Royals No matter where you live, the revival of downtown Kansas City is a great investment - Page 10

|Zach| · 02-22-2015, 08:48 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/op...e10769627.html

Perched where I sit in Johnson County, I can only marvel at how downtown Kansas City has been resurrected. All that is missing is a statue of Kay Barnes, the former mayor who pushed through its renaissance.

We in the suburbs can take great pride in watching this vital part of the metropolitan area become a place that draws visitors to our city and provides attractions for residents of the metro. It’s a new Mecca.

It wasn’t that long ago, in 1996, when residents of south and west Johnson County were asked in focus groups what they thought of Crown Center, and what they thought of downtown.

I watched through a two-way mirror.

As someone who has lived here my entire life, I remember taking the streetcar downtown with my grandfather. I remember going downtown to shop and to eat. It was a vital part of my childhood.

So I was stunned when so many Johnson County residents proclaimed they did not know where Crown Center was, and they had either never been downtown, or had only been there once or twice.

There was little recognition that a decaying Union Station, or a decaying downtown, had any effect on Johnson County.

Had anyone asked me back then I probably would have said that having a vibrant downtown, where people would actually choose to live, was a fanciful idea and not realistic.

Haunted houses and blight consumed much of central downtown. Not exactly a source of pride. It seemed much of downtown was lost as a magnet for much of anything except crime.

Fast forward.

Thousands of Johnson Countians and others who live far outside the downtown loop visit the spectacular Sprint Center for concerts and other events. They dine in the nearby restaurants or go for drinks at a downtown bar.

Above all, they feel safe.

Recalling the 1996 focus groups, there was a near-unanimous sentiment expressed that they would “never go downtown at night” under any circumstances. They weren’t crazy. It was not safe.

I can only imagine what a focus group of out-of-town visitors to Kansas City might have said about downtown. Nothing to do. Nowhere safe to go. A dead zone.

That was the impression conventioneers and other visitors took home after staying downtown. Kansas City was a place to avoid.

Yes, I know Kansas City taxpayers unfortunately have to subsidize the Power & Light District. It’s not my tax money, but I can tell you it’s a bargain.

It is like building an interstate highway system. It doesn’t ever pay for itself, but look at what it spawns economically. Today, Kansas City not only has a nationally renowned arena, but it has an entertainment district which, in turn, has spawned apartment living downtown. Important amenities like a high-quality grocery store and fitness club add to the sense that you can live in a self-contained downtown without constant trips required for day-to-day living. In addition, office buildings are starting to fill up, thanks to a new mindset about working downtown.

A controversial downtown streetcar corridor, inevitably to be expanded south, could be a real asset to downtown. We hope so.

Few of us in the suburbs would have ever dreamed that downtown could actually become hip.

Even with too few good public schools nearby, thousands of Kansas City residents are flocking to live downtown. It goes against what those in the suburbs imagined, but the phenomenon is real.

If those focus groups from 1996 were put together today, and people were asked what they think of downtown, I would be shocked if they wouldn’t say positive things. I would be surprised to see anything less than a consensus that the well-being of the entire metropolitan area depends on a rejuvenation of our downtown — the heart of the city.

To reach Steve Rose, longtime Johnson County columnist, send email to srose@kc.rr.com.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/op...#storylink=cpy

**Donger** · 02-23-2015, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strongside

PB's kids will never experience Lego Land. Shame.

That's no joke. I was raped at Lego Land a few years ago.

Strongside · 02-23-2015, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

That's no joke. I was raped at Lego Land a few years ago.

You can't be too careful. I was attacked by blacks at Science City.

**Bugeater** · 02-23-2015, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablo

I've never had a homeless person be aggressive towards me. They might come up and ask if you have a smoke/money/whatever and you just say "Nope" and keep trucking forward. It isn't a difficult concept. Sometimes they'll try to keep walking and telling you some sob story and you just don't acknowledge them and they realize they're wasting their time. There's no need to fear them or avoid areas altogether because you think they're scary.

Maybe in twenty years when I'm living in some burb; and I make my quarterly venture into downtown past 8 pm I'll understand the fear of some posters.

I worked in downtown Omaha for a couple years and had homeless people get hostile with me and others numerous times. It also happened to me the one and only time I was ever in downtown KC, although that was over 20 years ago. And while I don't really "fear" them, it's not something that I care to put up with.

|Zach| · 02-23-2015, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

You can tell pretty clearly who in this thread has children, and who does not.

