So I'm wondering how the local media will handle the subject of the continued gentrification of the Westside.
Now the area around 15th to 20th and Washington St. is in play for rezoning (read: down-zoning) that's wanted by longtime residents who own homes but not by developers looking for business and development deals. While I'm vaguely hoping that the Crossroads folks will be satisfied with all of the riches they stand to gain by taking over Broadway, surprisingly there are a few neighborhood folks who actually hope that the west side of Broadway will remain part of the Westside. I'm not so optimistic.
In one article after the next Butch Rigby and the Screenland theater have been portrayed as white hat wearing do-gooders but the folks on Washington may not have such high opinion of him as their properties now seem to be part of this town's rampant real estate speculation and it's doubtful that longtime residents will see any profit that will allow them to move to an equally convenient downtown location. Rigby already refers to his property as part of the Crossroads and I've never seen him make any kind of outreach to any of his neighbors who actually live in the vicinity . . . Seeing as how it is infinitely more profitable to pander to this town's hipster set.
Still, what remains to be seen is how the politics of the thing will work out. Already, things aren't looking good for homeowners in this area. Doug Gamble is a hotel developer by trade so I'm only assuming that he might not see the value in ensuring the rights of people who occupy moderate income housing. As of now I have no idea what statements Pat Gray will prepare for Beth Gottstein but I'm hoping they're good.
As for the mayoral candidates: Brooks is backed by developers so there is no question that he's not gonna be much help. Funkhouser talks a good game about TIF but he has ABSOLUTELY NO RECORD OF NEIGHBORHOOD/COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, almost no connections when it comes to neighborhood and community leaders and little experience in zoning and/or housing issues.
I'm only wondering if some of the members of this community will take these candidates to task at tonight's forum at Guadalupe Center.
The forum which will feature both mayoral candidates and a bunch of City Council contenders is tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Guadalupe Center Auditorium, 1015 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Because the area which I'm referring hosts a large number of Latino voters, I'm sure there's a racial element that will also go unmentioned along with crime concerns. But to be fair, in the end I think this will issue will come down to eminent domain and the positions of both candidates on that subject aren't quite clear . . . To me at least.
As yet another stretch of homeowners are set to be run out by bigger and richer interests while white, yuppies cheer about a so-called renaissance in the face of nothing more than speculation . . . It's clear that this city has been without leadership on the subject of property rights for quite some time. Yet, I'm realistic about the outcome of these kinds of struggles . . . Mainly that brown people and po'folk always lose. I only hope that the members of this community will get a chance to speak their peace before they are pushed out.
Hey Tony -
ReplyDeleteWhat are the Westside "boundaries" (i.e. does it go north of 12th street, west of the state line, etc.)?
It's amazing what putting a highway through the middle of a brown neighborhood will do for dividing that neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteThat area should so be primarily residential (with some exceptions made for like the corner market there at 17th ish) and Screenland and a few other things that make that area a real neighborhood. My wife and I looked at an empty lot over there on the West Side and found out that it was zoned commercial (which equals a 10x price tag) -- which was so disappointing.
I can't seem to bring myself to care about that little slice of 'westside' (whatever the fuck that is, 3 blocks wide?).
ReplyDeleteThe neighborhood is run down. They occupy prime real estate location. People in the neighborhood don't have the money to keep up a 100 year old victorian rotting from the inside.
I see no problem with property owners selling out to developers, taking their money, and 'gentrifying' the neighborhood by knocking down structures that should be condemned.
It is crazy, half those houses should be gone anyway. Have you seen the unstable fire escape deck on the 6-pack browntone you can see from broadway? It looks like a deathtrap.
Tony lives in a reality defined by his racism where everything is black, white, and brown. White disrespects black and brown and always tries to, and does, get the upper hand.
But in Tony's world, gentrification doesn't mean 'making the area nicer' it means 'kick out mexicans'. That should tell you more about his own self-hating than any saturday night Kenny Loggins heavy playlist ever.
Wow. Tearing down historical victorians seems like a great idea. Let's use the space for surface parking lots and maybe another Interstate Highway.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you sound like an "urban planner" circa 1950.
Apparently the idea of neighborhoods is not important to you.
Wow. Tearing down historical victorians seems like a great idea
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Have you actually SEEN these houses? And how will a lower-middle class family restore a Victorian that takes a couple hundred thousand to fix the wood rot and settling? They won't. They'll sell out to a rich family who is willing to sink money into a refurb. Then you end up with the same gentrification, and less efficient use of downtown space.
I suspect you've never seen this neighborhood at all.
The 12 new houses going in are Victorian style to match the neighborhood.
It isn't practical to have that neighborhood in disuse so close to downtown. We can complain about sprawl and white flight and shit-assed schools all we want...but you contribute to those problems by letting there be a 10 block verticle slice of downtown that has single family homes on it that look horrible.
Let's not delude ourselves. Most of those properties are in disuse because there is no incentive to fix them up. Why fix a house/brownstone when the lot is worth more than the house?
-gorilla the desperado
I suspect you've never seen this neighborhood at all.
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Quite the contrary -- I'm very familiar with the neighborhood. I just think it's ridiculous that our answer for everything is "tear it down, and build new". One of the reasons most people are attracted to Kansas City, MO at all is because of the old, historic neighborhoods and old, historic homes. Seriously, would anyone be moving into Scarritt neihgborhood, or Hyde Park, to deal with those problems, if it wasn't for the beautiful old homes? If there is a problem with delapidation, fix the problem, not the symptom. Many of those homes would draw a VERY fair price if residents were willing to sell -- but they're not, because it's THEIR neighborhood.
