KCRag Forum

KCTigerFan wrote: How about something like the Near East End?

I don't know. That kind of conjures up images of suicide bombers.

How about "Quantity Hill" to match its counterpart to the west? ..... Nah, too Walmart sounding.

Perhaps, if possible, they should just wait and see what ends up there and then name it after some prominent aspect of the development. Besides naming it after a portion of the freeway, that area currently draws a blank.

i am thinking since we are all about stealing new york boroughs, lets just say fuck it and rename the city manhattan

kcdcchef wrote: i am thinking since we are all about stealing new york boroughs, lets just say fuck it and rename the city manhattan

How about Fresh Kills?

Government Hill !

No district names!!!!  develop something that incorporates itself into the rest of the city

Long wrote: No district names!!!!  develop something that incorporates itself into the rest of the city

too late....district names are here to stay....entertainment district, quality hill, crossroads, rivermarket, library district....

      Since its centered around Dunn it could be called bigoted neo-con hill.

moderne wrote: Since its centered around Dunn it could be called bigoted neo-con hill.

I don't get it...

diamond wrote: I don't get it...

Me neither. If we can use non sequiturs, how about calling it the Cuckoo's Nest.

Gladstoner wrote: Me neither. If we can use non sequiturs, how about calling it the Cuckoo's Nest.

Cuckoo's Nest.... ..... perhaps a bad example of a non sequitur in this case ...... how about Beachside Village instead.

perhaps missouri river bluffs

Yeah, KC needs to start playing up the fact that it sits righ by the ochean. (Nobody need to know that the ocean dried up thousands of years ago, damn global cooling)

shinatoo wrote: Yeah, KC needs to start playing up the fact that it sits righ by the ochean. (Nobody need to know that the ocean dried up thousands of years ago, damn global cooling)

The Mississippi-Miissouri River is America's fourth coast. Or is it the fifth?

lake jacomo flats.

KCExile wrote: I think it might be higher than the Lewis & Clark statue by Case Park.  Anybody know for sure?

Case Park overlook: 895 ft ASL
Front step of Federal Courthouse: 930 ft ASL

Long wrote: A "masterplan" generally does not include design of the actual buildings

It is just a guide that says what types of buildings and other spaces should occur in what locations

It is then up to the owner to decide how that masterplan is implemented, if they want to hand off the happen.

Long is generally right, although in practice what we see in KC is that most "master plans" are not nearly specific enough. I would call most of them diagrams, as they tend to be vaguely land use based, and rely on discretionary design guidelines to implement the developments.

A true master plan actually does design all of the elements of a place, including the public realm (streets, sidewalks, landscaping) as well as each individual lot of a development. Depending on the size, it can in fact design many of the buildings, though would very rarely design all of them. It certainly should show multiple 3 dimensional drawings indicating "character" of a place, if not designing the actual architecture. Most importantly, a true master plan has corresponding legal documents, that control the development, i.e. a code. Too much of the time in KC we have "master plans" that change none of the underlying legal structure, and are essentially meaningless as a result. The code and adopted plan are the true tools, as well as an implementation mechanism (town architect or planner, for example). The code should identify specific lots and building types, with very specific rules on the urban design. If a master plan doesn't have these elements, it is only a "vision plan".

Regarding one developer or many, there are good and bad examples of each. With a good code and design, implementation by many can happen effectively and quickly. But the lot purchasers/builders need specific rules to guide them, or it will falter for lack of cohesion, fairness and expediency. In general KC has had bad experiences with development by a single hand, but it certainly can be done well - it would be dishonest to say otherwise. However, it requires a unique team that is truly dedicated to urbanism and attention to detail, who will resist the urge to simply stamp out one "product" over an entire area. We're working with one such client now in St. Louis, and the ability of the large entity is impressive and the result is quite good. However, experience shows that this is very rare.

This is Awwwesome news!!  I just purchased a condo in The Met, with hopes something on the Eastside would materialize soon.  Mannn im ready to go out and buy some shovels and start digging my damn self /

My question is what price will it take to buy these lots?  I know they are junk surface lots, but they do bring in a ton of cash.  Any idea as to what price will be offered?  similar to arena/p&l prices paid?

Shinatoo, I like "Cherry Hill," "Cherry Flats", "Admiral Plaza," and "Admiral Hill."  "Smarts Hill," as someone else mentioned, wouldn't be bad either.  Those sound kind of elegant, and I've never heard of another city with a suburb or district of a similar name.

I don't really mind all of the "Hill" names in Kansas City.  Remember, one of the perceptions we're fighting against in the minds of out-of-towners is that the region is totally flat; no elevation whatsoever.  We all know that the terrain in the KC region is definitely not pancake-like (unless you make very lumpy pancakes ), but people not from here think it's all flat, barren farmland from St. Louis to Denver.  Names with "Hill" in them show that we have some!

Something else I find funny about all this big-scale development:  it seems like a lot of out-of-town companies are mixing with in-town companies to make downtown KC cool again.  We get a company from Baltimore to partner with the city for P&L, and now a company from Minneapolis (one of our peer/competitor cities) is planning to invest in the east side of the Loop.  We had New York-based Time Equities buy City Center Square.  A number of Chicago-based companies have redeveloped old office buildings. 

Its a funny trend, and I'm encouraged.  It means to me that people in other cities see something great and worthwhile in KC, a potential that finally must be realized.  Just as we on this site see something great in places like Portland, Denver, and Minneapolis, people in other cities (and not just Omaha and Des Moines residents) see something great in KC.

BTW, I thought the "Soho" name was just for the Lofts on the north end of the Crossroads.

i think you are right about your summation of where soho is in kc, i just was in an increasing majority that did not understand the need to have a soho in kc.