| Renewal of downtown Kansas City is occurring on many levels, and the best news may be the increasing numbers of relatively small projects that are not part of a major entertainment district or large city program. While projects like the Sprint Arena or Power and Light get most of the attention, the down-town revival increasingly owes its success to a broad range of development, including smaller, independent businesses that are helping to fill the gaps and change the tone of downtown. Even more than a handful of huge developments, these offices, shops, restaurants and galleries are providing the energy that will sustain downtown as a place to live, work and play. In the Crossroads District, a surprisingly wide range of art related projects is creating the kind of environment that has been rare in Kansas City’s history. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art recently purchased the former Dolphin gallery at 1901 Baltimore Avenue as a satellite to focus on promotion of local artists. Another exciting project is the Lyric Opera’s $4 million renovation of new headquarters at 18th and Charlotte. The Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity is locating near Union Station, while the Kauffman Center for Per-forming Arts will command the entire area. These renovations will not only fill buildings, but also generate activity. There’s even reason to believe that downtown Kansas City has potential as a regional arts center. Eclectic Growth Infill is critical in creating “local flavor”—the intangible factor that can make an urban area attractive, or not. Several infill businesses are definitely on the plus side in that category. The Studio Restaurant & Bar, at 1118 McGee, and the Majestic Steakhouse, 931 Broadway, now provide the kind of colorful, locally owned venues that make any downtown truly unique. Downtown also needs workers, and several of the larger in- fill efforts are not only bringing employees but also some flavor of their own. The 2006 renovation of the former TWA headquarters at 1740 Main was a major work, but the new Barkley offices are the kind of thriving business that also brings restaurant customers and gallery visitors. In the Down-town Loop, Andrews McMeel Universal’s development of a new headquarters provides a similar result in the former Boley Building at 12th and Walnut. Downtown’s residential development has been among the area’s strengths, and it’s also part of the current round of infill. Smaller residential development projects are a major component of the more than $1 billion total in residential construction that has occurred or is planned since the beginning of 2000. Both residential and office development are also attracting stores that support living and working here. Downtown is at last seeing the kind of businesses that are an ultimate must-have, from an upscale men’s wear shop, to a grocery or pharmacy. Another example involves the Marshall and Ilsley Bank, which will open a downtown Kansas City branch early in 2008. The location will be the Wall Street Tower office, located near the Power and Light District at 1101 Walnut St. The bank, which came to Kansas City in 2006 with the purchase of Gold Bank, will keep its Kansas City headquarters on the Country Club Plaza. Research Medical Center has also announced plans for the first freestanding physician practice downtown. The service will be located at 920 Main and offer walk-in appointments—the kind of service downtown’s growing population of workers and residents needs. Even some of downtown’s bigger corporate citizens are involved in infill development and use of vacant or underutilized space. H&R Block recently leased 45,000 square feet at Town Pavilion as a way to locate in one continuous area a growing component of its downtown-based workforce. Block’s head-quarters houses approximately 1,600 people and can hold 400 more, but this original booster of downtown’s renaissance preferred a single large space available at Town Pavilion. One project is so large it might not qualify as infill, but a redevelopment near Columbus Park will help fill a major gap. Columbus Park Developers LLC, has announced it will refurbish a 22-acre site previously owned by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Redevelopment plans call for 360 housing units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. Another large project is in the Freight House District, where an 18-story hotel and three-level parking garage is planned at 22nd and Main Street. Projected to cost $38 million, the project will help tie the Freight House restaurants to the Main Street corridor to the east. The plan currently envisions an 18-story hotel tower atop a three-level garage, with up to 200 hotel rooms, although some may be residential condominiums. Additional hotel projects are either under way or recently completed, including the 193-room Aladdin Hotel (Holiday Inn). More than a Plan Some downtown infill efforts may be more procedural than physical, but nevertheless affect the area’s growth and overall success. A good example is the recent tax abatement provided for several artists in the Crossroads area. A total of approximately $1.6 million reduction is expected to help keep open 31 businesses—largely small art galleries and similar outlets. While relatively small, the move keeps in motion what has become an important trend in the area. Another organizational development is occurring in the Jazz District where the Redevelopment Corporation has formed a partnership with the Down-town Council. The move for the first time puts the District in league with one of downtown’s major organizations, offering hope that this somewhat isolated jewel can achieve its potential. One of the area’s most strategic projects may involve the vacant Trinity Lutheran Hospital complex at 31st and Baltimore. M.R. Capital Advisors and the Reeder Family Trust are planning to create a full-service senior residential complex there. Because of the location south of the new Federal Reserve Bank, the work would help extend downtown’s renaissance into Midtown. The Trinity Lutheran campus is just south of the new Federal Reserve Bank being built at 29th and Main streets. Although it’s still winding through City Hall, the plan calls for conversion of a former six-story dormitory building into 24 residential condominiums. The initial condo project would be followed with phases that would lead to the en-tire 7.6-acre complex becoming a mix of condos, senior apartments, assisted-living housing and a unit for Alzheimer’s patients. The entire project is expected to cost approximately $30 million and would be completed in late 2009. While not directly related, other projects could combine with the Trinity effort to continue redevelopment south along Main. Two recent steps involve approval of tax abatements for an office and a separate apartment restoration near 39th and Main. With the increasing activity along this Midtown corridor, these projects are potential ties between expansion near the new Federal Reserve Bank and southward toward Westport and the Country Club Plaza. In the West Bottoms, more immediate plans are furthering the slow but steady redevelopment there. Plans include an $8.5 million project to convert a former warehouse into a 55,000-square-foot restaurant supply distribution center and create up to 60 jobs. All of these illustrate the increasingly widespread and diverse development downtown. Although Sprint Center and the entertainment district have justifiably grabbed headlines, these smaller projects are equally important to the region’s resurgence.
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