OFFICIAL: Professional Building

[trailerkid]

Every time a see a project like this, I am amazed at just how bad our downtown got, just incredible.

Yeah...it was just KC's downtown that got bad. 

[GRID]

Having extensively traveled the country, I can tell you we were one of the worst in the nation.  I think that's pretty obvious.

Go back ten years, we had crown center and the office towers around 12th & Main, most everything else downtown was crap, from Union Station to vacant towers downtown.

It was bad, real bad.

Other towns had some underused areas and buildings, but they blew KC out of the water overall.  One main reason for this is we have the plaza and most of our urban housing, entertainment, shopping, dining etc is located several miles from Downtown.

That's changing now, but yea, KC was bad, especially when you look at the Downtown CBD or loop area.  It was a total and complete joke for the longest time.

I'm just glad we woke up before we started to loose the amazing structures like 909, president, professional etc. Because of all this incredible building stock, KC will rise from the decay and become one of the most interesting urban downtowns in the nation.

[dangerboy]

I think that what saved KC was that we still had several strong neighborhoods in around the urban core that was able to keep the city alive through the darkest times.  The Plaza preserved some idea of a city center in people's minds, and areas like Brookside allowed us to hang onto a lot of the city's intellectual, civic, and monetary assets.  We also had the Northland to allow us to at least profit somewhat from suburban flight and future development.

While our downtown emptied out, we didn't lose the whole city.  We didn't see the wholesale abandonment that happened in cities like Detroit or St. Louis. 

[trailerkid]

Having extensively traveled the country, I can tell you we were one of the worst in the nation.  I think that's pretty obvious.

Go back ten years, we had crown center and the office towers around 12th & Main, most everything else downtown was crap, from Union Station to vacant towers downtown.

It was bad, real bad.

Other towns had some underused areas and buildings, but they blew KC out of the water overall.  One main reason for this is we have the plaza and most of our urban housing, entertainment, shopping, dining etc is located several miles from Downtown.

That's changing now, but yea, KC was bad, especially when you look at the Downtown CBD or loop area.  It was a total and complete joke for the longest time.

I'm just glad we woke up before we started to loose the amazing structures like 909, president, professional etc. Because of all this incredible building stock, KC will rise from the decay and become one of the most interesting urban downtowns in the nation.

Please visit 2005 Detroit. It makes our downtown in the 90s look like Paris.

[chrizow]

Please visit 2005 Detroit. It makes our downtown in the 90s look like Paris.

huzzah!  our downtown is better than america's most devastated and decayed major urban area! 

[GRID]

Been to Detroit, so that is who we compare to?  We have to use Detroit to make us look good?

Detroit also has a pretty good sized downtown workforce, so they at least had that going for them.

[GRID]

I think that what saved KC was that we still had several strong neighborhoods in around the urban core that was able to keep the city alive through the darkest times.  The Plaza preserved some idea of a city center in people's minds, and areas like Brookside allowed us to hang onto a lot of the city's intellectual, civic, and monetary assets.  We also had the Northland to allow us to at least profit somewhat from suburban flight and future development.

While our downtown emptied out, we didn't lose the whole city.  We didn't see the wholesale abandonment that happened in cities like Detroit or St. Louis. 

very true.

[trailerkid]

Been to Detroit, so that is who we compare to?  We have to use Detroit to make us look good?

Detroit also has a pretty good sized downtown workforce, so they at least had that going for them.

Yes. Most people would mention St. Louis, Detroit, and Kansas City in the same sentence just as they would mention Seattle, Denver and Portland in the same sentence. We are in the class of cities that had their downtown completely ravaged by white flight and insipid suburbanization.

I would guess that the workforce you're talking about is mostly at the GM HQ and Renaissance Center is an abomination and insult to Detroit City. 

[dangerboy]

Downtown workforce is our biggest challenge on the horizon.  Residents are back, retail is on the way, but employees lag very badly. 

Employment is more spread out in the KC metro than most others.  Between the CBD and Crown Center we don't even have 100,000 downtown employees.  For a metro our size we should have 300,000 people working downtown.  It's going to take a couple of generations to triple that number.

[scooterj]

[FangKC]

The Prof. Bldg is cleaning up nicely.  It's amazing what a good scrubbing and new windows will do. I just want to point out to people who've called it an eyesore in the past, and stated that needed to be demolished, to take a second look at it once it's cleaned up again.  It's a simple office building, but it has a lot of wonderful detail. It's an example of how an eyesore can be reclaimed and made useful again.

I agree that downtown KC got pretty bad, and stayed that way for a long time.  It's shocking to me how long it took KC to get its act together. The city had to almost completely lose its convention business before it got off its butt to act.

Let's just be glad that as many older buildings have been saved because it is what will give downtown its character and contrasts once P&L is done.

Kansas City never got as bad as Detroit.    That city is still struggling with a terrible reputation and identity. Many of its downtown historic buildings are still in danger of demolition, when they should be assets used to pull Detroit back out of oblivion.

[Tosspot]

Posted on Tue, Nov. 29, 2005
DEVELOPMENT

Professional Building’s facelift halfway to completion

[quote]The $21 million renovation of the historic Professional Building on Grand Boulevard is 55 percent complete and its developer plans to begin marketing the 132 apartments in April.

“It’s on schedule and on budget and we’re happy with the way the units are shaping up,â€

[shinatoo]

Can they move over and claen the P&L building next. Shamefull!

[Gladstoner]

Can they move over and claen the P&L building next. Shamefull!

.... and replace the burnt-out floodlight bulbs.

[scooterj]

The air handling units are being hoisted up by crane now.   Anyone know when this is supposed to open?

[KansasCityCraka]

The air handling units are being hoisted up by crane now.   Anyone know when this is supposed to open?

Can you get a couple shots for us sometime?

[scooterj]

They were already done a few minutes after I posted so there was nothing to shoot.


However...


Last night there were lights on in many of the building's windows and I could see in to the nearly finished apartments.  (What I could see looked pretty standard.)    Also there is now exterior lighting being installed... looks like the plan to like the roof and at least the upper four floors of the exterior walls.

[scooterj]

The new exterior lighting is now on.    I don't have my camera, so this is an alert for anyone nearby who does have one and wants to snap a pic.

[dangerboy]

Web site now up at http://www.pblofts.com - not much info yet, but does say model unit by end of April and occupancy by summer.

[moderne]

Rent structure seems great for lower incomes.  Saw them carrying in bottom-of -line  appliances, but still new and better than most rentals in that price range.
What exactly are they going to do with the empty lot behind where they razed the garage?