Here's a few news items that came to my attention over the weekend that are worth mentioning:
On Sunday the Star finally decided to mention the housing crisis and allude to the current recession that TKC has been writing about for months . . . The Subprime crisis is apparently still in effect . . .
And brighter and more honest people than myself are talking about a "hard landing" for the nation's economy as the impact of all of the easy money floating around previously will have a lasting legacy on the local economy . . . Like a failure for the P&L District and the many foreclosures in the Ruskin Heights area turning the place into Kansas City's new Eastside.
Lewis Diuguid's column from last week deserves a mention as well. He accurately points out that this has been a hard year for Black females in Kansas City. Here's the money line about a bad trade that Kansas City has made in terms of revenue: "The city also may lose the NAACP convention in 2010. That’s millions of dollars blown by bigotry. But the city did pick up the first-ever, two-day Minuteman convention, which could attract 300 people and a few hundred dollars."
Finally, the Three Trails Development talk died down a little bit last week. Soccer fans seemed satisfied in claiming that the development is more than just a stadium for a team with one of the lowest attendance rates in its league. There is also talk of hotels and then shopping which already failed at Bannister Mall. All things considered, a cold hearted analysis of this project will reveal that it cannot save South Kansas City alone. While this area of town needs attention, soccer isn't going to bring people back. TKC suggests a business park or some other venue (strip club?) that isn't completely dependent on patronage from the people of JoCo AND the surrounding neighbors who most suburbanites try desperately to avoid.
All things considered every one of these issues occupying the interest of the public in the last days of this year require some kind of tradeoff that usually involves an unfair exchange of common sense for pipe dreams and empty promises.
Kansas City would of done much better to put in apartments and condos in place of the Bannister Mall.
They should bulldoze Bannister, and turn it into a catfish farm, (with paid fishing). The huge influx of Rednecks would help balance the right side of the 435 loop with the NASCAR-loving left side, therefore balancing KC's Karma. Balanced Karma is happy Karma.
I suppose you missed the part of the Three Trails Development plan that includes multiple office complexes, since otherwise I wouldn't imagine you would actually suggest something which is actually a part of the plan which you are trying to debunk. It would be good to, you know... learn about the things you're writing about before you do so.
I don't believe that JoCo folk necessarily have to come for the place to be successful. There are more than enough people in South KC to support the development. Perhaps it won't be a huge success like Legends without JoCo support, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will fail either. Not to mention that I don't believe that absoultely no JoCo patronage will be present.
And you ought to know better in relation to the soccer stadium component of this plan as well. I refer back to Legends, which happens to be developed around the existance of the speedway which has a handfull of events a year. Take away that speedway and none of that exists today, but by no means is the success of the area dependent upon the draw of the speedway.
But truly, think what you like. If it turns out to be a total failure then woo - you were right, good job... gold star. I personally feel that $700 million in private investment into a part of the city which desperately needs it.. well, that sounds like a good thing to me, regardless of the shape it comes in.
Yeah soccer is just as popular as NASCAR in Kansas City.
Keep dreaming.
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