Streetcar virtues touted
April 8, 2014
Kevin Collison
The Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/07...t-virtues.html
"The good news is, the Kansas City downtown streetcar plan has lots of people excited.
And for the most part, that’s a wonderful thing because it’s an important boost to our hopes for joining other progressive U.S. cities embracing rail transit.
The concern remains, however, that streetcar backers are overstating its effect when it comes to stimulating development, setting people up for unrealistic expectations.
That was my takeaway from last week’s discussion on “Development in the Age of #KCStreetcar,” sponsored by the local chapter of the Urban Land Institute and the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
It was a good update on some new projects: George Birt’s River Market West apartment project and the 1914 Main apartment plan by a Colorado developer. And it was a progress report on two older proposals: Jon Copaken’s Crossroads apartment deal first floated in 2007 and the 51st and Oak Whole Foods plan announced by VanTrust Real Estate in 2012."