KCRag Forum

This came from a member of another message board I'm on who has been a HUGE pessimist about downtown.......he titled it "I'm a changed man about downtown"

I am a changed Man about Downtown!

I actually spent the whole day down there today and I must say I am impressed with the development going on down there.

Do we still need more? Yes. But I must take back all posts that are negative that I have made in the past 120 days.

I will begin deleting these posts today.

Things are really looking up.....even people that are not urban geeks like ourselves are noticing the difference......

anybody else have a story like this?

Let's see if we can work on kansasfarmboy.......

Just don't sneak up on him, wearing shabby clothes.

Things are changing (albeit ever so slowly), but there really is not a reason for most people to go downtown. I am a huge urban advocate, but I still rarely go downtown. Why? Probably because there are no sporting events to draw me, I never go to Bartle Hall for any of the conventions and there is little if any shopping to do. Downtown will not inspire me until it has the mass quantity of restaurants/shops that give me a reason to spend a few hours down there. I probably frequent the Plaza more than anything because it is where the "excitement" in Kansas City is....great shopping, bookstores, restaurants, well-kept and maintained sidewalks, apartments/condos, people actually walking and enjoying the district. Not to be a devils advocate, but downtown is still a long, long, long way from ever reaching that level, probably at least a decade if not longer.

well I guess it depends on what you want downtown to become.

Sure it's a ways off....hell construction alone will take awhile but the stage is set.

I'm not sure it will ever become the Plaza, but the heartbeat it now has is a marked improvement.

The architecture alone is enough to draw me downtown. That is why we need more things to do, so that more people will see what they are missing.

Downtown is not trying to be the Plaza, but an amazing alternative. There are other cities that have 2 successful urban areas. For instance MN has Uptown and Downtown.

Downtown is ok, I just have no reason to go there except for a few events at Bartle.

Let's see if we can work on kansasfarmboy.......

Go ahead and work on him - if you can get him out of the coverall section of Walmart. I think people like KSfarmboy need to stay in KS and never be let into the city. We need to set up a toll booth at I-35 north & State Line and toll them to get into the city.

Sporting events would not be a big draw for me. Remember, the arts in Kansas City bring in more people than the sports. I think the PAC will help tremendously, as well as KC Live, if it includes more live venues.

But your'e right, the perceptions are beginning to change. I realize there have been some setbacks, but if you realistically look at the overall change over a relatively long period of time (1 to 2 years) , the change is just amazing. I mean, look at the rivercrownplaza area as a whole, and look back at what is announced or broken ground on on a monthly basis. There is something new happening constantly. Just this year there have been tons of new things that have begun. It really is an exciting time to be downtown.

let's try to leave farmboy alone. We may not agree with his misperceptions, but he is entitled to his opinion. If we bash him on here, we are really no better than he has been. (no real polite way to put that is there?)

KC_JAYHAWK wrote:Things are changing (albeit ever so slowly), but there really is not a reason for most people to go downtown. I am a huge urban advocate, but I still rarely go downtown. Why? Probably because there are no sporting events to draw me, I never go to Bartle Hall for any of the conventions and there is little if any shopping to do. Downtown will not inspire me until it has the mass quantity of restaurants/shops that give me a reason to spend a few hours down there. I probably frequent the Plaza more than anything because it is where the "excitement" in Kansas City is....great shopping, bookstores, restaurants, well-kept and maintained sidewalks, apartments/condos, people actually walking and enjoying the district. Not to be a devils advocate, but downtown is still a long, long, long way from ever reaching that level, probably at least a decade if not longer.

I go downtown for the arts (Crossroads), the restaurants (mainly along Southwest Blvd), the bars/clubs (on or near Broadway and in the City Market), and to catch a concert (Midland). I also go to Crown Center and Union Station to shop, see a film, or catch a traveling exhibit. Bartle Hall never has any conventions or shows that I care to see. I think once KC Live is complete in 2006, there will be many more reasons for people to go downtown.

Also, for those of you that haven't been, go check out the Steamboat Arabia Museum in City Market on a Saturday or Sunday.

KC_JAYHAWK wrote:Things are changing (albeit ever so slowly), but there really is not a reason for most people to go downtown. I am a huge urban advocate, but I still rarely go downtown. Why? Probably because there are no sporting events to draw me, I never go to Bartle Hall for any of the conventions and there is little if any shopping to do. Downtown will not inspire me until it has the mass quantity of restaurants/shops that give me a reason to spend a few hours down there. I probably frequent the Plaza more than anything because it is where the "excitement" in Kansas City is....great shopping, bookstores, restaurants, well-kept and maintained sidewalks, apartments/condos, people actually walking and enjoying the district. Not to be a devils advocate, but downtown is still a long, long, long way from ever reaching that level, probably at least a decade if not longer.

This is true to a degree. I would say that downtown still needs billions of dollars of investment to reach a pinch of its potential. I think we can give up on trying to make downtown like it was in the 50s or a Plaza part 2. Downtown can be a destination rich in history, atmosphere, entertainment and business. Right now, it is this kind of a destination, but needs expansion and improvement.

Anyone who wants to really get a feel for what downtown is...walk from the River Market to Crown Center. It is an eye opener...both good and bad.