The last thing KC needs to do is destroy more of its history...it's actually the one thing the city has going for it right now as a selling point. If people want new homes, there are certainly cheaper, safer, better-schooled areas in which to buy them.
The thing to remember about Anonymous/gorilla the desperado is that he/she isn't from KC, hasn't been in this town long, doesn't own any property here, and doesn't know shit about the town. None of these things stop him/her from spouting off. He/she's a self-professed expert on the Eastside, Brookside, Downtown and, now the Westside.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone to suggest that new construction will "match" the Victorian neighborhood, just shows they don't know much about historic architecture either.
Go back to your "beloved" New Orleans, Gorilla. There's plenty of wood rot and settling down there for you to bulldoze and "develop."
patrick the starfish says:
ReplyDeleteGo back to your "beloved" New Orleans, Gorilla. There's plenty of wood rot and settling down there for you to bulldoze and "develop.
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Actually, I lived in new orleans when I went to College. You know, the thing that most people attend. The thing that causes people to be in different cities for different periods of time.
I've been in this metro area for over 20 years. I've lived in Stilwell, Overland Park, Fairway, Brookside, and now downtown. I graduated from a public high school and went to both Pem Hill and Barstow.
I feel I have sufficient connections to Kansas City to make comments.
Sorry if you don't think so. Sorry if you think that this city is best served by not building anything new and focusing on potholes.
You missed the point of my post on New Orleans. It is gone. There is n't much to return to outside of trust-fund babies, crushing poverty, and plenty of plastic geux cups.
I've moved back into the city of my youth, that stayed stagnant for most of the years I lived here, and now everyone wants to focus on playing Ralph Nader and bitching that real estate lawyers get rich when there is development.
Planned development is good, and the city needs to continue its years of planned developments. It is a shame that people are so short sighted as to not see any long term benefit. It boggles the mind.
-Gorilla the desperado, certified non 'outsider' and thus fully capable to comment on my city of residence.
brent says:
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons most people are attracted to Kansas City, MO at all is because of the old, historic neighborhoods and old, historic homes. Seriously, would anyone be moving into Scarritt neihgborhood, or Hyde Park, to deal with those problems, if it wasn't for the beautiful old homes? If there is a problem with delapidation, fix the problem, not the symptom.
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First, I agree 100% with the comment about Hyde Park. That is an example of a neighborhood that will benefit greatly from a continued facelift of the historic buildings. And closing the damn Chatham.
The hyde park brownstones are better for restoration because they are brick. The 'westside' neighborhood (really downtown) that Tony is referring to is pretty much wooden victorians with the exception of a few 6-plexes. Foundations are visibly sunk, porches collapsing, wood rotting.
Tony's post was about 'gentrification'. He, naturally, had a grim view on it. I was and am pointing out that with the conditions of the wooden victorians there in the neighborhood, gentrification would happen anyway (since it takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore those) and all you end up with is a gentrified neighborhood that contributes to sprawl by not making efficient use of space by having single family homes.
I think the neighborhood would be much better off if they planned a mixed-use community that would allow for current residents to have a comparable place in square footage in the new development for a free, reduced, or rent controlled. rate That way they can build upwards. There aren't too many people living in that slice anyway- it would be a small concession to any builder, especially one financed by TIF.
-Gorilla the desperado
It's hypocritical to silmutaneously complain about how crappy the city is, how many problems it has, and also complain about people who want to invest money and improve it. Many people would like the option of selling their property, and in an improving area they make more money when doing so.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see the result of everything staying the same and no "gentrification" look at most of the east side.
brent says:
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons most people are attracted to Kansas City, MO at all is because of the old, historic neighborhoods and old, historic homes. Seriously, would anyone be moving into Scarritt neihgborhood, or Hyde Park, to deal with those problems, if it wasn't for the beautiful old homes?
Don't forget Pendleton Heights.
Barstow, Pembroke, Fairway, Stillwell, Overland Park, private college in New Orleans, a public school that was probably one of the Blue Valley schools ...
ReplyDeleteAh, well that explains it. Gorilla is a little spoiled, bigoted suburban rich kid who only briefly has lived in the actual city. And the one time he/she lives outside of the suburbs (New Orleans) he/she sticks to the safe tourist districts.
Tell you what kiddo: You'd have a lot more credibility if mommy and daddy weren't heavily subsidizing your urban living experience. As it is, you still haven't lived in KCMO (sorry Kansas suburbs don't count) for long, and you still don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about.
FUCK U MUTHER FUCKERS COME TRY TO TEAR DOWN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS LET ME AND MY FELLOW WESTSIDERS COME AND TEAR DOWN UR SHIT ASSHOLE IF I KNEW WHO U R I WULD BEAR UR ASS. THE WESTSIDE IS GOING TO BE HEAR IT AINT GOIN NOWHERE. THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS DIFFERENT THEN ANY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD IN KC IT HAS ROOTS SOMETHING U DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT MAYBE IF U WAS FROM HERE U WULD NO WHAT I MEAN. EVERYONE WANTS OUR LAND BUT U BITCHES CANT HAVE IT.
ReplyDelete