Midtown/Westport
Extraordinary improvements have been made to Kansas City's Midtown during the past two years, giving a much-needed facelift to what had long been one of the urban core's most blighted areas. Anchoring this progress is the Midtown Marketplace at Linwood Boulevard and Main Street, the $60 million commercial development that includes Costco and Home Depot. Other prominent developments in the Midtown/Westport region include:
KCATA Transit Center--Construction on the transit center at 39th and Troost began in fall 2001 and was completed in September, 2002. The center, operated by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, houses a passenger waiting area and a child-care facility operated by the KCMC Child Development Corporation. The first of its kind in Kansas City, the facility serves customers traveling the #25 (Troost) and #39 (39th Street) bus routes.
Samuel Rodgers Community Center--Officials have announced a plan to build a 12,000-square foot clinic at 31st Street between Benton and Chestnut, where it will relocate its operations. The construction of the new facility will double the size of its existing facility at 31st and Montgall. The $5 million project will allow the center to provide extra services to its more than 250 patients. Construction is expected to be complete by 2005.
Operation Breakthrough Campus--The 52,000-square-foot, $8.2 million expansion project will increase the organization's licensed capacity from 353 to 553 children and allow for enrollment of more than 100 more children. In addition, it will allow the agency to provide summer programming on-site for the school age children and open healthcare facilities to more families in the surrounding community. Operation Breakthrough is a non-profit agency providing childcare and family support services.
Union Hill Redevelopment Project--The completion of 29 row homes at 2900 Walnut Street is the latest housing developments in Union Hill. Overall, the redevelopment project includes a 12-block area surrounding 31st and Main in Midtown. This mixed-use development consists of retail, hotel and office uses, in addition to new and renovated single and multi-family residential properties.
One notable housing development is the Midtown Marketplace Apts. at Armour Boulevard and Gillham Plaza, just southeast of the 32-acre retail site. The $12 million project will include 285 apartment units and is slated for completion in late 2003 or early 2004.
About four blocks to the west at Penn Valley Community College, a $4.4 million expansion project is under way. The college is building the Carter Center for Visual Arts. Slated for completion in the spring of 2003, the 25,000-square-feet, state-of-the-art facility will include a new ceramics lab, an audio-visual classroom, added photography labs, a painting/drawing studio, specialized classrooms for prepress, printmaking and graphic design, as well as a gallery and exhibit area. On the southern edge of Midtown is Westport, arguably Kansas City's most vibrant area for entertainment, shopping and cultural diversity. During the past year, two substantial developments were completed in the area.
In the fall, the 20,000-square- foot World Market opened at 535 Westport Rd. The store sells more than 500 varieties of imported and domestic wines and beers, rugs, candles, furniture, garden tools and a variety of unique imports from 50 countries.
Offering prime rental apartments in the heart of Westport is CityPlace, which officially opened its first Phase in September, 2002. The project includes 12 buildings and 288 units between Westport Road and 43rd Street. "