DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY

'Downtown Kansas City' in Missouri, the central part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, is defined by the Kansas City, Missouri Downtown Council and City Hall officials as to include the entire area from the Missouri River, south to 31st Street ; and from State Line east to Troost Avenue (U.S. Highway 71). Downtown sits on a bluff above the Missouri River, commanding views from all directions.

Contents

Demographics

Architectural Structures

Redevelopment

Entertainment Venues

Neighborhoods

The Loop

River Market

Northeast

Crossroads

Crown Center

Transportation

City Buses

The MAX

Light Rail

Regional

Buses Lines

External links

Demographics

In 2007, Downtown was found to have 17,000 people and 11,500 housing units. (including units under construction) In 2000, the population may have been as low as 10,000 people with 7,330 units. There are currently 2,249 housing units planned in addition to the remaining 960 units of the Power and Light District.
In 2005, Downtown Kansas City had a density of approximately 5,617 people per square mile in its 2.9 square mile area.
According to Local Market reports, Downtown houses approximately 20 million square feet of office space. However, the vacancy of this space is at about 17%. There are also about 12.8 million square feet of Class A&B office space in Downtown, with a vacancy of 21.5%. There are over 100,000 employees working in the Downtown area.
Downtown has a total of 3,606 hotel rooms or 13.5% of the total amount of hotel rooms in the metropolitan area. The average occupancy of these rooms is about 56.5%.
Currently about 2.8 million square feet of office space are under construction in Downtown Kansas City.
Current investments into downtown redevelopment are thought to exceed $4 billion.
''Downtown Council''
''Local Market Reports''

Architectural Structures

Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park
''See Also: Architecture in Kansas City''

Redevelopment

''See Also: Downtown Kansas City Redevelopment''

Entertainment Venues

★ Bartle Hall Convention Center

★ Bartle Hall Ballroom

★ Municipal Auditorium

★ Sprint Center (opens in 2007)

★ Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (opens in 2009)

Neighborhoods

The Loop

The loop is at the north central section of Downtown Kansas City, it is the most dense section of the city, and it surrounded on all 4 sides by the major interstates of the metropolitan area. Altogether the Loop has an area of nearly 1 square mile. In 2006, the Downtown Loop held nearly 8,000 residents (half of the total DT population) and almost 4,000 residential units. The Downtown Loop is also the home of the neighborhoods of Quality Hill, the Central Business District, Entertainment District, and the Government District.

★ The 'Central Business District' is centered around 10th and Main and includes most of the large office buildings and corporate headquarters. The current condo boom has defined and mixed residential areas with the Central Business District.

★ 'Quality Hill' is in the west end of the business loop and was originally developed as mansions to house the owners of the stockyards below. In the 1980s it was one of the first Downtown areas to be successfully redeveloped. It is now a very popular neighborhood with a mix of townhouses, apartments, and Case Park.

★ The 'Garment District' is just to the east of Quality Hill, across Broadway. It originally housed the city's thriving textile industry. Its old industrial buildings have since been redeveloped into loft apartments and offices. Henry Perry, father of Kansas City-style barbecue got his start in 1908 from a stand in an alley in the neighborhood.

★ 'Government District' - an area on the east side of the freeway loop centered around Ilus Davis Park (The Civic Mall) that includes City Hall, Jackson County Courthouse, Bolling Federal Office Building, Charles Evans Whittaker US Courthouse, and other government offices.

★ 'SoLo'/'South Loop'-'Power and Light District' - this area long targeted for an entertainment district is now under development. Lining Truman Boulevard and I-670, the district is bordered on the west by the Bartle Hall Convention Center and includes Municipal Auditorium, H & R Block's new headquarters and the new 18,000 seat Sprint Center (the latter under construction).

River Market

★ 'River Market' - the area between the northern leg of the Downtown freeway loop and the Missouri River. Its old industrial buildings hold the City Market, a popular farmers market, and numerous loft apartments, condos, and offices. It is also the site of Westport Landing at Main Street and the Missouri River site around which the "City of Kansas" was founded in 1853.

Northeast

★ 'Columbus Park' - a residential neighborhood just east of River Market. A traditional home of Italian Americans, more recent immigrants include Vietnamese and other Southeast Asians.

Crossroads

★ 'Crossroads Arts District' - the area just south of the freeway loop is the city's primary art gallery district. It derives it name from its proximity to Union Station (Kansas City) and the TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building. Tom Pendergast ran the city from the Jackson County Democratic Club headquarters at 1908 Main. The Kansas City Star is also in the neighborhood.

Crown Center

★ 'Crown Center' - a primarily retail and commercial district located east of Union Station, or south of the Crossroads district. It is home to Hyatt Regency at Crown Center, Westin at Crown Center, Hallmark Cards, and other companies. Crown Center is also used to refer to the retail/restaurant center underneath the Westin hotel.

Transportation

City Buses

The MAX

Launched by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) in July 2005, "MAX" (Metro Area Express) is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line extending from downtown through the Country Club Plaza to Waldo. These buses have GPS receivers so bus stops can give real time data about the next pickup time. All buses have special bus lanes and they also can hold lights green to allow them to make the light.
The Downtown MAX stops include:

★ Park & Ride - 3rd Street & Grand Blvd.

★ City Market - 5th Street & Grand Blvd.

★ Federal Courthouse - 9th Street & Oak Street

★ Government District - 12th Street & Oak Street

★ Sprint Center - 13th Street & Grand Blvd.

★ Kansas City Convention Center (Bartle Hall) - 13th Street & Wyandotte Street

★ Crossroads Arts District - 19th Street & Main Street

★ Union Station - Main Street & Pershing Road

★ Crown Center - Grand Blvd. & Pershing Road

★ Liberty Memorial - 29th Street & Main Street
Many other KCATA routes have stops throughout downtown, centered on the Transit Plaza at 10th & Main street.

Light Rail

On November 7, 2006 Kansas City passed a light rail proposal. Route information is not yet available.

Regional

★ 'Amtrak'

★
★ Union Station

Buses Lines

★ Greyhound Lines

★ Jefferson Lines

External links

★ Downtown Council

★ Downtown Neighorhood Association

★ Crossroads Community Association

★ River Market Business Association

★ City Market

★ ''DowntownKC.net: Information about properties and entertainment in downtown Kansas City''