Are you going to raise your children as cowards? Or are they always doomed to a life of fear becuase their father is a pussy...is it genetic?

Prison Bitch · 02-23-2015, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Are you going to raise your children as cowards? Or are they always doomed to a life of fear becuase their father is a pussy...is it genetic?

Are you going to raise yours watching 0-0 World Cup games, wearing soccer scarves, spending 2/3 your paycheck on rent + craft beer so you can be "trendy", pasting Obama bumper stickers on your crappy (but fuel efficient!) hatchback you park on the street, and yelling "racists!" constantly on Internet forums?

If there's a 10th circle of hell, surely you're living it.

|Zach| · 02-23-2015, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Are you going to raise yours watching 0-0 World Cup games, wearing soccer scarves, spending 2/3 your paycheck on rent + craft beer so you can be "trendy", pasting Obama bumper stickers on your crappy (but fuel efficient!) hatchback you park on the street, and yelling "racists!" constantly on Internet forums?

If there's a 10th circle of hell, surely you're living it.

I like whiskey.

|Zach| · 02-23-2015, 01:23 PM

They probably have some at the TGI Fridays by you?

Strongside · 02-23-2015, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

They probably have some at the TGI Fridays by you?

TGI Friday's closed, much to PB's dismay.

He's more of a Bob Evan's kind of guy now.

Pablo · 02-23-2015, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strongside

TGI Friday's closed, much to PB's dismay.

He's more of a Bob Evan's kind of guy now.

Now that's a safe environment. Everyone is 60+ and the dinner rush is over by 6 pm. You can definitely get home before the sun goes down.

Strongside · 02-23-2015, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablo

Now that's a safe environment. Everyone is 60+ and the dinner rush is over by 6 pm. You can definitely get home before the sun goes down.

It's no Golden Corral, but it'll do.

KC native · 02-23-2015, 01:58 PM

@ "I don't like when bums ask me for money."

**** them. Tell them no and keep moving. It's not hard.

I cut them off as soon as they start talking by saying, "I can't help you." Which usually kills it right there. One time I had a guy in Westport get riled up and make a threat when I cut him off. I told him "I ate 3 meals today. I'm ready to go. How about you?" He shut up and his friend laughed.

Eleazar · 02-23-2015, 02:00 PM

It's interesting to hear this discussion as someone who has been away from KC for the last 5-6 years.

During that time P&L has come and is now passé; Legends came on the scene, failed, then was reimagined. The Sporting KC thing happened. The K was rennovated, Arrowhead was rennovated. Westport I haven't heard any discussion about but it doesn't seem to have changed much at all.

Wouldn't it be funny if KC went full circle back to the 80s where people go out in Westport, and downtown and the Dotte are pits again?

temper11 · 02-23-2015, 02:14 PM

I went to KC twice in 2 years in 2011/2012 on business trips. Stayed right next door to the WW1 museum (Hilton maybe?). I left KC thinking it was a great city. I did all the touristy stuff (WW1 museum, Negro Leagues Museum, Jazz museum, that freaky Bodies Revealed museum that was in the train station for a little while, etc.) as well as just going to a number of restaurants and bars while there. I don't know if that was before or after the revitalization the OP is talking about, but I really thought the place was great.

**Iowanian** · 02-23-2015, 02:14 PM

No, but it's apparent you've replaced the batteries in your Keyboard of Douche.

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Was this the keyboard of doom? Or what are we calling your online rage these days?

**DeezNutz** · 02-23-2015, 02:34 PM

Yep, better be careful, Prison Bitch. Less vigilance might result in interacting with someone who is different from you.

Just stick to the safety of Tiger Board.

