Metro Multi-Family Construction

[KCPowercat]

You have to build new to maintain population?

I am in the camp that this isn't some panic inducing problem but I'm probably just whistling through the graveyard. This just seems par for the course for KC.

[FangKC]

Yes. Households are typically much smaller than they were 50 years ago. More housing units are occupied by a single person. Houses that once had five people living in them might now have two. Neighborhoods are less dense historically than they were. The city needs more dense housing units to maintain and grow the population. KCMO doesn't have enough people to pay for its infrastructure and to provide services at a decent level. It needs to capture a much bigger percentage of the metro population -- especially those moving here. It also needs to retain those being born here.

KCMO has trouble maintaining a decent level of retail in many parts of the central city (grocery stores, pharmacies), Many residents have to leave the city limits to buy necessities. For example, many in the eastern neighborhoods have to go to Independence or Lee's Summit to shop. Metro North shopping mall didn't have enough residential density around it to survive. Some of this is because some parts of the city weren't developed densely enough from the start. This also causes current residents to consider moving to suburban cities to be closer to those things.

[im2kull]

Seemed more than the permit pull data you had?

A large portion of the urban kcmo projects are either dead, delayed or many many years from happening. I didn't see anything new that I didn't already know about, so there is not much working through the pipeline.

And the suburbs are rapidly ramping up with more and bigger projects.

So I personally learned nothing from the map other than it's nice to have a source for everything that has been proposed in the metro over the last several years.

It's obvious that KC is not building much just by being there. There is very little UC and most of what has been UC has been UC for like three times a long as it should take. The project by union station, the one on Broadway, the ones on Main near Westport all taking forever.

I hope things quickly turn around, but right now, thigs are slow and there is not a lot being proposed and none of the dead/delayed projects on that map are being brought back.

The only reason I started this thread was to raise awareness that something is wrong, but if everybody is going to pretend like everything is fine, then so be it. Between this and the massive drop in single family homes, I just would hate to see KCMO start losing people again and that is a real possibility.

Well, not everyone has on blinders. I totally agree with you Grid. It's painfully obvious that there's a problem, and it's not entirely financial in nature.

[TheUrbanRoo]

Seemed more than the permit pull data you had?

A large portion of the urban kcmo projects are either dead, delayed or many many years from happening. I didn't see anything new that I didn't already know about, so there is not much working through the pipeline.

And the suburbs are rapidly ramping up with more and bigger projects.

So I personally learned nothing from the map other than it's nice to have a source for everything that has been proposed in the metro over the last several years.

It's obvious that KC is not building much just by being there. There is very little UC and most of what has been UC has been UC for like three times a long as it should take. The project by union station, the one on Broadway, the ones on Main near Westport all taking forever.

I hope things quickly turn around, but right now, thigs are slow and there is not a lot being proposed and none of the dead/delayed projects on that map are being brought back.

The only reason I started this thread was to raise awareness that something is wrong, but if everybody is going to pretend like everything is fine, then so be it. Between this and the massive drop in single family homes, I just would hate to see KCMO start losing people again and that is a real possibility.

If after the Royals downtown, South Loop cap, Streetcar extension & Plaza revitalization we're still seeing lackluster numbers in the core, then I'll really worry. I just don't think KCMO has played it's best cards yet. But they're about to.

[Cratedigger]

Ok but The city needs to not just focus on large, catalytic projects. They need to be creating a hospitable environment for development.

That means not only the understanding that urban development may need tax incentives (which will still mean more money for city and KCPSD budgets!) but also creating internal efficiencies that will encourage development. More by-right development processes and more predictable permitting/inspecting processes would go a long way towards improving the numbers you mention.

[GRID]

Seemed more than the permit pull data you had?

A large portion of the urban kcmo projects are either dead, delayed or many many years from happening. I didn't see anything new that I didn't already know about, so there is not much working through the pipeline.

And the suburbs are rapidly ramping up with more and bigger projects.

So I personally learned nothing from the map other than it's nice to have a source for everything that has been proposed in the metro over the last several years.

It's obvious that KC is not building much just by being there. There is very little UC and most of what has been UC has been UC for like three times a long as it should take. The project by union station, the one on Broadway, the ones on Main near Westport all taking forever.

I hope things quickly turn around, but right now, thigs are slow and there is not a lot being proposed and none of the dead/delayed projects on that map are being brought back.

The only reason I started this thread was to raise awareness that something is wrong, but if everybody is going to pretend like everything is fine, then so be it. Between this and the massive drop in single family homes, I just would hate to see KCMO start losing people again and that is a real possibility.

If after the Royals downtown, South Loop cap, Streetcar extension & Plaza revitalization we're still seeing lackluster numbers in the core, then I'll really worry. I just don't think KCMO has played it's best cards yet. But they're about to.

