Strawberry Hill Renaissance

[Mr. Fantasy]

I bought a house on Strawberry Hill last April.  Probably looked at 10-12 others down here before this one. A LOT of the houses are very well maintained. As far as making them more modern, that depends on the house.  If you like the old woodword and just need to update kitchens and wallpaper and such I'd say there's a good deal of those type houses.  There's some that would need a total renovation, but a pretty small percentage for the most part.  I hear there's a pizza place going in on 5th, I think that would be great for the neighborhood.  There's a few little bars around and I know when I have friends down from other places around KC they are pleasantly surprised with Strawberry Hill.  It could still go either way, but if the deal on 5th St. and Armstring gets done, and they bulldoze that god-awful BP it would make a HUGE difference.  Also those uber-modern townhomes that are to face East off 4th St (I saw renderings in this forum of them a while back).

I'm cautiosly optimistic, but a couple little things falling in place would really help.

I also feel very safe, there's a strong police presence around here, close to City Hall, courthouse and Police HQ, I probably see patrol cars 6-7 times a day on my street and never have seen them on a "call" just driving around slowly at night making sure everything is as it should be.

[OPIchabod]

I'm confused about this? Are we talking about basic retail services or what exactly?

Basic retail services. Downtown KCK has thousands of daytime workers, but really no support retail (dry cleaners, sit-down casual restaurant/sandwich shop) to help them out. There's certainly a number of thrift/specialty stores further to the west that cater to specific parts of the population, but there's really no retail (daytime or otherwise) in the area surrounding Strawberry Hill.

[heatherkay]

I agree with your point, but there actually is a cleaner in DT KCK, adjacent to Strawberry Hill

http://www.hangersonthehill.com/

Eco-friendly carbon dioxide cleaner, none of the nasty dry cleaning solvents.  We went to the KCK 2nd Friday Art Walk, and they actually had an exhibit at the dry cleaner.

[OPIchabod]

I agree with your point, but there actually is a cleaner in DT KCK, adjacent to Strawberry Hill

http://www.hangersonthehill.com/

Eco-friendly carbon dioxide cleaner, none of the nasty dry cleaning solvents.  We went to the KCK 2nd Friday Art Walk, and they actually had an exhibit at the dry cleaner.

I stand corrected 

[ComandanteCero]

As you may know there are already several great restaurants, although I'd hardly call it a trendy part of town. I also wouldn't call it "in the middle of the ghetto" as it isn't anywhere near the nasty parts of KCK, really. Unfortunately I don't think it will gentrify much faster than it is. KC isn't exactly a hotbed of pro-urban revolution.

agreed, Strawberry Hill is nowhere near being ghetto (although if that makes the gentrifiers feel like they have more "cred" i guess that angle can be played up... "Strawberry Hill:  All the Street Cred Without Any of the Danger or Inconveniences!!").

[WyCo]

Ok, I would live in Strawberry Hill, but you just need to go say 5 blocks north, three or four blocks southwest to find some pretty shady areas.  It is like a small island.  The old Church neighborhoods of old St Mary's, St Johns and Holy Family are fine, go much past that and it might not be ghetto, but some of it is pretty damned close.

[admb4ku]

Basic retail services. Downtown KCK has thousands of daytime workers, but really no support retail (dry cleaners, sit-down casual restaurant/sandwich shop) to help them out. There's certainly a number of thrift/specialty stores further to the west that cater to specific parts of the population, but there's really no retail (daytime or otherwise) in the area surrounding Strawberry Hill.

There is some sid-down casual restaurant/sandwich shop stuff on Strawberry Hill. Briet's Stein & Deli, Colonial Club, SkilletLickers, Jones BBQ, a couple of mexican and chinese restaurants on Minnesota just off the top of my head. Not a lot, but some. Also, rumor has it the new 5th street KCKPS development will have ground-level retail/dining that could help fill this need.

[justin8216]

I think people greatly underestimate the amount of retail that actually exists in downtown KC KS.

