KCRag Forum

StrangerThings wrote:

flyingember wrote:If it comes with higher taxable values, not the worst tradeofr

Guessing it would work like the "green roof" park. Owned by the city but mostly operated and maintained by Cordish. Open to the public during daylight hours, open only to residents after dark.

Most people here want the Interstate capped. Not sure I'd want it capped with those conditions. I understand Cordish's concerns because such a park might bring in a security risk at night but that really takes some premier real estate out of the urban landscape in evening. With that area being so close to a convention hotel and Sprint center, that's a lot for the city to give up even if for just the evening hours.

If it ever gets capped, I hope they look at Citygarden in St Louis and model it somewhat after that. It's a really cool small, urban park.

Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas is another good example. It's pretty much the same size-- a 3 block long capped interstate greenspace.

A recent ordinance passed makes all city parks closed at night

The space above the freeway would need to remain public space, so Cordish could not own it (but I suspect they could manage it on the city's behalf).

I could see them helping pay for upkeep for the ability to close it for private special events.

Owning a hotel + parking garage + managing an outdoor space for a downtown event would be a good setup for them.

That's a good point. If it's 3-4 blocks long some of the space could always be open to the public

If only KC were as progressive as Dallas...one key issue I see arising with downtown is the lack of public greenspace in the heart of thriving communities. There are no parks in Crossroads or in the River Market that are traversed daily by several different groups of people. Capping the loop would tie this entire community together, lead to a massive increase in walkability and desirability of the entire downtown ecosystem.

So what is the extent of the capping that we are talking about here? Ideally, I'd like to see it from Bartle Hall all the way east to include the block just south of the Sprint Center. That is a wide swath and I doubt if Cordish would have much interest in the entire area. The block south of the Sprint Center would be a great little plaza out in front of the arena that would finally create the plaza space KC so desperately needs. Barney Allis Plaza is a nice little spot but it's been a huge failure as an urban park/plaza.

They’ve started painting the mural on the west side.

Highlander wrote:So what is the extent of the capping that we are talking about here? Ideally, I'd like to see it from Bartle Hall all the way east to include the block just south of the Sprint Center. That is a wide swath and I doubt if Cordish would have much interest in the entire area. The block south of the Sprint Center would be a great little plaza out in front of the arena that would finally create the plaza space KC so desperately needs. Barney Allis Plaza is a nice little spot but it's been a huge failure as an urban park/plaza.

since the Grand Ballroom goes over 670 there’s no way possible to cap all the way to Bartle Hall.
But to Wyandotte would make sense.

I thought at one point there was talk of doing a "spanish steps" type plaza on the section between Wyandotte and Baltimore?

If done right, this whole stretch of park could be a real statement piece for KC, like Millenium Park is for Chicago.

horizons82 wrote:I thought at one point there was talk of doing a "spanish steps" type plaza on the section between Wyandotte and Baltimore?

If done right, this whole stretch of park could be a real statement piece for KC, like Millenium Park is for Chicago.

Agreed!

hgascoigne wrote:They’ve started painting the mural on the west side.

this building is impressive from the ground scale wise....

but the glass....

I absolutely love that the murals are being repainted! Very nice touch.
As for the glass, it really doesn't bug me that much, and this is coming from an architecture snob. It matches well with the po-mo skyscrapers and the H&R Block building, which all have colored glass. It also gives a feeling of urbanity to the P&L District with how it looms over the other buildings. I do, however, sympathize with the desire to have different facades and colors for the remaining buildings. Some masonry could be quite nice.....

was just a joke. I too don't care about glass

ldai_phs wrote:was just a joke. I too don't care about glass

I've been getting really bad at detecting sarcasm lately.....

Like glass is any kind of laughing matter.