KCRag Forum

Eon Blue wrote:Feels weird to have a suburban engineer working on an urban site. Like, do they feel dirty designing a building with no setback?

I like to imagine that the urban projects are what they've wanted to do all along and are finally realizing the opportunity. No one gets out of school excited to build garden apartments do they? Or Chili's?

Pork Chop wrote:

FangKC wrote:No, it's next to 523 Grand Lofts.

This is the site.

http://tinyurl.com/qcwm9d2

Will Sue be even more mad now, since she can not only expect a streetcar line running in front of her business, but whole bunch more hipsters living near her business as well

Bros. Get yr slurs right.

Looks like this building continues to get closer to getting started...

Latest permit is a New Commerical Building Plans Review.

KCDowntown

The alley on the east side of the parcel is being cleared & grubbed. Construction equipment is mobilized on-site, but I'm unsure if it's for this project or just temporary staging for streetcar-related work.

Eon Blue wrote:The alley on the east side of the parcel is being cleared & grubbed. Construction equipment is mobilized on-site, but I'm unsure if it's for this project or just temporary staging for streetcar-related work.

construction is underway!

the forms for the second floor have been up for several days now. This project is going higher.

from inside the construction site:

It was too rainy to get a photo but the detail at the top is going in. Really gives the building some good character

First floor brick cladding is going on.

I didn't notice until today they put balconies on the 5th St side.

To see what River Market West should have looked like, even with the exact same color scheme, this building shows it.
The slight 3D effect to the outside around the windows makes a huge difference for any color scheme

These new construction infill projects are nice. What is the status of the recently cleared lot a few blocks to the south of this?

website is up: http://www.centropolisongrand.com/

Yeah, I really like this project so far. Good scale, right up next to the street and good balance of exterior design. Hope the interior finish is as nice.

this same company will do the 5th & main project(s).

DaveKCMO wrote:this same company will do the 5th & main project(s).

Is that still a thing? Do you have any timelines on it?

kboish wrote:

DaveKCMO wrote:this same company will do the 5th & main project(s).

Is that still a thing? Do you have any timelines on it?

yes. waiting for some other bonds to retire was what i was told. city very serious about going vertical on those lots.

DaveKCMO wrote:this same company will do the 5th & main project(s).

I thought those proposals were quietly set aside after the public outcry over the shortcomings of the winner? I've never heard anything about a formal award.

I can't help but feel like there's a potential conflict of interest here. Can the operator of City Market, who has run the MOAR PARKING flag up more than once, be trusted with developing lots around it? Where other developers with no connections to the market might try to minimize car space and maximize valuable people space in their projects, this company may try to tilt the balance towards car storage to help leverage their other asset. Am I off base here? Maybe we'll institute parking maximums before then and make it a moot point.

I didn't know they had selected a developer for the 5th and Main sites.

if you recall, they awarded a winning development team (KCCRG). the outcry was heard, but the project was temporarily stalled by lack of capacity. it should pick back up this year, hopefully after the TOD policy is in place!

it's going to take a LONG time -- and more earnest elected officials -- to drag us out of the parking obsession. keep in mind that we're already FAR more progressive than most cities in that there are NO minimums anywhere along the streetcar route (or in the entire loop). as was mentioned on KCUR the other day, transit is the ultimate chicken/egg scenario: can you reduce parking before there's bountiful service? (yes, but most people don't act that way)