KCRag Forum

brewcrew1000 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:55 pm

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:29 pm Just my observation, but the highest correlation I see for growing a city is you have street retail/restaurants, walkability and connectivity. You can have a town with no corporate presence at all, but if you have those three things people will come flocking. I see it all the time when I look at small cities & towns.

That’s why I’m pounding my fist on the table for the south loop cap every day here (highly improves walkability & connectivity) which I think will be more of a growth factor for us than much else.

^This
This is what i was trying to get at, Dallas and Houston have huge downtowns with tons of skyscrapers and lots of things to do, lots of hotels but i would be willing to bet both of those downtown populations are smaller then KC

freedog wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:39 pm

brewcrew1000 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:55 pm

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:29 pm Just my observation, but the highest correlation I see for growing a city is you have street retail/restaurants, walkability and connectivity. You can have a town with no corporate presence at all, but if you have those three things people will come flocking. I see it all the time when I look at small cities & towns.

That’s why I’m pounding my fist on the table for the south loop cap every day here (highly improves walkability & connectivity) which I think will be more of a growth factor for us than much else.

^This
This is what i was trying to get at, Dallas and Houston have huge downtowns with tons of skyscrapers and lots of things to do, lots of hotels but i would be willing to bet both of those downtown populations are smaller then KC

Dallas might be the worst biking city in the nation right now, but has been getting a lot better in terms of walkability. Honestly, I think it's a model for KC in a lot of ways. Capped the highway for greenspace and to encourage development in an underdeveloped part of the Urban Core, improved public transit including a free trolley service in a small part of downtown/uptown, built up downtown as a place that isn't just active from 8-5 and has been successful in attracting business even as companies move to the suburbs as well.

earthling wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:06 pm KC doesn't need to model after any city but given KC's situation of lacking enough corporate presence, risk taking developers and many billionaires, maybe the Portland smart mid-rise infill approach is the direction to head. I like Denver on paper and they've accomplished a great deal but it feels like a fabricated sim-city, lacking the depth that KC has. Dallas even less so than Denver. KC needs to recognize its strengths/weaknesses and take the steps it can actually accomplish, not try to become other plastic cities that have resources KC simply does not.

Focus on the small things like ensuring developers contribute to a contiguous pedestrian flow from River Market to Plaza and it will become a kickass place to live/work. You don't need mega corps, billionaires or tall buildings to accomplish this, just incremental growth that is smartly integrated and well thought out from one block to the next. The streetcar is the catalyst, the most significant first step.

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 8:40 pm I can’t think of many cities with less character in their building stock, little historic fabric than Denver or Dallas. Both of those cities seem to be modern day bo towns. I would take their populations and corporate presence over ours, which is fairly non-existent.

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 12:18 am I also don't get why there's so much hate on this site against flashy buildings and such a preference for old brick.

CorneliusFB wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 5:37 pm They’re in about 35K square feet and paying about $20/sf full service. Not sure if landlord would multi tenant the building for a single floor now and options on another floor to come at some point. Current rate at 1400KC is $38.50/sf full service (plus parking)

earthling wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 8:04 am ^Not 'everything' remote or even most companies but there will be many and highly likely much more remote than in past when dust settles. KC may or may not net benefit given many Cerner and Tmobile jobs are heading either remote or role available in multiple markets. Over 60% of Cerner job postings qualify for remote/WFA, many don't have to live in KC area. It seems there will be a trend of companies allowing employees to decide where they live, not direct most jobs to just an HQ or one certain market. The good news is that KC's labor force is growing at faster rate than US avg, so may not be an issue.

Either way, downtown/urban core don't specifically need 1000+ employee or larger companies. They would be ideal but mix of 10x100 to 100x10 employee companies or satellite offices from mega corps can be just as effective and KC has many magnitudes more of those. Focus on residential for the urban core and the rest will follow incrementally. Ensure it creates a contiguous pedestrian flow from RM to Plaza and companies that appreciate functional urban vibe will bite.

Among non-degree occupations, remote job postings for loan processors were up 818% over the last five years, with remote collections specialists up 741%, sales support assistants up 650% and a 629% increase for loan officers. Technical customer service reps and insurance reps were close behind.

“Most of them are old jobs that are just being converted to remote. Anything that is traditionally done on a computer can just be ‘Let's give people laptops and have them work from home’,” said Mark Hanson, product manager at Emsi Burning Glass. “That is just a maturing of, 'We don’t need to be paying for all these building space, why not just move them remote?'”