KCRag Forum

After lurking for sometime I decided I finally had some news worthy of getting a username and posting.  The girlfriend and I have officially decided to move downtown.  We just secured a loft in the Stuart Hall building.  This will be quite a transition as I grew up in JoCo and spent most of my youth watching downtown stagnate.  However, I am very excited that downtown is finally developing into a desirable residential experience.  My office is in Lenexa so I will be giving up my short drive and migrating on the reverse commute everyday.  From what I have seen so far I guess I will be a bit of an irregularity on this forum as someone who is excited to enjoy the advantages of urban living yet still has a soft spot for JoCo. 

Anybody have any feedback/experience regarding the Stuart Hall lofts? 

How bad is the outbound commute?  I assume it is pretty tame. 

I don't know anything about them but I had a question for you.  Are you renting there or buying because I don't see those lofts advertised?

Lenexa: Allow me to be the first to say, welcome to the city. The Stuart Hall building (aka Freighthouse Lofts) is very nice as you probably know, complete with retail space that will soon fill up, no doubt. Any unit you lease now will surely never have been leased before, and after 5 years you have a buy option. The building is very cool, very historic. Hope you love it.

I reverse commute, and it is cake. The drive will obviously be a little longer for you, but the traffic should be light.

Thrillcekr: Freighthouse Lofts are lease-only for now.

Karma points for you!

Yep they are  lease with a rent to own option down the road.  They are run by these folks: www.kcloftcentral.com.   They seem to run half the for-rent lofts downtown.   We looked at all of their other spots but settled on this one as we felt it had the most authentic loft feel with the exposed brick and hardwood.  Afterall what is the point of fleeing the suburbs if you aren't going to go for the full experience?  

I imagine the neighborhood will be pretty fun too.    

Stuart Hall is a cool old building.  They had a designer show loft set up in a big 2 story unit on the SE corner.  It was very cool.  I went into a couple other units on the east side that still had the big brick ovens left over from the old Nabisco bakery.  Very unique.

Yeah, the 6th/7th floor penthouses are sweeeet.

welcome to the forum and to downtown! I'm in the Safeway building, just a block from you (at least till the end of the month). The commute is a piece of cake.  It takes me less than 30 minutes to get to 151st and metcalf, leaving home at 7:30 am. The biggest hassle is the construction at Rainbow Blvd., and thats really not too bad. 

You picked the best neighborhood.  If you are moving in by June 1, don't forget to head out the First Friday June, for all the street life.  You'll have a blast, and can just walk home when you're done! Restaurants: Fiorella's carry out is awesome, as is Manny's. Coffee Girls is just a block from you also.  City Tavern and Bar Natasha have good happy hours on Fridays.  Its a little bit of a walk, but if you need to get to Crown Center, just head past Lidias at the Freighthouse and up the stairs to Main St. Then you can hit Union Station and over the CC shops. If you need to a hairstylist, go to Imij Salon at the Southwest corner of Main and 20th. 

And don't forget to check out the BRT Line, Max. the closest stops to you will be on Main, between 19th and 20th. It'll get you to the Plaza or to the RiverMarket very quickly, and is starting in July.  PM me if you have any other questions about the neighborhood, I'll answer all I can.  You are going to fall in love with the city. 

Yeah, I am a little nervous about what affect having the Fiorellas' smoker right outside the window will have on my waistline.  Good thing there is a gym in the basement.  I am very excited about having a bar/restaurant or two and even a produce market within walking distance.  I lived in Europe for awhile so getting back to walking to neighborhood destinations was a huge appeal for me.  I was in the best shape of my life that year from all of the walking.  I think a lot of people are unaware of this health advantage of urban living. 

I hear ya, bro! I would love to see a study about the percentage of overweight people in foot-centric urban vs. car-centric suburban environments.

I have a heck of a time motivating myself to run or walk to nowhere.  If the only motive to get out on foot is excercise it seems to fall on my subconscious priority list.  If I have a practical destination like the market or bar I don't even think twice about heading out on foot.  Somehow the Lenexa Hen House just has not proven reliable as a practical walking destination. 

Welcome Lenexa!

I too have a reverse commute and can attest to the fact that it is a breeze.  I do mine by bike, which is made easier when you can use the more-bike-friendly city to position your commute to place you on bike-friendlier roads in JoCo.

When I drove, I almost never waited in traffic at all.  It was straight shot, speed limit, non-stop to work. 

Not to thread hijack, but does the Jo line also do the reverse commute?

There are a few Jo lines that do a reverse commute, the most prominent of which is the H line, which I've used before.  If you are going from the Plaza to somewhere along Lamar, Metcalf or Sprint Campus, it is a straight shot.

The Jo might get me out of downtown but unfortunately it won't get me very close to work.  After a transfer, I could probably get dumped somewhere on 87th, leaving me a nice long walk accross a few toroughfares and rail lines.  The car will have to stay with me for now. 

LenexatoKCMO wrote: The Jo might get me out of downtown but unfortunately it won't get me very close to work.  After a transfer, I could probably get dumped somewhere on 87th, leaving me a nice long walk accross a few toroughfares and rail lines.  The car will have to stay with me for now. 

Yeah, unfortunately much of Johnson County and mass transit are incongruous.

When I lived in Chicago for about a year, I dropped about 30 pounds, without even changing my eating habits (in fact, I ate quite a bit worse - mmm. sausage ....)

It's amazing how much more natural it feels after you do it for awhile. We're not close to there yet in KC, but we'll get there. We have to keep at it.

LenexatoKCMO wrote: The Jo might get me out of downtown but unfortunately it won't get me very close to work.  After a transfer, I could probably get dumped somewhere on 87th, leaving me a nice long walk accross a few toroughfares and rail lines.  The car will have to stay with me for now. 

Would it be close enough to supplement the bus with a bike?  All JO busses have bike racks.

As much as I would like to be able to be able to take a nice efficient relaxing ride to work rather than driving, I don't know that this would be a very practical trip.  By the time I bike to the stop, wait, ride, transfer a time or two, wait again, ride some more, bike - I would turn what's probably a 25 minute drive into an hour long ordeal. 

I promise that as soon as there is something more practical and efficient I will be the first in line. 

Not to contribute to a hijacking, but riding to work is a much better option than it seems on the surface.  First of all, people don't have to dedicate additional time to working out because it is done as part of the commute.  If your employer has a fitness center or if there is a gym nearby, you can shower and get ready at work.  You'd also be surprised about how little time it takes.  My reverse commute takes about 15 minutes more by bike than it would be car.  It is refreshing and saves a ton of money, not to mention making for some guiltless lunches.

As far as Lenexa goes, it is actually surprisingly easy to get around.  You can take Southwest Boulevard to the farmer's market in Merriam and join the streamway trail that will take you into Lenexa.

If anyone at all is interested in using bicycles for transportation for any reason and any destination, even if you are just curious and you don't think it'll stick, let me know.  I spend countless hours a week exploring the city on a bike.  I know the trails, the back roads and the bike friendly routes.  I've been commuting to work and riding to other destinations for awhile and I understand the challenges, realities, etc, and I've helped other people get started with it.  KC is actually a decent place to ride a bike.