Imagine Downtown 2030

[KCPowercat]

Fun stuff released by Downtown Council

https://www.downtownkc.org/wp-content/u ... l-Plan.pdf

[AlkaliAxel]

At this point nothing else matters until we get the south loop cap announced. Literally we’re just hanging our heads against the wall waiting for it already.

[alejandro46]

More hot garbage from the worst, most bankrupt paper in the city. At least they admit that their now unused printing press building that they requested and was heavily subsidized for in included. But don't worry, now that it's empty let's just stop all subsidies and focus on other areas. Let the vacant lots and empty buildings sit. Downtown is the most profitable per square mile area of the city.
We need to contineu to invest and increase investment in it. The KC DTC obviously are just making a wish list long range plan. They are not going to come up with funding, just things that they support. They tried to make the plan inclusive for other areas. This isn't the "East Side Council 2050 Plan" so no shit it's going to focus on downtown. As a city, it is possible for us to also invest in neighborhoods on the East Side as well as down town. Absolutely terrible takes that you would expect from the STAR. Glad we cancelled them, the cost of the paper these days is just outrageous for a skeleton crew of journalists putting shit Opinion pieces, clickbait, syndacated national stores and the occasional actual news piece.

Kansas City’s Downtown Council has released a detailed, ambitious report outlining a decade-long agenda for the city’s core. It’s called Imagine Downtown KC: 2030 Strategic Plan. It tackles housing, transportation, office space — and a Maserati (er, downtown baseball stadium). It offers a vision for downtown that is inclusive and relevant, providing a new blueprint for what’s possible in Kansas City. But let’s be clear: Downtown has claimed significant public resources for decades. That means major financial commitments for significant downtown projects must come from the private sector, not the long-neglected neighborhood residents who don’t happen to live downtown.

In this century alone, Kansas Citians have subsidized a downtown arena, the Power & Light District, luxury high-rise apartments, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, The Kansas City Star’s former printing facility, several large office buildings and a convention hotel. A new Buck O’Neil Bridge is on its way. The streetcar system stretches through downtown. Some old downtown buildings have been torn down, in part to provide new parkland. Other structures have been rescued and restored.

A district once known for emptiness and danger now welcomes residents and visitors, a sea change from the 1980s and 1990s. Sadly, however, many Kansas City neighborhoods on the east and south sides can’t make the same claim. That’s why major public infrastructure support must be directed to those areas first, and not downtown. The 2030 downtown plan recognizes some of this. The blueprint calls for safer, more walkable (and bikeable) streets. Downtown neighborhoods must be connected, the plan says. Job creation and wealth inclusiveness are key goals. Building better east-west connections through mass transit and streetscape improvements is also a good idea, and relatively inexpensive. Downtown needs more shade trees, the study says. Anyone who has walked downtown streets in August can agree with that recommendation. Affordable housing, sustainable development and helping restore restaurants and entertainment venues are on the to-do list. On the Vine A weekly conversation between The Kansas City Star and the minority communities it serves, bringing you the news and cultural insights from across the Kansas City region and abroad, straight to your inbox every Thursday.

So far, so good. But a section called “Catalytic Projects” should worry everyone who reads it, because the costs escalate, and quickly. “Downtown lacks a large open programmable space for festivals and community gatherings,” the study says. “If revitalized in the right way, Barney Allis Plaza could play this role.” Well, yes. But the estimated cost for rebuilding the plaza now exceeds $110 million. That’s an extraordinary amount of money for a parking garage and a park. Other ideas? Cover the South Loop with a deck. Rebuild the North Loop. Those projects would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more. Refurbishing Washington Square Park, as the plan envisions, would also cost money. Then there’s the biggest expense of all, downtown baseball. “Kansas City has an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art urban ballpark in downtown with new and enthusiastic owners who value the urban experience,” the study says. The blueprint provides no estimate of cost, or a site, or a financing model for a new stadium. Make no mistake, however: The price for a new ballpark (and a football stadium) would be enormous. We’re not opposed to downtown baseball. We’re not opposed to a deck over the highway, or better parks, or office buildings. We are opposed to massive public subsidies for these projects and others, when some Kansas Citians struggle to pay their heating bills, or their property taxes. Downtown has seen important improvements for a generation, at great and ongoing public expense. We must turn our attention to the areas that still need help to build a vibrant Kansas City for everyone.

Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/edit ... rylink=cpy

[KCPowercat]

definitely looking for clicks and appealing to the "downtown has gotten too much" masses. Like do you want those downtown amenities in your back yard? No nobody does. They are regional assets.

[normalthings]

I don't see the downside of KC Star shutting down. At this point, they don't advance the city/region and are actively working against it.

[WoodDraw]

"We’re not opposed to a deck over the highway, or better parks, or office buildings. We are opposed to massive public subsidies for these projects and others, when some Kansas Citians struggle to pay their heating bills, or their property taxes."

I hate writing like this. It's so lazy and awful lacking of any meaning or insight.

They're not calling for cuts to heating bills or property taxes, nor are they calling for public support for these. And they don't define subsidies, just use it as a bad word.

We're not against anything and we're not for anything, just vapid hot takes. Embarrassing.

[taxi]

"Here are the 37 things KC leaders imagine spending your tax dollars on and you won't believe #34!"

[beautyfromashes]

You all pay to get past the paywall for that trash?!?

[normalthings]

You all pay to get past the paywall for that trash?!?

Just stop the page from loading before the paywall comes in

[Anthony_Hugo98]

You all pay to get past the paywall for that trash?!?

If you open it in a private browsing tab you don’t have to worry about paywall

[beautyfromashes]

I just wonder how many people on the editorial board even live in the city.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

I just wonder how many people on the editorial board even live in the city.

Doesn’t Dave Helling live in OP?

[beautyfromashes]

I just wonder how many people on the editorial board even live in the city.

Doesn’t Dave Helling live in OP?

Yep, and Michael Ryan. I believe Melinda Henneberger lives in the suburbs too. Toriano Porter lives in the city, but is he the only one? For all the talk over the years about the KC Star bias and how they are "super! liberal!", I think the larger bias is one against urban areas. To me, that's a bigger deal.

[AlkaliAxel]

You all pay to get past the paywall for that trash?!?

Just stop the page from loading before the paywall comes in

Holy shit it actually works.

Normalthings, thank you for just buying me a NY Times, Washington Post, and Financial Times subscription- thank you good sir!