What on Earth should the Kansas City, MO school district do with 38 potential eyesores and dens of crime? We are talking about the 38 schools that the district now has to repurpose or sell. About 20 of them are from last year’s contentious round of school closings, but the remainders have been on the books for a lot longer…some for decades. The district is now providing tours of the schools to would be buyers, but are they getting any bites? The Local Show tags along on the one of the tours.
|
||||
|
The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Jim Heeter, and the Kansas City Area Development Council President and CEO, Bob Marcusse, sit down with Nick Haines to discuss the efforts being made to market Kansas City to other parts of the country to attract business, tourism and conventions to the metro.
The Chamber – A Part of Greater Kansas City’s History It was the first meeting of the “Commercial Club,” a small group of businessmen determined, as businessman Frank Faxon put it that night, “to make Kansas City a good place to live in.” The minutes from that first meeting – written in spidery 1800s penmanship – are shown at right. It was the middle of July in Kansas City, so we can figure it was probably hot and humid. The year was 1887, ten days following annual Independence Day celebrations. The men met at the Brunswick Hotel, making their way along warped wooden sidewalks, dodging mudholes, and carrying lanterns to light their way back home. They knew what good could come of collaboration – they’d seen it in action twenty years before as civic and business leaders worked to build the first railroad bridge across the Missouri River. (Losing towns along the river might have said those leaders conspired.) In its first century, the Commercial Club supported the City Beautiful Movement, resulting in the parks, boulevards, and fountains so carefully placed throughout the city and its suburbs today. In 1900, when the city’s brand new convention hall burned down 90 days before the Democratic Party was to hold its national convention there, the business and civic community collaborated with others to get a new hall built. The convention opened on time.
The Kansas City Area Development Council is a private, non-profit organization. We are charged with representing the economic interests of the entire two-state, 18-county region of Greater Kansas City. Our mission is to: Brand the region as one product to stimulate economic growth.
The Independence Regional Ennovation Center is a mixed use business incubator which focuses on three core areas for the development of new businesses…..bio-tech, kitchen/culinary, and business & technology. Located in Independence, Missouri, the Ennovation Center has transformed the former Independence Regional Medical Center into a launching pad for entrepreneurs with the necessary facilities and support services to assist successful start up businesses in a collaborative environment which fosters collaboration.
George Guastello was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Station Kansas City in December 2008 to lead the effort to build a strategic business and financial plan for the future of the Station. He manages an annual budget of $9 million and is responsible for operation, management and development/growth of the Station and surrounding property it owns. Union Station, a historical landmark and civic asset, was renovated and reopened to the public in 1999. A bi-state cultural sales tax, the first of its kind in the country, funded nearly half of the $250 million renovation. The Station features a science center, planetarium, rail museum, national traveling exhibits, one of the largest 3D giant screen movie theaters, live theater, shops, restaurants and offices. The organization also manages the Kansas City Museum. Prior to joining USKC, Guastello’s previous positions included President and CEO for the American Royal Association, Vice President Marketing and Business Strategy for the Starlight Theatre Association and Senior Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Development for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Guastello has amassed noteworthy accomplishments in many endeavors from association management to economic and community development. As a consummate community volunteer, he has been recognized for his commitment to civic and cultural endeavors with numerous awards. Guastello, a native Kansas Citian, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Marketing and a Masters Degree in Business Administration in Finance, both from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
There is no place in Kansas City – or any city – quite like Union Station. This fully restored landmark is Kansas City’s most prominent destination for cultural and entertainment activities. Built in 1914, Union Station encompasses 850,000 square feet and originally featured 900 rooms. In its prime as a working train station, accommodated tens of thousands of passengers every year. At its peak during WWII, an estimated one million travelers passed through the Station. The North Waiting Room (now the Sprint Festival Plaza) could hold 10,000 people and the complex included restaurants, a cigar store, barber shop, railroad offices, the nation’s largest Railway Express Building (used for shipping freight and mail) as well as a powerhouse providing steam and power. Closed in the 1980s, the Station sat empty and neglected, escaping demolition on several occasions. In 1996, a historic bi-state initiative was passed to fund the Station’s renovation, which was completed in 1999. The Station is once again a popular destination for the surrounding community just stopping by for lunch or to mail a letter from the post office in the west end of the Grand Hall. The station also draws tourists from all over the world who marvel at the Grand Hall’s 95-foot ceiling, three 3,500-pound chandeliers and the six-foot wide clock hanging in the Station’s central arch. Today’s Union Station is filled with fine restaurants and unique shops. And just like in 1914, you can catch the train at Union Station’s Amtrak stop. Union Station also houses the permanent collections and archives for Union Station Kansas City, Inc./Kansas City Museum. To find out more about the collections, visit the Collections & Curatorial Services Department. To this we’ve added a permanent rail exhibit called the KC Rail Experience, exhibit spaces for traveling exhibits produced by the Smithsonian and other national organizations, a planetarium, an interactive science center called Science City and a vibrant Theater District featuring giant-screen movies and live theater, and much more.
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet is a 25-member professional ballet company under the direction of Artistic Director William Whitener and Executive Director Jeffrey Bentley. Kansas City Ballet performs three mixed repertory seasons per year as well as the ever-popular Nutcracker. The company also reaches over 15,000 Kansas City students and adults each year through its community education programs and provides dance training through the Kansas City Ballet School. Here’s a look at the virtual tour of the new facility: Last summer, Kansas City hosted one of the largest watch parties in the country. The Kansas City Wizards beat Manchester United in July. Now after a name change to Sporting Kansas City and a new stadium ready to be unveiled this summer, Kansas City is poised to become a bona fide soccer town.
