you just like to argue. nevermind.

[KC_JAYHAWK]

Hmmmm, did anybody tell them there is an empty lot waiting for development at 13th and Grand, within freaking walking distance to the Court House.  Seems like a perfect location for a law firm.

[kcjak]

I was all ready to be excited about this, but the tear-downs seem completely unnecessary and awful.

I feel the same.  Does Highwoods own the empty half block north of Gap?  Although that would mean the Polsinelli employees would have to walk half a block up/down a hill to get to Plaza amenities.  How about the empty block in front of the Bernstein Rein building?  No, this appears to be Highwoods making a hell of a deal to Polsinelli if there are no incentives involved.  But I'd just as soon see some incentives used for architecture than what the the current rendering shows.  If you're tearing down a tower, then incorporate one into the new structure.

How does this fit into the Plaza master plan?  I realize the 'bowl effect' is the goal, but at least the Lockton building is set back from 47th a bit.  Moving the edge of the bowl all the way to the sidewalk on 47th just isn't my thing.  Or try stepping it so that it's only 5-6 stories on 47th and 12 stories on the north side.

I wonder if Highwoods can still use the additional tax revenue from the Plaza to help subsidize the garage portion of the development.

I realize I just barfed up a lot of nonsense, but just needed to get things out  :)

[WSPanic]

Hmmmm, did anybody tell them there is an empty lot waiting for development at 13th and Grand, within freaking walking distance to the Court House.  Seems like a perfect location for a law firm.

They already have an office downtown. Are we really going to start criticizing businesses for having too many locations in KCMO?