Brookside

Discuss items in the urban core outside of Downtown as described above. Everything in the core including the east side (18th & Vine area), Northeast, Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Valentine, Waldo, 39th street, & the entire midtown area.
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Re: Brookside

Post by hartliss »

kucer wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:57 am BKS Artisan Ale is great.
Flying Horse is a good beer spot too and I like their flatbread pizzas.
Carmen's is fun to sit at the bar and eat. Like others have said...okay food. Nothing I've ever craving to go back to.

To Chrizow's earlier post about BKS and PV/Schools etc. We have been in Armour Hills since 2002. Our daughter did KCPS via Border Star and has been at Lincoln from 6th to now 8th grade. Lincoln's been a fine school and she does well, but it really lacks any kind of neighborhood public school experience. Not surprising as it's a Signature school. It's really hard when best friends live all over town to make it work beyond being best friends during school hours and hanging at WOF during the summer. She's decided she wants to go to a neighborhood school and with her being a freshmen next year, we are in process of selling our house and looking at homes in the SME and SMS school districts. Nothing south of 435. I have my limits. It's tough though because we love our house, our neighbors, the area, but want to do what's best for our kid. Life's trajectory can be funny.

Looking at houses has been depressing thus far. Terrible flips, updated homes with some of the worst craftsmanship work I've seen, people overpaying like crazy, cinderblock basements(ugh). I'm sure we'll find something, but it's going to be a big change for us.
KCUER - that is too bad that you are looking to move. What exactly do you mean by lacking neighborhood public school experience? Just proximity to house and other kids who go there?
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Re: Brookside

Post by kucer »

hartliss - yes, that's pretty much it. she's playing club volleyball with a bunch of Lee's Summit girls and has begun seeing what it's like for them at regular public schools. she wants that same experience of kid's living in the neighborhood going to same school provides. being able to walk to a friend's house after school or hanging on weekends. it's usually a giant production just to set something up with current friends. Lincoln has begun feeling more like a commuter school to her and she (and we) want her to have a more fulfilling school social life beyond getting good grades and playing VB in the fall. she's a social animal and really needs that void filled.
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Re: Brookside

Post by hartliss »

kucer wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:44 am hartliss - yes, that's pretty much it. she's playing club volleyball with a bunch of Lee's Summit girls and has begun seeing what it's like for them at regular public schools. she wants that same experience of kid's living in the neighborhood going to same school provides. being able to walk to a friend's house after school or hanging on weekends. it's usually a giant production just to set something up with current friends. Lincoln has begun feeling more like a commuter school to her and she (and we) want her to have a more fulfilling school social life beyond getting good grades and playing VB in the fall. she's a social animal and really needs that void filled.
Cool, thanks for sharing. Our kids are much younger (pre-K) but we intend to stay in KCMO as long as we can, however, I can see the challenge you pointed out. Makes sense.
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Re: Brookside

Post by brewcrew1000 »

hartliss wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:57 am
kucer wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:44 am hartliss - yes, that's pretty much it. she's playing club volleyball with a bunch of Lee's Summit girls and has begun seeing what it's like for them at regular public schools. she wants that same experience of kid's living in the neighborhood going to same school provides. being able to walk to a friend's house after school or hanging on weekends. it's usually a giant production just to set something up with current friends. Lincoln has begun feeling more like a commuter school to her and she (and we) want her to have a more fulfilling school social life beyond getting good grades and playing VB in the fall. she's a social animal and really needs that void filled.
Cool, thanks for sharing. Our kids are much younger (pre-K) but we intend to stay in KCMO as long as we can, however, I can see the challenge you pointed out. Makes sense.