Heineman is also notable amongst sports team owners due to his openness and accessibility to the fans. Since taking over the team, Heineman has put a special emphasis on the power of social media, making use of sites like Twitter and Facebook to keep fans in touch with the latest going on with the squad. This past year, Heineman used social media to notify fans of the announcement of the team’s new stadium, and publicized Sportings’ draft-day picks before they were announced on television. Heineman has even taken the step of registering on the Sporting fans’ message board at Bigsoccer.com, where he regularly solicits input from fans on a wide array of issues relating to the team and organization. In addition to his duties with Sporting and OnGoal, Mr. Heineman also serves as the Director of Healthe Athlete, a division of the Cerner corporation that is developing athlete health records and club management systems for leading sports organizations. In 2007, Heineman was named in Ingram’s business magazine’s 40 Under Forty list, highlighting the best young leaders and businesspeople in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Heineman has been involved in sports ownership since 1992 as an owner/operator of the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Here is a look at the new stadium which will host its first game in June. Click on the picture to take a virtual tour of the new stadium…
Jake Wagner and Scott Lane from the Historic Kansas City Foundation discuss the value of preserving the history of Kansas City by saving endangered buildings. Here is a look at the buildings the foundation is currently focused on: KC’s MOST ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES
Historic Kansas City Foundation announces the 2010 Most Endangered Historic Places in Kansas City:
Watch List
18th and Vine Historic District Kansas City Missouri School Buildings Breuer House 67 + Belinder, Mission Hills, KS Since its founding in 1974, Historic Kansas City Foundation (HKCF) has been the only Greater Kansas City nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation of the area’s architectural heritage. HKCF is a major advocate for, and participant in, the thoughtful and meaningful preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings, landscapes, and neighborhoods. Through advocacy, public policy, outreach and educational programming, HKCF demonstrates the proven economic and cultural benefits of historic preservation.
Jacob A. Wagner, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design in the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design at UMKC. He is Vice President of the Board of the Historic Kansas City Foundation and has served on the board of directors since 2006. Since December 2005 he has been active in the recovery of New Orleans following the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. In Kansas City he has worked with the Washington Wheatley Neighborhood, the Green Impact Zone and the Mid America Regional Council on a variety of projects related to historic preservation, neighborhood stabilization and community planning.
LATEST NEWS ON PLAZA TOWER CONTROVERSY In April, there was all the publicity surrounding mobs of teens running rampant through the tony shopping area. Then there was the brouhaha over plans to tear down a cherished part of the tony shopping area’s Moorish-look architecture to make room for an eight-story office tower. There was the massive jewelry heist undetected by Plaza security in September… And now some big name retailers are heading to Kansas City and they’re staying away from the place long thought of as the biggest magnet for the best and most exclusive…. This week we’ve gone straight to the top…. Ed Fritsch, is CEO of Highwoods Properties nationally, that’s the North Carolina based real estate company that owns the Plaza, and Glenn Stephenson, a company Vice-President and Division Manager with responsibility for the Plaza, to find out what is behind the company’s strategy for the Plaza.  Glenn Stephenson, Vice-President and Division Manager  Ed Fritsch, CEO The Local Show will feature an extended excerpt from the new documentary Rails to Suburbia. The documentary is about the commuter rail line that city founder William F. Strang established in the early 1900s between Kansas City and the area that today is Overland Park. The excerpt examines Strang’s efforts to attract potential home buyers to the suburbs. The half hour documentary may be seen in its entirety on the Oct. 21 edition of Screentime.  Brian Hansel, CEO, Smith Electric Nick Haines interviews Bryan Hansel, whose Kansas City-based company, Smith Electric, is a leading manufacturer of electric trucks. Inside Smith Electric: President Obama’s speech at Smith Electric on July 8, 2010
 Kathleen Collins, President, Kansas City Art Institute Kathleen Collins, who leaves her office as president of the Kansas City Art Institute next summer, sits down with Randy Mason to talk about her tenure and future plans. ALSO: The Local Show is designed to highlight artists and entrepreneurs, leaders and overachievers from all walks of life – and in the process, help Kansas Citians discover substantially more about this place we call home. “The Local Show is really going to allow us to tackle areas of the news that rarely get much television coverage in the metro. At KCPT, we tackle local politics and public policy well, but what about the arts and entrepreneurship, education, health and science? Finally, we have a place to regularly tell those stories.” Nick Haines, Executive Producer, The Local Show Nick Haines is the show’s host and executive producer. Assisted by Randy Mason (and other guest interviewers from time to time), Nick will sit down for fast-paced chats with people who are making a genuine difference in fields as varied as education, health services, technology, and the arts. The pilot episode, for example, features Kathleen Collins, retiring this year as president of the Kansas City Art Institute; and Bryan Hansel, whose company, Smith Electric, is manufacturing electric powered trucks right here in Kansas City. KCPT’s The Local Show will also spotlight “difference makers” in the community. In this first program, KCPT goes inside Operation Breakthrough, the nation’s largest low-income daycare facility. More than 600 kids a day are served at the facility on Troost Avenue. But with rising poverty, 1200 children are on the waiting list. The Local Show will also feature segments showcasing items from the WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial, and from time-to-time, some aptly named “Start-Up Stories.” These profiles will peek behind the scenes at fledgling ventures across the metro, and then with the aid of expert analysts, pinpoint the companies’ strengths and weaknesses. KCPT President & CEO Kliff Kuehl conceived The Local Show after spending much of his first year on the job meeting business and civic leaders all over town. “I was amazed at how many fascinating stories I heard, and how much of it might not be known by a lot of our audience,” he says. As The Local Show launches in July and August, each half-hour program will air once a month. Beginning in September, it will have a more frequent presence on KCPT, agile enough to accommodate special editions of Imagine KC and other newsworthy topics as the need arises. |
  |
|||
|
| ||||