02-22-2015, 08:48 AM
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5326768	No matter where you live, the revival of downtown Kansas City is a great investment http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/op...e10769627.html Perched where I sit in Johnson County, I can only marvel at how downtown Kansas City has been resurrected. All that is missing is a statue of Kay Barnes, the former mayor who pushed through its renaissance. We in the suburbs can take great pride in watching this vital part of the metropolitan area become a place that draws visitors to our city and provides attractions for residents of the metro. It’s a new Mecca. It wasn’t that long ago, in 1996, when residents of south and west Johnson County were asked in focus groups what they thought of Crown Center, and what they thought of downtown. I watched through a two-way mirror. As someone who has lived here my entire life, I remember taking the streetcar downtown with my grandfather. I remember going downtown to shop and to eat. It was a vital part of my childhood. So I was stunned when so many Johnson County residents proclaimed they did not know where Crown Center was, and they had either never been downtown, or had only been there once or twice. There was little recognition that a decaying Union Station, or a decaying downtown, had any effect on Johnson County. Had anyone asked me back then I probably would have said that having a vibrant downtown, where people would actually choose to live, was a fanciful idea and not realistic. Haunted houses and blight consumed much of central downtown. Not exactly a source of pride. It seemed much of downtown was lost as a magnet for much of anything except crime. Fast forward. Thousands of Johnson Countians and others who live far outside the downtown loop visit the spectacular Sprint Center for concerts and other events. They dine in the nearby restaurants or go for drinks at a downtown bar. Above all, they feel safe. Recalling the 1996 focus groups, there was a near-unanimous sentiment expressed that they would “never go downtown at night” under any circumstances. They weren’t crazy. It was not safe. I can only imagine what a focus group of out-of-town visitors to Kansas City might have said about downtown. Nothing to do. Nowhere safe to go. A dead zone. That was the impression conventioneers and other visitors took home after staying downtown. Kansas City was a place to avoid. Yes, I know Kansas City taxpayers unfortunately have to subsidize the Power & Light District. It’s not my tax money, but I can tell you it’s a bargain. It is like building an interstate highway system. It doesn’t ever pay for itself, but look at what it spawns economically. Today, Kansas City not only has a nationally renowned arena, but it has an entertainment district which, in turn, has spawned apartment living downtown. Important amenities like a high-quality grocery store and fitness club add to the sense that you can live in a self-contained downtown without constant trips required for day-to-day living. In addition, office buildings are starting to fill up, thanks to a new mindset about working downtown. A controversial downtown streetcar corridor, inevitably to be expanded south, could be a real asset to downtown. We hope so. Few of us in the suburbs would have ever dreamed that downtown could actually become hip. Even with too few good public schools nearby, thousands of Kansas City residents are flocking to live downtown. It goes against what those in the suburbs imagined, but the phenomenon is real. If those focus groups from 1996 were put together today, and people were asked what they think of downtown, I would be shocked if they wouldn’t say positive things. I would be surprised to see anything less than a consensus that the well-being of the entire metropolitan area depends on a rejuvenation of our downtown — the heart of the city. To reach Steve Rose, longtime Johnson County columnist, send email to srose@kc.rr.com. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/op...#storylink=cpy
Posts: 53,435

02-23-2015, 01:23 PM	#142
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5326768	They probably have some at the TGI Fridays by you?
Posts: 53,435

02-23-2015, 01:58 PM	#146
KC native Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Casino cash: $10049239	@ "I don't like when bums ask me for money." **** them. Tell them no and keep moving. It's not hard. I cut them off as soon as they start talking by saying, "I can't help you." Which usually kills it right there. One time I had a guy in Westport get riled up and make a threat when I cut him off. I told him "I ate 3 meals today. I'm ready to go. How about you?" He shut up and his friend laughed.
Posts: 24,946

02-23-2015, 02:00 PM	#147
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	It's interesting to hear this discussion as someone who has been away from KC for the last 5-6 years. During that time P&L has come and is now passé; Legends came on the scene, failed, then was reimagined. The Sporting KC thing happened. The K was rennovated, Arrowhead was rennovated. Westport I haven't heard any discussion about but it doesn't seem to have changed much at all. Wouldn't it be funny if KC went full circle back to the 80s where people go out in Westport, and downtown and the Dotte are pits again?
Posts: 80,659

02-23-2015, 02:14 PM	#148
temper11 Veteran Join Date: Nov 2013 Casino cash: $10014156	I went to KC twice in 2 years in 2011/2012 on business trips. Stayed right next door to the WW1 museum (Hilton maybe?). I left KC thinking it was a great city. I did all the touristy stuff (WW1 museum, Negro Leagues Museum, Jazz museum, that freaky Bodies Revealed museum that was in the train station for a little while, etc.) as well as just going to a number of restaurants and bars while there. I don't know if that was before or after the revitalization the OP is talking about, but I really thought the place was great. __________________ **disclaimer. Nothing in this post was meant to offend, or in any way slander the good people of Kansas City or the obviously passionate fans of the KC Chiefs.
Posts: 2,763