Just because there isn't an Apple Store and a Chipoltle on the corner of 5th and Minnesota doesn't mean there isn't retail.

I think most of us are conditioned to look for national retail brands and if we don't see their logos hanging off buildings then we assume the area has no retail.

People need to look past that and find the retail that is hiding right under their noses.

I found a toy store near 7th and central that I would have never expected to be there. Granted the prices and selection can't compare with say WAL-MART but if you lived and/or worked downtown and needed a children's gift without making a costly track to Wal-Mart it would be worth the small price premium.

I went shopping in downtown KC KS last Sunday and dropped $230 dollars for clothing, shoes ect on Minnesota Ave. and Central Ave.

How could I have done that if there was no stores to shop at?

[mean]

Ok, I would live in Strawberry Hill, but you just need to go say 5 blocks north, three or four blocks southwest to find some pretty shady areas.  It is like a small island.  The old Church neighborhoods of old St Mary's, St Johns and Holy Family are fine, go much past that and it might not be ghetto, but some of it is pretty damned close.

I dunno, I think it's a lot more than 5 blocks. Probably more like a mile. Using 5th and Ann as the northern border for Strawberry Hill, which I'm pretty sure is about right, you're more than a mile from 5th and Quindaro, and quite a ways east of the nastier bits that I'm aware of.

[OPIchabod]

Just because there isn't an Apple Store and a Chipoltle on the corner of 5th and Minnesota doesn't mean there isn't retail.

Dammit, I want to be able to look fashionable using my Mac inside Chipotle munching on a burrito. Screw downtown KCK then if they aren't going to offer me that opportunity! &&&

[KCrules]

I have been to the museum a few times with old school Kolich family affiliated folks. Rumor has it, that the top rooms may be [glow=red,2,300]haunted?[/glow] Anyways, a neat place to see.

[heatherkay]

I was in DT KCK today, so I took some pictures of the new townhouses


The row of houses.  Two-car garage ON THE BACK as it should be.


A closer shot of the end unit.  I think they did a really good job matching the brick from the existing neighborhood buildings.  The basement window visible to the left of the porch.


A not-very-clear shot of the interior.  Built-in shelves over what looks like the alcove for an electric fire place.

According to the City Vision Ministries website, units will also be Energy Star compliant.  A little something-something for the EPA folks across the street.

[GRID]

^ That is great to see!  Beats the hell out of that single family suburban subdivision that sits prominently on the hill overlooking the KCMO skyline.

[phxcat]

Those do look nice- fill the city up with them!

[trailerkid]

Announced Wheat State Pizza will open in Strawberry Hill at 612 N. 5th (corner N. 5th and Bennett Ave, I believe). With 60 more of the recently completed townhomes slated for the neighborhood-- LOTS of potential for this area to become a fantastic urban node.

http://www.kansascity.com/382/v-print/story/730197.html

[mlind]

My great-grandfather built a house on Strawberry Hill in the 1890's that is still standing.  When I visited in 2006, it had been purchased by a couple with 2 kids.  In the 1950's there was a 2 story house that actually had strawberries painted on it.  Did some of the area get wiped out by the freeway?

[WyCo]

A couple of the blocks east of St John's were lost to the freeway, before my time, but that is what I was told.  Do you remember Brusons Market.  I miss the neighnorhood it used to be.

[ComandanteCero]

yeah, I think Then and Now has a particularly sobering picture that shows the neighborhood before and after the freeway was built.

[moderne]

Fowler was the street a block east of St Johns that was razed and excavated for the freeway. My grandparents lived there until I-70 took their house.  I cannot imagine the stench they must have lived with wafting from the stockyards and slaughterhouses that were in the west bottoms until the mid sixties.  My aunts and uncles talked about all the animal carcasses and offal that floated down the Kaw.

[KCFutbol]

My aunts and uncles talked about all the animal carcasses and offal that floated down the Kaw.

If it wasn't for those pesky 'libs' and their darn EPA, we could still revel in such sights.