Comments on: NY Times on gentrification in The Crossroads

By: BlogKC

BlogKC — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 04:25:13 +0000

Hippster, they’re more worried about property taxes on studio space, not condos. The article mentions the Leedy studio’s taxes going tripling to $40,000. That’s a whole other ballpark from $2000 condo taxes.

By: Hippstar

Hippstar — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 03:30:52 +0000

Plus, who is thinking about buying a place or staying in a place but decides it’s just too expensive because of taxes? The problem for many artists isn’t going to be taxes, it’s going to be trying to buy a one-bedroom down there and finding out it now costs $250k.

I briefly explored buying a place at the Western Auto building, and they made a big deal about the tax abatement, but what’s an extra $1000 or so a year when the damn monthly payment is already $2000?

By: matt

matt — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 14:27:32 +0000

perhaps david is still a little groggy from his time machine trip from 1947 kansas city…

By: BlogK

BlogK — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 02:29:47 +0000

What Mom & Pop stores where in the Crossroads before the artists came it? I remember it being essentially vacant and abandoned…

By: Northeast Guy

Northeast Guy — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 20:45:29 +0000

Property development has never been brain surgery. Developers have been following the arts crowd for 40 years in nearly every large city in America and more than a few in Europe. I’ve watched plenty of average folks do very well by seeing the artists come to their neighborhood and reacting by quietly buying a parcel or two and holding on for the duration. Unfortunately the power structure in KC is all about eminent domain and those that wait patiently are rewarded by having their property condemned and given to the developers.

Of course the whole idea of tax relief in the crossroads has nothing to do with helping those shouldering the burden there. It has everything to do with the fact that the power structure wishes to keep the artists right where they are so that they can develop the bottoms and the near east side now rather than later. I smell TIF in the air…

By: David

David — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 19:13:07 +0000

One good turn deserves another. What about the homeless people that the hip artist drove out and the mom and pop stores who were displaced by the artist.
You talk as if nobody was in the Crossroads area before your “discovered” it.

By: tony

tony — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 17:31:10 +0000

I could give a flying funk about the artists. It’s more shameful that crossroads development threatens to displace the Mexican-Americans in the longstanding Westside neighborhood with recent efforts to annex a couple of blocks past Broadway. Get it straight (white) peeps: Crossroads ends at Broadway and then the neighborhood and businesses become part of the Westside . . . where racial politics and bickering makes all your real estate ponzi schemes a little less profitable.