@BlogKCThe KC Star reports that the historic Hotel Cosby building at 9th and Baltimore is threatened with an emergency demolition this weekend. Apparently the owner has failed to maintain the building, to the point that the brick facade is falling off. Surely the $115,000 that the City will bill him for demolition is less than it would have cost to tuck point the brick while waiting for a tenant and renovation.
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, but so far the Historic Kansas City Foundation is silent on this issue. Our prediction is that this property will ultimately become a surface parking lot for the Union Carbide and Larue buildings next door, which the same owner redeveloped while letting the Hotel Cosby fall apart.
This is absolutely tragic and inexcusable.
The city and the owner should all be ashamed.
Meanwhile, I’m more astounded by the owner’s response. “I tried” – but the city “had to do what it had to do.”
What?
They haven’t done anything yet. And if they were going to tear down a building I owned, I’d be pissed. Instead, it sounds like he’s completely fine with the city footing the bill for his demolition costs.
Of course he’s fine with the demolition that’s exactly what he wants…. but, he gets the bill for the demo it’s not free. I am extremely skeptical that the building is as dangerous as the city says…. they have lied in many other instances when the end result was a pile of bricks. Watch… everyone will whine about how we lost another building AFTER it’s gone but I can get little response ahead of time.
I tried to get funds together to file an injunction or restraining order to keep this building from coming down, but by the time I had everything together, all the judges and lawyers were at the golf course on a lovely Friday afternoon. That’s what happens when you have basically 24 hours or less to take action. Demolition permits should only be issued on Monday so that people who give a shit have time to get organized.
the dickwads in this town who own buildings but don’t maintain them are a true blight on the city and even the nation. This one is but one more example, of course.
Another tremendous example of this is the cool brick apartment buildings facing the Bloch Cancer Park that are being completely totally and utterly ignored by their owner/slumlord. It’s such a shame and waste. And the heck of it is, these scumbags could a) get tax write-offs to even maintain these structures, let alone update them and b) THEY’D GET HIGHER RENTS IF THEY TOOK CARE OF THEM.
But do you think they’d get it? Hell no. This country is full of too many property owners who want to buy a building, milk them for all the money they can get out of them but then let them deteriorate and not invest further in them.
Shortsighted, ignorant fools.
And we have to suffer them.
Mo Rage
It’s ironic that the very agency that’s supposed to see that buildings are maintained is also the one that decides when they come down…. automatic coverup of incompetence.
there’s been a very active and informed discussion of this whole situation on kcrag.com since thursday:
http://forum.kcrag.com/index.php?topic=16836.0
One pertinent fact that’s missing from the KC Star article: how long has the building been owned by the current owner?
I looked at the building Friday. It’s clearly been neglected for a long time. The Star blames “last winter’s severe weather coupled with a wet spring” for its condition, but it took more than one bad year for the building to get to this point.
A more thorough news report would have included comments from restoration experts about what actions should have been taken in the last few years to save the building and what the price would have been.
What is it with this backwards ass city?
Thats one of my favorite intersections downtown.