OFFICIAL: Power & Light District

[KCPowercat]

Empire theatre was the original target for HoB before....I see what you are saying now, in the article it wasn't mentioned while other surrounding properties not actually IN Live were....good point. Maybe Collison knows??

[chrizow]

i'd love to see a HoB in KC, and KC Live is just the perfect place for it. i am tired of having to go to Lawrence for the small/mid-sized shows that often come to HoB's. (e.g. The Shins, The Rapture, indie hip-hop, etc.).

is anyone else excited that a high-profile KC project is ACTUALLY getting off the drawing board?

also, do we believe it's going to be a real beacon like similar districts in denver and portland? or will this make us more like indy?

whatever the case, i am glad something is going on. hopefully it'll all be done by the time i get out of school so i can ease right on in to a studio loft down there.

[KCPowercat]

The city is acquiring everything in the 7 block area except Chambers building, President, & Empire theatre.......good news for Empire fans.

[trailerkid]

i'd love to see a HoB in KC, and KC Live is just the perfect place for it. i am tired of having to go to Lawrence for the small/mid-sized shows that often come to HoB's. (e.g. The Shins, The Rapture, indie hip-hop, etc.).

I wouldn't expect this to change at all even with KC Live. Lawrence's promoters are not going anywhere anytime soon and there are more venues than ever.

[trailerkid]

So with what is described as a "world-class arena" next to KC Live, it seems like this will help Cordish attract the best tenants and create a truly awesome mix. An ordinary arena is one thing for a tenant, but a destination arena makes KC Live a much more high-profile district-- on the same scale as what they did in Balimore.

[kcteen]

I don't know if anyone has already posted this, but Blake Cordish was quoted in the arena talk in today's Star that the name "KC LIVE!" indeed will probably change to incorporate the name Power & Light. However, he mentioned that the Live! ending will still be there.

Power & Light Live!
Power & Light District Live!
P & L Live! <--cool
etc

sounds a helluva lot better than KC Live! but i'm just excited about the project in general, the name's not too important. I still like Fang's suggestion (i think it was him) of something like Electric Park Live! or something.

kcteen

[KCPowercat]

Power & Light Live! would be good....

[scooterj]

The new Business Journal has several articles about all the new projects going in Downtown, a good read and some photos/renderings included. The cover photo is a rendering of the entire skyline viewed from the south with all the new projects in place.

One thing I noticed in particular is that both an aerial photo map taken from the P&L Building and one of the articles itself states that KC Live juts north one extra block, encompassing the Jones Store block, rather than having a block jutting south capping the freeway.

[KCDevin]

scooter, it has both, see, even the new rendering has both:

[scooterj]

scooter, it has both, see, even the new rendering has both:

Your picture comes from channel 4. I'm talking about the Business Journal. Their picture shows a dotted outline of the project area superimposed on a photo and the line stops on the north side of the loop. And the Business Journal's rendering also shows the freeway completely uncovered.

[KCDevin]

but is the business journal more reliable than actual renderings?

[KCPowercat]

The jones store block will be done independent of KC Live...the cover over the freeway is up in th eair at this point...I think it's more of a plan than reality.

[tat2kc]

covering the freeway is incredibly expensive, so don't be disappointed if it didn't happen. It would be great if it was, but I'd give it a less than 50% possibility.

[KCPowercat]

The icsc convention in Vegas is from the 23rd to the 26th...hopefully Cordish can get some tenants signed during that time...

[trailerkid]

Jim Davis of the Biz Journal comments on KC Live saying it MUST be a draw for people outisde the state in order to get MoDesa money...

State officials will need to be convinced of the district's merits because they'll have to sign off on the local authority's recommendations.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development will present its analysis to the Missouri Development Finance Board, which will make a financing decision.

State officials could not be reached for comment, but the composition of Missouri's economic development leadership makes it likely that the district will get a sympathetic hearing.

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansa ... tory2.html

[scooterj]

Not really related to KC Live but related to nearby development. -- Word is going around the office that the parking garage behind the P&L building that some of our staff uses will be torn down this summer. Is this an early sign that the Power & Light development project may now be starting to proceed?

[dangerboy]

Covering the freeway is several years away, if it ever happens. It's only been thrown out as an idea that would be nice. No one has actually started planning for it or looking for the money to pay for it.

[KCPowercat]

sounds like the name is officially changed...so I changed the title of this topic.

[trailerkid]

OK...

Worst case scenario: Couldn't the MoDESA application get denied for P&L Live? I wouldn't put anything past the powers that be in Missouri when it comes to KC projects.

[KCPowercat]

Yes it could.....I'd give that about a .1% chance of happening. The state is already bending backwards to accomodate H&R Block's move...since the P&L Live is a big part of their move, I'd trust that it will be moved just as quickly.