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We’ve been focusing on the Troost corridor for quite a while now, and one of the biggest stopping points for us in exploring the area and imagining “what could be” has always come back to a critical set of questions: Who would actually invest in development in the area? Can one project act as the catalyst for change? Does the size and scale of the project dictate the success of the catalyst (does it

I’ve often said that adventuring down the Troost Corridor (particularly the northern part) reminds me of some kind of post-apocalyptic movie scene. This has largely been the case because of a non-existent population, and windowless industrial buildings set far away from the street, surrounded by barbed wire fences. More recently we saw another section of Troost that isn’t plagued by far-flung buildings (t

A while back, you may have seen one of my blog posts where I let everyone in on some daydreaming Sara and me have done about a particular set of properties along Armour Blvd (110-118 Armour Blvd). The structures, located on the north side of Armour, were slated for redevelopment a while back. Signs were posted in the yards, claiming that the properties were “coming soon.” But three months ago, the signs d

Disclaimer: this is purely speculative, and probably quite the undecided voter opinion. My own experience in urban development is extremely limited, but that won’t stop me from throwing out random ideas and thoughts. Here goes. Back when I lived in the middle of nowhere Before I moved to Kansas City, I spent a lot of time here as a tourist, fixated on certain examples of cool architecture and good eats. When I

When I first came to Kansas City, sometime back in high school, I remember being blown away that the city actually felt like, well, a city. Much of our trip was comprised of driving up and down Main street to get from our hotel at the Plaza, to downtown where our convention was taking place. A number of things stand out from those drives, though none so much as the Katz Drugstore Building @ Westport road and Main. In

Before I was a resident of our lovely Kansas City, I came to town for a national convention focused on trade skills and vocational leadership competitions. That kind of sounds like a lot of BS, especially the vocational part, and the visitors entering the city tend to result in migraines for anyone trying to navigate through downtown (I’m talking about SkillsUSA). The program is actually an awesome one, and the

If you asked me what I was doing this morning, I’d be tempted to reply that I was taking a tour through one of the sets of the Walking Dead. Wait. What? Today was the kick off to our new project, the Troost 90 / GUD Troost – aimed at studying the possibilities for urban revitalization along the Troost Corridor, which meant that Sara and I walked the first five blocks of the corridor. We spent part of the