Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Issues concerning Downtown as described by the Downtown Council. River to 31st Street, I-35 to Bruce R. Watkins.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Chris Stritzel wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 7:17 pm ^ 13th and grand is a trophy property spot. They just won’t build anything there for the hell of it. They want something that’s going to be iconic. It’s been a long time coming for that parcel, it’ll likely be several more years. Depending on the success of the KCPS site, we could get something there sooner rather than later.
Should be criminal
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by Chris Stritzel »

TheLastGentleman wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 10:29 pm
Chris Stritzel wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 7:17 pm ^ 13th and grand is a trophy property spot. They just won’t build anything there for the hell of it. They want something that’s going to be iconic. It’s been a long time coming for that parcel, it’ll likely be several more years. Depending on the success of the KCPS site, we could get something there sooner rather than later.
Should be criminal
It should be but it isn't. Our politicians seem too scared to do anything to get parking lots in prominent places around town developed. It was discussed on here before that land taxes for parking lots should be seriously considered, but no one wants to introduce it.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by KCTOGA »

Drove through Denver yesterday (June 14th). Counted 9 cranes in the air!!! All on the NE side of downtown. Jealous as hell!!! Whatever our approach to development our City employes is wrong and needs corrected ASAP!!!!
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Karambit25
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by Karambit25 »

KCTOGA wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:28 pm Drove through Denver yesterday (June 14th). Counted 9 cranes in the air!!! All on the NE side of downtown. Jealous as hell!!! Whatever our approach to development our City employes is wrong and needs corrected ASAP!!!!
We have young, novice political hacks running our city. None of them have worked in the private sector and have no idea what it takes to run a business, meet a deadline or make a sales call. Low IQ and little to no real work experience is what the Democratic party wants ruling over you and you lap it up like dogs. When will this city hire a competent City Manager and a development expert?
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by empires228 »

Karambit25 wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 6:20 pm Wait, if Copaken Brooks can't get anything done for over a decade at 13th & Grand , a much more prolific and viable spot, why would anyone think they can get anything done on this parcel? Obviously less $$ will be spent at the old KCPS site, is that why?
I don't know why anyone is surprised that they can't get anything done. They weren't even a good shopping mall developer and that was their primary focus for many years.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by earthling »

KCTOGA wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:28 pm Drove through Denver yesterday (June 14th). Counted 9 cranes in the air!!! All on the NE side of downtown. Jealous as hell!!! Whatever our approach to development our City employes is wrong and needs corrected ASAP!!!!
So even though pro-development I'll give a devil's advocate response. KC needs to step it up a notch to stay relevant but shouldn't become Denver and certainly not Austin or Nashville.

Have local friends from larger cities who don't want KC to progress/grow too fast, they moved to KC because of the easy going pace and reasonable affordability. I get it as a roaming digital nomad spending much time in many cities as if living there (as opposed to hotel visits and helicopter views). Hot markets lose many livable aspects. Denver is great on paper but is a plastic Sim City place to live (the city, the mountains a different story), it's becoming a place to work and exist. Austin has lost much of its original appeal, Nashville will soon as well. Spend too much time in FL not exactly by choice, more than KC now. Too much growth, not a place to actually 'live' life.

Would be helpful for KCMO to have more competent council but hey, still doing better than STL and most of Midwest. But KCMO really does need to step it up a notch, maybe not to Denver level. Stay relevant and build up ped friendly places, but not too hot that you lose what's great about KC.
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normalthings
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by normalthings »

earthling wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:40 pm
KCTOGA wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:28 pm Drove through Denver yesterday (June 14th). Counted 9 cranes in the air!!! All on the NE side of downtown. Jealous as hell!!! Whatever our approach to development our City employes is wrong and needs corrected ASAP!!!!
So even though pro-development I'll give a devil's advocate response. KC needs to step it up a notch to stay relevant but shouldn't become Denver and certainly not Austin or Nashville.

Have local friends from larger cities who don't want KC to progress/grow too fast, they moved to KC because of the easy going pace and reasonable affordability. I get it as a roaming digital nomad spending much time in many cities as if living there (as opposed to hotel visits and helicopter views). Hot markets lose many livable aspects. Denver is great on paper but is a plastic Sim City place to live (the city, the mountains a different story), it's becoming a place to work and exist. Austin has lost much of its original appeal, Nashville will soon as well. Spend too much time in FL not exactly by choice, more than KC now. Too much growth, not a place to actually 'live' life.

Would be helpful for KCMO to have more competent council but hey, still doing better than STL and most of Midwest. But KCMO really does need to step it up a notch, maybe not to Denver level. Stay relevant and build up ped friendly places, but not too hot that you lose what's great about KC.
Counter point: even if KC went 100%, they are incapable of reaching the same level of development due to split between states and the presence of state & local income tax
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by GRID »

earthling wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:40 pm
KCTOGA wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:28 pm Drove through Denver yesterday (June 14th). Counted 9 cranes in the air!!! All on the NE side of downtown. Jealous as hell!!! Whatever our approach to development our City employes is wrong and needs corrected ASAP!!!!
So even though pro-development I'll give a devil's advocate response. KC needs to step it up a notch to stay relevant but shouldn't become Denver and certainly not Austin or Nashville.

