KCRag Forum

shinatoo wrote:What about the big empty lot north of 44th?

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The Nelson wants to rezone residential properties it owns immediately to its north, paving the way to convert four houses on 45th Street to office space for museum staff.

The museum also wants to reuse part of the former Rockhill Tennis Club site, property it owns immediately to its east, for a sculpture garden and overflow parking lot.

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Several residents sought assurances that the 45th Street houses plus the vacant Kirkwood house, which had been the former Rockhill clubhouse, would be maintained in perpetuity.

That “forever” request surprised Nelson representatives who had met Monday night with a few neighborhood leaders in an attempt to reach agreements before the commission hearing. That meeting had resulted in the Nelson committing to preserve the houses for at least 15 years.

“Protect those homes for 100 years,” pleaded Jim Wanser, a Rockhill resident.

Addressing only the next 15 years “is kicking the can down the road,” Wanser said, and is exhausting neighbors who fight incremental changes.

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They said the museum has grown rapidly in collections and visitors in recent years and needs more space. Some galleries now are used for offices instead of art.

The museum already has a special use permit to use one of the four 45th Street houses for staff offices, and it wants to convert the other three, one of which has been vacant for years. The other two houses have rental tenants who were given 20-month notices to move.

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chaglang wrote:Money. The Nelson expanded as much as it could afford back in 2007. IIRC the plan was always to move offices into the old Rockhill Tennis Club. It's definitely cheaper than building new.

Some of the Rockhill neighbors have suggested moving the 3 houses north of the Nelson to the parking lot and tennis courts east of Rockhill Road. Then the Nelson could build an office building in Southmoreland. I'm not sure anyone has asked Southmoreland how they feel about that idea.

missingkc wrote:I would love to see the Nelson develop a significant downtown presence. Part of all of their photography collection would seem a good fit. Great for downtown and makes room at the main site. Also, a lot of tourists make it to downtown but not to the Nelson I would think.

smh wrote:Julian and other members of the board have said a few times that the Nelson has no interest in having a presence outside their current campus.

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Phase one of the plan permits the museum to develop an outdoor sculpture garden where tennis courts for the former Rockhill Tennis Club now stand. The agreement also paves the way for the museum to sell the former clubhouse to a private owner who will maintain it as a residence.

Museum officials said Wednesday that the house, also known as the Kirkwood residence, hasn’t been sold yet. The house is excluded from the overall master plan.

The new phase one agreement also allows the museum to expand office operations, as necessary, into historic houses it owns on 45th Street. Museum staff members already work in one of the houses.

The pact with the neighborhoods states that the museum will preserve the residential character of all four houses. Eventually, a future phase of the plan — which would require a return to City Hall for permitting — may include construction of an office building for the museum so that the houses could be returned to residential use.

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mister816 wrote:Nelson-Atkins Museum is installing mini golf course on lawn

http://fox4kc.com/2017/10/18/nelson-atk ... design-it/

Seems kinda cheesy. I hope it's well executed.

cityscape wrote:

mister816 wrote:Nelson-Atkins Museum is installing mini golf course on lawn

http://fox4kc.com/2017/10/18/nelson-atk ... design-it/

Seems kinda cheesy. I hope it's well executed.

I've yet to see anything substantial that they've failed to execute on, so I have some high hopes for this. Does seem cheesy out of the box, but I imagine it will fit in well into the lawn once completed. I'm a bit concerned with the $4,000 max price per hole. Seems a bit tight.