Kansas City Desperately Wants West Bottoms Development Boom By Way Of Taxpayer Cash

The top photo is from an old, old postcard that recalls a time when agriculture and big biz helped to create a vibrant biz community in the West Bottoms. 

Despite a one FAILED effort after the next . . . The place remains mostly filled with empty warehouses, homeless and a few serial killers.

However . . . 

A sketchy development history doesn't stop 12th & Oak from throwing good money after bad. 

Let's not forget that KCMO has been trying to repopulate this area since the 1970s. 

Here's the latest effort to pack the district with hipsters . . .

The Kansas City Council unanimously agreed Thursday to rezone 21.85 acres, roughly bounded north to south by Union Pacific railroad tracks and 12th Street, and west to east by Liberty Street and BNSF Railway tracks, to an urban redevelopment district.

The rezoning measure came bundled with a conceptual phased plan under which New York developer SomeraRoad Inc. could build as many as 1,238 apartments, plus hospitality and mixed-uses, through the end of 2035.

The new district clears the way for SomeraRoad to seek historic tax credits for its first concrete adaptive reuse plans. This year’s first application round for the credits opened Friday, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

City Council rezoning sets stage for SomeraRoad's huge West Bottoms redevelopment - Downtown Council of Kansas City

An expansive "live-work-play" redevelopment in Kansas City's West Bottoms has received its first key approval, allowing its development team to begin moving the ball forward on its first historic preservation, public space, and infrastructure projects.