Academie Lafayette will have a high school so we are looking like we will stay all the way, maybe you can get into that school. Our kids love the school and I am very happy with it
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chrizow
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Re: Brookside

Post by chrizow »

brewcrew1000 wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:31 pm Academie Lafayette will have a high school so we are looking like we will stay all the way, maybe you can get into that school. Our kids love the school and I am very happy with it
we're in the AL (and crossroads) kindergarten lottery, allegedly will find out tomorrow whether we got in. as an AL parent, do you know why AL was bothering to advertise on KCUR for the last few months? seems like with their huge demand and waiting list advertising would not be needed!
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Re: Brookside

Post by brewcrew1000 »

chrizow wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:34 pm
brewcrew1000 wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:31 pm Academie Lafayette will have a high school so we are looking like we will stay all the way, maybe you can get into that school. Our kids love the school and I am very happy with it
we're in the AL (and crossroads) kindergarten lottery, allegedly will find out tomorrow whether we got in. as an AL parent, do you know why AL was bothering to advertise on KCUR for the last few months? seems like with their huge demand and waiting list advertising would not be needed!
I didn't realize they were advertising. It's possible they need more students. They have doubled capacity for Kindergarten and now have two K-3 campuses. I think they need to expand because I think a lot of students drop out after a couple years if there kids can't grasp the learning. We know 3 kids that are leaving after 2nd grade cause it has become too difficult.
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chrizow
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Re: Brookside

Post by chrizow »

That makes sense, I did not realize they added so much new capacity. Also, with Hale Cook and other charters, AL has a bit more competition even though it remains the perceived (and probably actual) best charter.
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Re: Brookside

Post by taxi »

chrizow wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:34 pm we're in the AL (and crossroads) kindergarten lottery, allegedly will find out tomorrow whether we got in. as an AL parent, do you know why AL was bothering to advertise on KCUR for the last few months? seems like with their huge demand and waiting list advertising would not be needed!
Maybe they're looking for more liberal white kids.
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Re: Brookside

Post by KCtoBrooklyn »

I know your comment may be tongue in cheek, but there was actually an article a while back that the administration at AL was concerned that school was too white and they were trying to do more minority outreach.

Hard to say why they are on KCUR. Technically, no one advertises on KCUR. Maybe they have a reason for donating/sponsoring that isn't related to attracting more applicants.
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Re: Brookside

Post by chrizow »

KCtoBrooklyn wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 3:48 pm Maybe they have a reason for donating/sponsoring that isn't related to attracting more applicants.
it has been a little while since i heard it, but my memory is that it was definitely something explicitly requesting for families to apply to AL vs. a generic "KCUR is supported by AL" message. I suspect the increased capacity may have something to do with it. It's true that, at least some years ago, AL was undertaking a very concerted effort to market to families in neighborhoods that are predominantly non-white, to try and increase and maintain racial and economic diversity. i have no idea what the current makeup of the student body is, racially/economically.
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Re: Brookside

Post by brewcrew1000 »

I feel like the school has great diversity in K and 1st grade. I think when it gets more difficult, parents who don't have the resources decide to pull the students and go to another charter. U have to help your kids at this school. We pay for tutoring twice a week for English reading cause the rules are so different in English vs French. We also read books twice a week and do after school math online.
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Re: Brookside

Post by herrfrank »

chrizow wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:52 pm
PV has some pockets of pretty attractive neighborhoods with old (ish) homes that have charm. Also, in the last 10 years, for better and worse people have been tearing down the "raytown" homes and building custom $900K+ homes which is very striking to see--some of these behemoths are directly next to 1,100 sq ft ranches. That said, I wouldn't compare PV to raytown b/c PV is immediately adjacent to very tony areas of Mission Hills and Old Leawood (and nice areas of KCMO) and Raytown is decidedly not. And PV itself has some pockets of very large homes on big lots that are similar to Old Leawood or the more approachable parts of Mission Hills. And kids in PV attend SM East and its feeder schools, which I understand even with the relative turmoil of SM schools are still very good and routinely send huge % of each class to college and esp. elite colleges (obv. economics of the families drives a lot of this).

We live in BKS now and we have a rough plan for our daughter's K-12 education, but if something changed we would probably consider moving to PV b/c you can get a BKS-lite experience (older home, hardwoods, big trees) but with great public schools, and still have pretty good access to the urban core to enjoy amenities like museums, restaurants, etc. You can also do the mid-century modern thing over there which is very appealing and which you do not get much of in KCMO.

