Kansas City Power & Light Building Apts???



Check the latest downtown tax break plan . . .

Newspaper: Historic Power & Light Building slated for $60 million redevelopment

The effort to save the best part of the skyline is nice even if nobody likes to admit that the Downtown condo market is over-saturated, not as crowded as politicos would like to think and transitional residences inside the loop will never be a real neighborhood.

More in a bit . . .

Comments

  1. Yes, Tony the entire city should look like the Westside did in 1989. We get it. You prefer blight and rot.

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  2. Todd Twatsworth4/3/14, 8:16 AM

    I'd actually much prefer blight and rot that was already paid off than a taxpayer funded Disneyland version of a real city.

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  3. Todd Twatsworth4/3/14, 8:16 AM

    I'd actually much prefer blight and rot that was already paid off than a taxpayer funded Disneyland version of a real city.

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  4. I'd much prefer working farms and unsullied countryside to the taxpayer funded Truman show version of a real neighborhood that the average cul-de-sac suburban claptrap is.

    And we'd all be better off for it.

    Before you reactionary, ill-informed crybabies piss an moan about tax incentives for downtown development, maybe you should look at how the suburban tract housing you live is ACTUALLY paid for...

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  5. How much is the going to cost us in incentives and tax breaks to help this poor developer in this blighted area.

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  6. It could be argued that the Power & Light BUILDING itself is a cultural asset. It was the tallest build in MO for decades, and defines our skyline (both historically and culturally) in a big way. This is one of the few projects where public tax incentives, often the only to make this type of project financially viable, may make sense.

    Imagine NYC without the Empire State building or the Chrysler building, or Chicago without the Sears tower or the Hancock building. Preserving civic treasures that define a City, in a way that should ensure decades of viable use, is one of the few instances where public tax incentives make sense.

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  7. I guess the other option is the "Union Station" method of preservation, where the City itself obtains the property and revitalizes it itself through the use of designated tax revenues. While on the front end, this may similarly compare with the offset cost of tax incentives to a private developer, we've all seen the effect of DECADES of continued operational costs and mismanagement on the part of the City.

    Like it or not, private developers are usually MUCH better at these things than governmental entities.

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  8. I noticed the lack of a "the reason we are doing this is the streetcar" comment. So here's a downtown eco dev project totally unrelated to the streetcar that will be claimed by them.

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  9. Tony- don't link to those idiots at the KC Star anymore. I don't get the paper b/c I get my new here and every time I jump to one of their articles from here, I get the "Pay up Sucker!" screen. Screw them!!

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  10. I'm opposed to the streetcar, but I think incentives to restore the KCP&L building may be justified. That building already exists, and it will eventually provide tax revenue. The streetcar does not yet exist and will never provide tax revenue, and the P&L District not only does not provide revenue, they require annual taxpayer subsidies.

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  11. The KCP&L building is pretty cool. There are folks living on the top floors I believe. Alan Antin is one I think. The view is very nice.

    Tearing it down is not an option.

    I think a straight line comparrison from the Toy Train to this building is unwarranted and incentives make more sense here.

    That is just my opinion.

    It is a great piece of history.

    Union Station loses it's ass too, but god awmighty, what a beautiful place. We rubes should have voted in a RailRoad themed Casino and we would be awash in cash from out of state wallets right now.

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  12. Instead of building a new hotel why not turn the power and light into one? Downtown doesn't need new condos and our illustrious mayor is hell bent on spending this town into a debt that it will never recover from. At least remodeling this building as a hotel save something from getting torn down to make way for something that will be way over priced by the time its done. It is the perfect location for the downtown venues, The only problem is parking.

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  13. There's a big difference between condos and apartments. Nobody is talking condos. The proposal is for apartments. As far as the TIF request goes, some idiots like Tony will cry foul. If I understand it correctly, the president hotel tif will help pay for this project. In other words, we get two historic buildings restored for the cost of one tif. Not a bad deal.

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  14. 12:20, I think you pose a great idea. I love the KCPL building, and it would make a beautiful and unique hotel.

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  15. Low income section 8 housing! Put a EBT grocery on the lower level. Harold Penner superstore on the 2nd level. Police substation/ courthouse/ jail on next 10.

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  16. Historic Tax Credits, TIF > Increasing taxes to pay for over-priced, over-hyped projects.

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  17. Thanks for sharing your economic expertise with us. Where did you get your PhD in Economics, Bryan? Was it Stanford or MIT? Doesn't matter, we're lucky to have you back in here in little old KC, cause without your authority and knowledge, to say nothing of your professional endeavors, I don't know what we'd do. (maybe have a first world transit system like every other mid sized and large city in the country0

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  18. Lmao over-saturated condo market?? The article clearly states apartments, in which there is a very large demand in the area. So much, in fact, that plans for additional towers are being accelerated.

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