Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

[grovester]

Copaken tore it down with no plan, in classic Copaken fashion, not the school board

There was a buyer wanting to develop. Board balked because they feared the repercussions of approving TIF for it. Should never have been sold to Copaken in the first place.

Only plan I recall was a crappy auto-centric motel.

[TheLastGentleman]

Copaken tore it down with no plan, in classic Copaken fashion, not the school board

There was a buyer wanting to develop. Board balked because they feared the repercussions of approving TIF for it. Should never have been sold to Copaken in the first place.

Only plan I recall was a crappy auto-centric motel.

Which was a copy paste of an ugly suburban hotel that would’ve still demolished the building. I think they considered renovating it for 5 seconds before getting scared of the elevator arrangement ir something

[beautyfromashes]

Copaken tore it down with no plan, in classic Copaken fashion, not the school board

There was a buyer wanting to develop. Board balked because they feared the repercussions of approving TIF for it. Should never have been sold to Copaken in the first place.

Only plan I recall was a crappy auto-centric motel.

Nope.

[TheLastGentleman]

There was a buyer wanting to develop. Board balked because they feared the repercussions of approving TIF for it. Should never have been sold to Copaken in the first place.

Only plan I recall was a crappy auto-centric motel.

Nope.

Yes.

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/dr ... y-building

[beautyfromashes]

Not the only plan. Drury Inn proposal was terrible. There was another good buyer way before that. BoE upfront said they were against any TIF incentives and blew it up.

[TheLastGentleman]

I’d like a source for that

[beautyfromashes]

I’d like a source for that

::sigh:: Do I really have to give proof sources now? I've been on this site for 25 years.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

I’d like a source for that

::sigh:: Do I really have to give proof sources now? I've been on this site for 25 years.

We can’t become complacent because of tenure here damnit, then our standards will start to slip

[KCPowercat]

https://twitter.com/chris_stritzel/stat ... 0635426827

[smh]

https://twitter.com/chris_stritzel/stat ... 0635426827

A sweet summer child.

[Chris Stritzel]

CM interview states a large project may be announced here in the coming weeks.

If it’s what I heard before, yes, it’ll be large. Don’t want to say too much just in case this isn’t the site where I heard about the project, but if it is, be ready for it

What I know is slowly starting to be talking about out loud from people who are in the know. I imagine the announcement for the site will come sometime in the winter, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s sooner (if they want to get it open in time for the World Cup). This must be done right and the development team knows it.

[TheUrbanRoo]

Tower or mixed use?

[TheLastGentleman]

Unless someone wrestled it away from copaken I can’t hold my breath

[moderne]

Would be tragic to get something with similar massing as the Lights on this site.

[Rabble]

Tragic?! The ugliest building in the history of the planet would be a vast improvement over this tragic empty lot.

[Jblanco]

Perhaps they are certain of the new ball park announcement in the EV.
I still can't believe that this would be developed before 12/Grand.

12/Grand empty is sickening. What a disaster.

[im2kull]

Tragic?! The ugliest building in the history of the planet would be a vast improvement over this tragic empty lot.

There was literally one there before it became an empty lot.

[Rabble]

Tragic?! The ugliest building in the history of the planet would be a vast improvement over this tragic empty lot.

There was literally one there before it became an empty lot.

Never my favorite building but absolutely stupid to tear it down. The structure could have been added onto horizontally taking it out to the sidewalk both north and east. And watching it slowly come down made me realize it could have supported several extra floors above.

My question about this area is the block directly west. In New York they've always referred to low rise buildings on prime real estate as "taxpayers", built to collect rent and pay taxes until the BIG project comes along. Did Copaken Brooks ever consider building 1-4 story buildings on a block bordering their own parking garage, the T-Mobile Center and catty corner to the Power & Light district? How much money could they have made, the last 15 plus years, if they had built wood frame apartment/retail buildings here? The buildings would be about worn out by now and easy demolition for their BIG project.

[FangKC]

For the planet's sake, we shouldn't be building structures designed to be worn out in 15-20 years, and demolished. Mobile homes last longer than that.

I agree with you that the building could have been renovated. It would have been a gut job. The View apartment tower (formerly the Vista Del Rio) at 600 Admiral was in much worse shape before it was renovated.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1052168 ... ?entry=ttu

The windows were gone. The copper was stripped. It was open to the elements and there were squatters setting fires inside. People referred to it as the "Beirut Building." It needed new everything.

The Board of Education building was not unlike Traders on Grand--just smaller--and it was also totally revamped.

People also forget that the President Hotel was almost a complete gut job too -- except for the lobby, ballroom, the meeting rooms, and the Drum Room. The room floors had all the walls removed. It required new plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling systems.

The problem was that there was no one willing to redevelop it. Copaken Brooks wanted the parcel to possibly combine with their 12th and Grand parcels. This is pure speculative real estate. Remember the Law Building at 12th and Grand was mysteriously knocked down suddenly for speculative purposes.

[beautyfromashes]

The problem was that there was no one willing to redevelop it.

With all respect, this is not true. The board had an interested party very early on but they wanted standard incentives to make it work. The board were concerned about the political optics of moving out of the building and then giving incentives, especially since they were raging against “all the money the school district was losing”. They also sold moving from the building to a new location as a “money-maker” as they thought they could sell the building to finance the new one. With no incentives, the buyer walked and that was the death of the building. Copaken was the only interested party many months later. Total incompetence.