I probably have to resign my KCRag moderatorship by defending PV, but even with its faults it is still a pretty darn nice place to live, esp. if you have kids. I would live in PV (or NE JoCo broadly) over many areas of KCMO and the rest of the metro, esp. burbs that are far more detached from the city like East Jack or way up north.
Thank you for the defense of Prairie Village -- I agree with your comments. I grew up adjacent to "the Village" and as a kid spend at least as much time there as on the Plaza. Shawnee Mission East was a great experience, and apparently still is -- in my class we had the only matriculant to Yale from the entire metro, two into Harvard, one Princeton, two Amherst, one Cornell and three into Dartmouth.

At that time, there was no other metro KC public school and really only Rockhurst and Pembroke Hill on the private side, that made any strides to get kids into the elite colleges, which usually is the opportunity path for triple-A outcomes. KC Southwest High used to play the game, but academics fell apart there in the 1970s. Four or five kids in my class lived in Brookside or along Ward Parkway and paid tuition to attend SME (allowed until circa 1990).

I understand that since that time, the Blue Valley schools have greatly improved their college-admissions game. BVN opened after I graduated SME. Believe it or not, Blue Valley High used to be perceived as a hick school, cue the cowboy hats and boots imagery.

There are some older houses in PV, especially along the old Strang Line, which are similar to the solid shirtwaist KC housing stock, and if PV is a bridge too far, Fairway (a total hidden gem) and Westwood also have nice areas. There is also Mission Woods, which is a tiny Mission Hills without the name.
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Re: Brookside

Post by rxlexi »

Fairway (a total hidden gem) and Westwood also have nice areas. There is also Mission Woods, which is a tiny Mission Hills without the name.
Definitely wouldn't call Fairway (or any these other Golden Triangle enclaves) a hidden gem. I do however appreciate the support of PV, etc. These are all very attractive, desirable places to live, IMO. Certainly Grid is on to something re: folks that might prefer BKS but can't hack the school situation pooling in PV - a lot of truth there I imagine. But Raytown-esque is a bridge too far.

Also agree with the multiple comments on BKS restaurants - it's definitely a weak spot in terms of quality (though not quantity) and interest and I don't really understand it. There are plenty of OK options, they're just kind of boring. There is not a single place one would make the trip to BKS to experience, specifically (IMO). Maybe BKS Artisan Ales fits the bill here on the beer side, haven't tried yet.

Would think at least one or two decent newer hotspots would have opened in the last few years - something like you'd find in Webster Groves (Olive & Oak) or Maplewood on STL side. Julian tried to go upscale/trendy, but the quality was never there. Surely it's coming...
Last edited by rxlexi on Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Brookside

Post by chrizow »

Plate did kind of try and fill that void with an upscale concept, and it actually was quite good the few times we went. I am not sure it was quite "destination restaurant" status but it was several cuts above most other BKS places, including Julian.

They are reportedly re-opening, but I am a little skeptical because it appears they are going to have an enormous space on the first floor of a renovated office building vs. the attractive, storefront space they had on Oak. Too bad because the old space (which burned) was a great size for a neighborhood boite.

That building was recently purchased so maybe a restaurant will open in there.
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Re: Brookside

Post by chaglang »

GRID wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:54 pm It's silly, especially in a city like KCMO which has dozens of sq miles of blight that would take generations to gentrify to the point of actually forcing poor people out of the city.
It would seem that way, but I've heard from some people pretty close to the ground on this that it's a problem that does exist. The job sprawl in KCMO (exacerbated by the dumb size of the city and our dumber 'divide by 6' mentality) creates a spatial mismatch between where jobs are and where people live. For people at the low end of the economic ladder, being priced out of an area may mean a longer commute to work. And that can create all kinds of other problems with taking kids to daycare or running errands, particularly if they are reliant on public transit. So you don't have to push people out of the city - moving a neighborhood away or even a few blocks may be enough to cause problems. I used the KCATA's trip planner to try and schedule my current workday on public transit only and it's essentially impossible - and I live near a fairly large transit node. That's not a complaint about the ATA.

There's also the issue of whether comparable housing is even available. As you point out, many neighborhoods on the east side are blighted. So the assumption that affordable, inhabitable rentals are readily available is probably not accurate. Anecdotally, I've been helping a family friend look for a new apartment and even though they are better off than many people looking for affordable units, the possibilities we've looked at are in shockingly bad condition.