Have local friends from larger cities who don't want KC to progress/grow too fast, they moved to KC because of the easy going pace and reasonable affordability. I get it as a roaming digital nomad spending much time in many cities as if living there (as opposed to hotel visits and helicopter views). Hot markets lose many livable aspects. Denver is great on paper but is a plastic Sim City place to live (the city, the mountains a different story), it's becoming a place to work and exist. Austin has lost much of its original appeal, Nashville will soon as well. Spend too much time in FL not exactly by choice, more than KC now. Too much growth, not a place to actually 'live' life.

Would be helpful for KCMO to have more competent council but hey, still doing better than STL and most of Midwest. But KCMO really does need to step it up a notch, maybe not to Denver level. Stay relevant and build up ped friendly places, but not too hot that you lose what's great about KC.
KC could get 1/4 the amount of development Denver gets and it would still put KC on a totally different level. KC is not even in the ballpark of the hot cities you mentioned. Poor argument. I think KC could have considerably more development while maintaining its unique culture and charm. I'm not sure Denver has really ever had a great local identity like nashville or austin. It's always felt a bit plastic to me, but the benefits outweigh it in my opinion. It helps that Denver invest so much in public infrastructure.

Even with as much growth austin and nashville have seen, I think they have maintained most of thier original charm. They are just getting a lot more expensive and drawing in new residents from other parts of the country, so it may not last much longer.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by AlkaliAxel »

Denver is just about top 10 in the country for growth last decade. I appreciate that we're setting a high bar.

It's possible KC beats out Denver in population growth this decade, so far they are.

KC may not be growing as fast as Denver, but they are still hanging in well with Las Vegas, San Diego, Portland, San Antonio recently. That's good company, considering there are still some significant public/private game-changing projects that haven't even opened yet.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by earthling »

If any city KCMO should model after it's Portland's smart growth (development, not its politics). Build up pedestrian friendly engaging places/spaces with a contiguous flow starting with streetcar line and expanding from there and it will be fine. It does need to be stepped up a notch as mentioned but hot markets are not something to be jealous of. Smart growth is better than fast growth.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by dukuboy1 »

normalthings wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:11 pm
earthling wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:40 pm
KCTOGA wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:28 pm Drove through Denver yesterday (June 14th). Counted 9 cranes in the air!!! All on the NE side of downtown. Jealous as hell!!! Whatever our approach to development our City employes is wrong and needs corrected ASAP!!!!
So even though pro-development I'll give a devil's advocate response. KC needs to step it up a notch to stay relevant but shouldn't become Denver and certainly not Austin or Nashville.

Have local friends from larger cities who don't want KC to progress/grow too fast, they moved to KC because of the easy going pace and reasonable affordability. I get it as a roaming digital nomad spending much time in many cities as if living there (as opposed to hotel visits and helicopter views). Hot markets lose many livable aspects. Denver is great on paper but is a plastic Sim City place to live (the city, the mountains a different story), it's becoming a place to work and exist. Austin has lost much of its original appeal, Nashville will soon as well. Spend too much time in FL not exactly by choice, more than KC now. Too much growth, not a place to actually 'live' life.

Would be helpful for KCMO to have more competent council but hey, still doing better than STL and most of Midwest. But KCMO really does need to step it up a notch, maybe not to Denver level. Stay relevant and build up ped friendly places, but not too hot that you lose what's great about KC.
Counter point: even if KC went 100%, they are incapable of reaching the same level of development due to split between states and the presence of state & local income tax
Agreed & on the MO side decisions still being politically influenced by the STL area and focus of politicians there. KC still plays second fiddle to STL despite their advanced, advantages, and accolades over the past 20yrs in regards to STL. Cities like Denver & Nashville really benefit from being state capitals as well as the largest cities in their respective states. That 1-2 punch of influence gives them great advantages. States with multiple major metros typically have one city that has the influence advantages over their peers in the same state, and typically are the largest city in said state as well.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by langosta »

CM interview states a large project may be announced here in the coming weeks.
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by Chris Stritzel »

langosta wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 8:18 am 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 :P
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

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Baseball stadium?
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by beautyfromashes »

Total incompetence on the part of the school board. Thought they could sell the building for a bunch of $ and build a brand new education HQ. Had buyers for the building but got political about TIF for the renovation and lost the buyer. Tore the building down with no plan for development. Let it sit for almost a decade. The KC school district is the absolute #1 entity holding this city back.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by Jblanco »

beautyfromashes wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:02 am Total incompetence on the part of the school board......
The KC school district is the absolute #1 entity holding this city back.
This is the absolute truth. If KC could get a functional public school system together and solve the insane crime issue we could bring the city back completely. It's always been these same 2 issues. And these 2 problems are why corporations will not come back into the city.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Copaken tore it down with no plan, in classic Copaken fashion, not the school board
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GRID
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by GRID »

Chris Stritzel wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 9:11 am
langosta wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 8:18 am 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 :P
Neat, will they store the renderings with the twisty tower, 16th and Broadway and 10th and Main. It will look great with them.
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by beautyfromashes »

TheLastGentleman wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 1:02 pm 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.
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Re: Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Post by missingkc »

I've always thought the School Board's failure in the matter of the building and their headquarters was not partnering with a developer, offering land in exchange for office space in a new development, as the Library did on the Plaza. Of course, has not been the Plaza when it comes to office development, but might have been worth a try. Though from the standpoint of appearances and solidarity with constituency, the Board is probably happier where they are than in a new building downtown.
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