I mean, I said the same thing 20 years ago only I said...

If after the Kauffman Center, the Sprint Center, the new Bartle Hall Ballroom, the P&L District, the Downtown Library, East Village , Liberty Memorial restoration, Union Station restoration etc we're still seeing lackluster numbers in the core, then I'll really worry.

(Kind of makes you realize how many large publicly funded project have happened already).

Luckily, that first wave of downtown investment did spark some pretty impressive urban housing construction numbers. It was mostly rehabs at first, but eventually new construction started happening.

The residential side of things were doing quite well (minus the lost years while having Funkhouser of mayor). It seemed like the city was doing everything it could to help push housing projects though. For the first time since the 80's, you started seeing actual renderings of proposed new construction towers (most of which were never built sadly). KC was doing well with housing for many years, but something has happened recently in the past several years and it's not just because of interest rates etc. Urban housing is still going strong as ever in most major markets. And KC still has not really gotten the attention of many national developers, especially those doing the bigger higher risk projects which are happening in most of KC's peer cities. So something is wrong has been my only point.

After that first wave of big project investment, the office and hotel sectors never really materialized. Downtown did get a few new small hotels and a convention hotel finally opened several years ago. But for the most part, very little happened. I said all along that if Downtown KC is going to sustain its residential rebirth, it has to bring jobs and hospitality back too. It just makes little sense to pay more to live downtown only to have to get in a car and drive to work in some suburban office park.

So in the past 20 years while ever other metro area saw most of their commercial development shift from the suburbs to downtown. Metro KC was doing the same thing its been doing since the 80's. Building suburban office parks. Suburban companies staying in the suburbs etc. With all the big companies in the burbs, demand stayed low for downtown hotels, luxury downtown apartment and condo towers etc. If you run an office at 135th and Metcalf, you are not going to live downtown.

And overall there is less demand for the higher end urban housing that gets the rents needed to justify new construction. KC never really got the snowball going down the hill. It fell apart before it really started gaining mass because downtown lacks business and is mostly government jobs. Then 2020 changed everything of course.

You combine that with the city itself seeming to make things very difficult for developers from the permitting process to incentives. All while the suburbs make it easy and hand out incentives like candy.

And you end up with a downtown with few if any construction cranes.

It's obvious big projects alone have not and will not get it done. I keep thinking a new Royals stadium would be the one thing that does. But I just can't ignore how barren the blocks are around the Kauffman Center and T-Mobile Arena. It's like those two projects have only caused buildings to be torn down around them, not built.

I think city hall needs a culture change. KCMO needs to "want" private development again even with incentives. KC is still not competing with Minneapolis or Denver. KCMO is however still competing with Overland Park, Lenexa, Lee's Summit and now even KCK.

[GRID]

The bottom line is this. KCMO is a really neat city. There are already many reasons to live in the city and after the streetcar and ballpark, that's even more reason. The streetcar is about to open and it seems like the ballpark is very likely.

Developers should be falling all over themselves to build along the Main Street. I mean there should be a true development boom going on along Main right now. There should be a page on this forum of nothing but renderings and proposals of projects up and down main even if most have not broken ground yet.

But instead things are eerily quiet. I mean KCMO really has layed the ground work for a nice urban corridor to live in from UMKC to the Riverfront. There should be a LOT more housing in the works. This is one reason I personally don't like projects like the west bottoms etc. KC needs to get just one part or corridor of the city decently developed before spreading what little new housing it gets into areas far from transit etc.

[chingon]

I'm pretty shocked by the lack of development along the Main street corridor. Enormous missed opportunities.

[Cratedigger]

Hostile neighborhood + hostile council + rising interest rates?

[dukuboy1]

I think you need to have some better leadership and from a stronger leader who is not afraid to push their agenda ahead. Obviously being professional, practical, and pleasant is preferred but at times their needs to be an a-hole who forces everyone to look at some truths and that person has the fortitude to get things done. I enjoy Mayor Q, he is well spoken, has a good heart, intelligent, and looks the part of leadership. However, IMO, he misses on leadership opportunities as he is too concerned about playing to his base and public perception. He is trying to keep his image as clean as possible because he definitely has aspirations of higher offices and continuing his political career. That is perfectly fine and I wish him success. But it seems they stronger leaders we have had in the past 20 yrs or so have aspired to Mayor as the top of their political mountain and have been looking to make their make here in KC and what happens nationally is fine but they want to be the biggest fish possible in this pond we call KC. Barnes & Sly had different methods but accomplished the same things overall. They put the city first and tuned out the noise. They focused on their plans, rallied support and moved ahead, again despite chirping from the left & right. I'd love to see a leader like that emerge again and empower those in City Hall who have the same attitude. I thin there are some good, smart people who are being held back by some not so good politicians or politicians whose time has passed them by.