Three Trails Project including Wizards Stadium clears Final Hurdle (Kansas City: real estate, condos)

[RjRobb2]

The final hurdle for the 1 Billion Dollar Three Trails Project including the Wizards Stadium, a 250 room hotel, and over 1 million square feet of office and retail space.

It's going to be very nice and a huge improvement for that part of the city.

www.kansascity.com | 11/20/2008 | Wizards clear last hurdle in plans for new stadium at old Bannister Mall (http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/900599.html#recent_comm - broken link)

[MrsMo]

I'm sorry, but I think the whole thing is a joke! Most people won't risk their necks going into that side of the city! It was only 28 years ago that Bannister Mall was built! Within 5 years it was torn up and had such a bad reputation we wouldn't even shop there! We drove right past it and went over to the malls on the Kansas side!

[RjRobb2]

So, instead of building something there and revitalizing it we should just leave it there and continue to let it be blighted?

I'm sorry but that is just dumb.

That is prime space for something that will be generate massive revenue for the city.

It is also a central location that can provide another entertainment destination.

Crime sticks to blighted areas with no activity. If you add activity, money, and crowds the crime will disappear.

But, you're right. Let's do nothing and let it rot so that it will continue to be the place for drug dealing, murder, and other crimes. That's a genius idea.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

So, instead of building something there and revitalizing it we should just leave it there and continue to let it be blighted?

I'm sorry but that is just dumb.

That is prime space for something that will be generate massive revenue for the city.

It is also a central location that can provide another entertainment destination.

Crime sticks to blighted areas with no activity. If you add activity, money, and crowds the crime will disappear.

But, you're right. Let's do nothing and let it rot so that it will continue to be the place for drug dealing, murder, and other crimes. That's a genius idea.

Yeah, let's just continue to ignore the parts of the city that already exist, and we'll just build stuff farther and farther away... to the point people are driving 2 hours just to get to work.

I'm all for redeveloping what's already there. This city is way too spread out as it is. The madness has to stop at some point.

Funny how every once in a while you'll hear people say that the airport should be in JoCo, and the Chiefs should've built out by the raceway. Okay, let's just abandon their current digs, so that they too, can become wastelands.

The areas around the Sports Complex are struggling. I think if they had a plan like the one for Bannister, they'd be much better off. Some condos, and retail that would follow...
The new Bannister development and the Stadiums would also benefit from one of those nice MAX bus lines to shuttle people from places like downtown and the Plaza.

[MoNative34]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

But, you're right. Let's do nothing and let it rot so that it will continue to be the place for drug dealing, murder, and other crimes. That's a genius idea.

A genius wouldn't blow a billion bucks on that lousy part of town.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by MoNative34

A genius wouldn't blow a billion bucks on that lousy part of town.

No one individual or company is spending a billion bucks. It's an accumulation of many entities and individuals.

That is prime real estate with easy access from just about everywhere in the city. To let it sit and continue to be blighted is ridiculous.

Your narrow-minded thinking is the reason this city is so behind the times.

We need projects like this to lift this city to what it can be.

This isnt a waste of money. Those involved in this project will get their money back 10 fold.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by MrsMo

I'm sorry, but I think the whole thing is a joke! Most people won't risk their necks going into that side of the city! It was only 28 years ago that Bannister Mall was built! Within 5 years it was torn up and had such a bad reputation we wouldn't even shop there! We drove right past it and went over to the malls on the Kansas side!

This is the kind of attitude that hurts the marginal parts of town. People hear of one or two bad things happening, and they never go back.
In the four years I've lived here, I've heard of drive-by shootings in almost every suburb, including those in Kansas.
People leave Raytown for the greener pastures of Lee's Summit, yet I'm certain Lee's Summit has had as many, if not more violence as Raytown recently. Of course, I'm just going by what I see on the news.
There has been some really crazy stuff happen at Oak Park mall. Yet the people who are so afraid of just about everything, they still go there.

I don't know what to make of it.

A place like Kansas City will never improve if they pour all their energy into developing places like Zona Rosa, which doesn't really fill a need, instead of redeveloping what's already there in places that do need the help.
Of course, citizens have to realize that supporting developments like Bannister is in their best interest. Also, the city should do their part in making it as safe of an experience as possible.

Zona Rosa. I like the place, but my goodness, was it really necessary? What was so horribly wrong with Metro North? All ZR is, is a replacement for the latter, from what I can tell. Then there's poor little Antioch...
I realize developers will do what they want, but the city should give them incentives to stay closer in, and to redevelop existing property.
Sprawl makes no sense, and it's just fueled by people's fears. Look at the trends. Younger people want to live in cities again. Redeveloping Bannister will go a long way into making KC, the city, a nice place to live in again.

[kcmo]

The Bannister Mall area is actually not a bad area. It's stable, has little crime etc.

It's just a modest area that needs some TLC and this would be a great project for the area.

The problems at the mall had nothing to do with the area around the mall.

[MrsMo]

Well, I'm not leaving Raytown for LS. Yes we are a more urban area now, my kids didn't feel safe in the schools, so we blew a small fortune on Catholic schools. I grew up just east of Bannister on the Raytown side of 87th street. We walked to Benjamin Ranch when we were kids to ride horses and go on hayrides. I won't even risk my neck to go visit friends who still live in the old neighborhood. Any violence in Raytown is usually on the northwest edge or the south side. Friend drove a school bus for years and told me not to let my kids go to public schools in Raytown. It's not anything like when we were in school 30 years ago.

So I guess you all thought the Sprint Center was a great idea and let Kemper Arena rot in the stockyards which is a very historic area for KC? We now have a white elephant just sitting and a fishbowl in the center of town. Kind of like putting a roof on Arrowhead, that should have been done as originally planned when the complex was built 36 years ago!

[RjRobb2]

Sprint Center was essential for the growth of our downtown. In fact, I would of moved out of KC had that failed. I dont think people realize how important Sprint Center is to our city. Without Sprint Center, our downtown would of gone from being in a coma to being dead.

We now how a nucleus in our downtown to branch out from and make it something special like other cities have. Things are happenings very quickly down there. That activity produces revenue for the city which will help reduce crime and improve KC's troubled school system.

The West Bottoms while historic is complete trash. You talk about not being safe at Bannister yet you wanted us to keep Kemper? That's laughable.

I worked at Kemper for a long time and that place was and is falling apart. It is way past its expiration date. It may be suitable for some minor events but nothing significant. Kemper was rotting way before the Sprint Center was even voted on.

Do you realize how many concerts, conventions, and other arena events that were skipping KC because the only place we had was Kemper? Those events not only provide our citizens with entertainment but also produce massive amounts of revenue for the city.

You may like living in a city still stuck in 1982. I do not and many others do not either.

I want to live in a city that keeps up with the times and has good entertainment options.