Turning River Market Into a Hip and Livable Urban Center (Kansas City: sales, apartments) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

jaxontwinz · 10-21-2011, 03:38 PM

You can say River Market is getting things going again. But something just seems missing. There is a lot of unused space in River Market and I think it should get a whole new urban makeover. Something new urbanist and livable. A massive redevelopment project. I would love to see it turn into a Pearl District (Portland) type thing. River Market would be a great location for this. New redevelopment would push for light rail or streetcar and make downtown Kansas City surge and continue growth. What do you think?

kcmo · 10-21-2011, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxontwinz

You can say River Market is getting things going again. But something just seems missing. There is a lot of unused space in River Market and I think it should get a whole new urban makeover. Something new urbanist and livable. A massive redevelopment project. I would love to see it turn into a Pearl District (Portland) type thing. River Market would be a great location for this. New redevelopment would push for light rail or streetcar and make downtown Kansas City surge and continue growth. What do you think?

I think this is one thing KC is missing (ducks from all the "you just hate KC" posters").

KC could used a Pearl District or Central Platte Valley (denver) area which compliments LoDo. Just a master planned area of modern new construction in an urban area that would compliment areas like the Crossroads but offer something for those that would prefer a less gritty and more "clean" urban living option that would cater to older empty nesters as well as the younger yuppie crowd . Right now I think that is probably the only urban district KC lacks. I would actually like to see something like the Pearl District on the east side of Downtown. Scrap the east village which may take 100 years to build out and find a way to build a brand new residential district from the ground up and route the street car line through it. I think the River Market is actually evolving well into a nice mix historic an modern housing, but do like the idea of bring in a something similar to th Pearl District.

Kscrivner · 03-24-2012, 02:38 PM

I'm moving to KCMO to go to KCUMB and have heard the River Market area is close by. Would you recommend this area to someone who doesn't run with the yuppie crowd?

aragx6 · 03-26-2012, 10:49 AM

^The apartments and condos available are nice and the farmer's market itself is awesome. The area itself, however, comes across as pretty sleepy (though there are several good restaurants -- Farmhouse does a great brunch!) and at night there's very little street life. And yes, it would be a ridiculously easy commute to KCUMB, but even somewhere like Westport only takes 10 minutes, so don't discount it either.

bluecollar · 03-31-2012, 05:42 PM

I started a similar discussion about the nearby riverfront park area. I too feel they are missing something at this market. It was nice and there were plenty of people, but it was lacking the electricity of Seattle's Pike Place Market that I was used to. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but it comes across as "sleepy", a word I'm hearing with increasing frequency when it comes to describing Kansas City. And it's not: it's a happenin place, we just had the basketball thing, the All-Star game is coming up, if we wanna attract more of that, we need to come off as hip and exciting. So what's missing? A strong entreprenurial mindset? Capital? Is the population aging and dying off, leaving a lot of complacent Generation XY and Zers?

I'm surprised nobody is talking about this. Unless it has been talked about and I'm late to the party.

jaxontwinz · 04-01-2012, 08:28 AM

^ I completely agree with you. River market could become as popular as Pike's Place if KC tried. There really is a lot of empty space down there that really should be turned into low to mid-rise apartments. Especially when the demand is supposedly so high. C'mon Kansas City, I really think we could be a "game-changer" (if you will) this decade if certain things come into place. And it needs to start with our core.

xenokc · 04-01-2012, 10:12 AM

Baby steps. It takes time or a huge influx of money (which Seattle has) to make things happen fast. The RM area used to be much less populated than it is now. There's quite a bit more residential than 10 years ago but still not enough. It has been improving, but we'll always want more. I like that City Market has more world market mix than 10 years ago with some ethic eats but would like to see even more of a worldy focus from RM management. 'Hipsters', adventurous types and foodies go for that. But to increase vibe on a daily basis, more population is needed in the area. W39th has that critical mass of population and can support the ethnic mix of eats it has on a daily basis. RM is getting close but needs a bit more population.

It would be great if a bunch of developers could come in like 10 years ago and hopefully with the economy coming back the investments will startup again. But just throwing out wishes can't make it happen. There needs to be interest from developers and investors. Xroads could really use some infill development too so RM would have to compete for developers. Developers will go for the spots that are most cost effective with least path of resistance, not necessarily the best spots to create a contiguous vibe.

Downtown overbuilt condos (market crash hurt condo sales anyway) and it's the 20 somethings who want to live there, yet rentals are over 95% occupied. Many who want to live downtown can't find what they want. Hopefully developers will get it and start building more rentals, I just hope they don't go for cheap suburb style developments to quickly meet demand.

I do hope to see increased development in RM but it's not very realistic to expect an instant popup of 5 or more projects at once (like 10 years ago) until the economy booms. But if it develops on the high end side like Seattle, which has much higher income, most KC 20 somethings won't be able to afford living there. Be careful what you wish for.

aragx6 · 04-02-2012, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluecollar

I started a similar discussion about the nearby riverfront park area. I too feel they are missing something at this market. It was nice and there were plenty of people, but it was lacking the electricity of Seattle's Pike Place Market that I was used to. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but it comes across as "sleepy", a word I'm hearing with increasing frequency when it comes to describing Kansas City. And it's not: it's a happenin place, we just had the basketball thing, the All-Star game is coming up, if we wanna attract more of that, we need to come off as hip and exciting. So what's missing? A strong entreprenurial mindset? Capital? Is the population aging and dying off, leaving a lot of complacent Generation XY and Zers?

I'm surprised nobody is talking about this. Unless it has been talked about and I'm late to the party.

The neighborhood is a tad sleepy, but we were down at the market and had brunch at Farmhouse this weekend (highly recommend their brunch) and you definitely couldn't use sleepy to describe the neighborhood or the market itself with the beautiful sun shining down. The market itself was literally packed.

brewcrew1000 · 04-02-2012, 10:15 AM

If River Market became a Pike Place I would hate it. I was in Seattle Last weekend and Pikes Place was probably the worst thing we did the whole trip. It was so packed you couldn't even enjoy it, shop or stand and look. That market is so overrated.

xenokc · 04-02-2012, 11:11 AM

I've never hit the Market when in Seattle but many say it's pretty touristy and overhyped. Nevertheless, KC's City Market could use more daily energy, not just weekends - doesn't need to be as much as Pike Place. It will take more neighborhood residents, which means more apt buildings. I don't think there are any good candidate buildings left to convert to housing, so will take new construction. Would love to see the lot to W of CM developed with a garage (part public/part for residential), housing above and retail spots along 5th.