BUT I do agree with you that not all development is gentrification. And I've had to get over my annoyance at the casual misuse of the word. But whether the threat of gentrification is real or perceived, it's something the city needs to address. This discussion likely isn't going to go away and it will eventually drag down every development discussion. And we need the development because building housing units at our current rate isn't working, either. Other cities that have major gentrification problems are grappling with this and IMO we would be foolish not to try and learn from them and get ahead of the curve.

Very happy to see this discussion in the Brookside thread and not the Troost thread for once! :D
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Re: Brookside

Post by beautyfromashes »

chaglang wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2019 4:57 pm There's also the issue of whether comparable housing is even available. As you point out, many neighborhoods on the east side are blighted. So the assumption that affordable, inhabitable rentals are readily available is probably not accurate.
Perhaps not rentals, but why not buy on the east side? I’d say it might be the best value in the metro right now and is still very cheap.
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Re: Brookside

Post by FangKC »

New owners plan to restore East Brookside strip center gutted by fire
A longtime East Brookside strip center, heavily damaged in a fire two years ago, has been sold.

The L-shaped neighborhood center, from 6201 to 6213 Oak St. and from 409 to 411 E. 62nd St., was listed for $1.2 million.

Gregg Johnson, founder of Minsky’s Pizza Cafe & Bar, Eggtc. and Osteria Il Centro restaurants, and Brent Wittrock, general manager of Osteria — operating under Pflumm and College Pizza LLC — have purchased the building for an undisclosed price.

They said much work needs to be done on the 1930s-era building before the seven storefronts could be rented or combined into larger units.
...
Location:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0140778 ... !1e3?hl=en

https://www.kansascity.com/news/busines ... tage_card6

Fire heavily damages Plate restaurant in Kansas City’s Brookside area

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/a ... 39639.html
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Re: Brookside

Post by DaveKCMO »

Plate has now reopened, but we were unable to eat there today because the power was out for all of East Brookside.

Reservations: https://www.exploretock.com/platekc
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Re: Brookside

Post by chaglang »

I can't find a link to an image of the plan, but MARC's 63rd St plan seems like two steps forward, one step back. Disappointing that Brookside Plaza is being vacated and turned into a giant parking lot. Nice that the Trolley Trail will finally connect.
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Re: Brookside

Post by marieantoinette »

Here’s an initial summary of concerns:
1. The proposed reuse of space is contrary to our goals of building the type of city that emphasizes both transit and a multimodal public realm in one of our most valuable mixed-use districts. It vacates a slow public street to expand a parking lot.
2. As a principle, walkable districts should emphasize multimodal streetscapes (the public realm) and understate parking (the” utility zone”). In the proposed scheme, a public street would be removed, parking would become overstated, and the trail facility would be located in a “utility zone” (behind the building, where the dumpsters are) rather than connecting to the commercial streetfront.
3. This scheme would turn a walkable commercial frontage and streetscape into a suburban-format strip center frontage that seems to only offer 5-10 additional parking spaces (Existing format of parking lot and Brookside Plaza seems to support ~84 spaces, proposed parking lot expansion and vacation of street seems to support ~90 spaces).
4. I do not want to neglect the great efforts being taken to slow traffic and create a safer pedestrian environment in this district. However, we can balance both parking and our goals without removing a public streetscape and replacing it with a surface parking lot. Lancaster Boulevard is a great example of accommodating public realm parking AND a great sense of place: https://goo.gl/maps/Uz98kza2daqhfndf7
5. The southbound right turning lane on Brookside Boulevard (removal of parking) is also a concern. This is actually one of our most instructive examples of something that does *not* meet any manual, but works to slow traffic. The parallel parking at the start performs and essential traffic calming function. Then, drivers approach the angled parking (which is only about 11’ deep – hard to find in any manual) - and it all works just fine. Messy, but fine. Clearing this section out to accommodate a right dedicated turn lane seems to prioritize traffic flow where it should be intentionally disrupted.
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