Kansas City Power & Light District

Power & Light District
Location 1100 Walnut Street
Suite 3000
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Type Mixed-use retail, entertainment, office, and residential development
Built 2005 - 2008
Opened First tenant opened November 9, 2007; various openings through 2008 and 2009
Owner Cordish Company
Capacity nine city block area
Website http://www.powerandlightdistrict.com/

The Kansas City Power & Light District or Power & Light District is a shopping and entertainment district in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, United States, developed by the Cordish Company of Baltimore, Maryland and designed by Beyer Blinder Belle and 360 Architecture. The district comprises nine blocks on the south side of the downtown loop. It is located between Baltimore Avenue to the west, Grand Boulevard to the east, 12th Street to the north, and Interstate 670 to the south.[1] The $850 million "mixed-use" district is one of the largest development projects in the Midwestern United States[2] The Power & Light District is one of only a few places in the United States where possession and consumption of open containers of alcoholic beverages are allowed on the street, although they remain prohibited on the street throughout the rest of Kansas City.

Contents

Location

The Power & Light District is immediately to the west of the Sprint Center. It originally was to be named Kansas City Live!, but the Cordish Company decided instead to name the district after the art deco Kansas City Power and Light Building. The present headquarters of the Kansas City Power & Light Company (a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy) is also located on the northern side of the district. A one-block area within the district, however, is called Kansas City Live!, and contains two floors of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, as well as a large, partially-enclosed courtyard and concert venue (see below).

Kansas City Live!

At the heart of the Power & Light District is Kansas City Live!, a one block area devoted to live music and entertainment venues. At the center of Kansas City Live! is a covered outdoor plaza to be used for concerts. The roof system, produced by Structurflex, is made of an Ethylene TetraFluoro Ethylene (ETFE) single-skin membrane. The first installation of an ETFE cushion solution in the United States was a facade in NYC for AOL Time Warner (2002/2003; 100m²). Credit for the first roof skylight application goes to the project Pasadena Art Center (690m², installation in 2004) and the first large scale pure roof application was for an aquatic facility in McGaheysville (appr. 4500m², installation in 2005).(previous installations have included AWD Arena in Hanover, Germany and Beijing National Stadium).[3] Construction of the roof began on August 17, 2007.[4] The ground floor of the Kansas City Live! block focuses on bars and restaurants, including McFadden's Sports Saloon, Vinino, Ragland Road, Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge, Tengo Sed Cantina, and Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. The second floor of Kansas City Live! houses the night clubs and entertainment concepts, including Mosaic Lounge, Lucky Strike Lanes, Angels Rock Bar, and Howl at the Moon.

The Kansas City Live! area of the Power & Light District was showcased before a television audience twice during May 2008. American Idol finalist David Cook played a short set from the Kansas City Live! stage on May 9, 2008, which aired during the television show the following week. The same location also hosted the official watch party for the final episode of the 2008 season, which featured a live television feed from the Power & Light District.[5]

Late night visitors to the Kansas City Live! block are required to present identification for entry which is then scanned by a handheld scanner which collects demographic data without informed consent. Due to the lack of informed consent, this potential invasion of personal privacy goes largely unnoted. It has been reported that you can ask for your identification not to be scanned.[6][7]

Power & Light District Tenants

The following establishments have already opened for business in the Power & Light District:

†- located in Kansas City Live!

Future plans

Cordish also plans to build four residential towers in the project. As of August, 2007, only one is under construction: a 38-floor 350-unit residential tower, which may include a boutique hotel. The site is just north of the H&R Block headquarters, on a lot once occupied by the Jones Store Company's flagship store. The department store building was demolished during the summer of 2005 and the ground was leveled and dug out beginning in March, 2006.

Criticism

Cordish instituted a dress code in June 2008 that has been called racist by critics. The dress code includes a ban on bandanas, work boots, ripped or baggy clothing, shorts that fall below the knees, athletic jerseys, and chains.[18] City Hall questioned the Cordish company about the dress code, noting that the dress code seemed targeted towards black males and was inconsistently enforced.[19] Councilwoman Melba Curls said her son was turned away from the district, while Counselwoman Beth Gottstein stated that "the message I keep getting is that Cordish is only available to some."[19] David Cordish stated that the company was merely attempting to reduce gang related activity.[20] Critics further accused Cordish of exhibiting racial bias when DJ Jazzy Jeff left the stage early during a performance.[21] Kansas City Power & Light District President Jon D. Stephens stated that "It was entirely an issue of audio and sound."[21]

Cordish has also been criticized for being ungrateful for opposing festival licensing for other Kansas City businesses, festival licensing that it was granted to allow patrons to possess alcohol on the streets in the district.[22]

In addition, Cordish CEO David Cordish has been criticized for repeatedly requesting additional taxpayer subsidies and police for the district.[23] The tone of the requests was labeled "petulant", "greedy", and "uninformed" as it was noted that the company had already received over $300 million in taxpayer subsidies yet failed to open on schedule.[23] This caused City officials to criticize the company for its "secretiveness and slowness."[23]

Alcohol and the Power & Light District

See also: Alcohol laws of Missouri

Missouri already widely is known for its lax alcohol laws, which are among the most permissive of any state in the United States, perhaps only exceeded by those of Nevada. Missouri has no state law prohibiting open containers or public intoxication. Generally, however, Missouri does prohibit bars and restaurants from allowing patrons to leave the premises with unfinished open containers of alcohol.[24]

In 2005, the Cordish Company successfully lobbied the Missouri General Assembly for a new law pertaining to any "entertainment district" in Downtown Kansas City which will allow patrons to remove any alcoholic beverage from any establishment in the District and carry it openly throughout the portions of the District not open to vehicular traffic, provided that the beverage is in a plastic cup marked with the logo of the establishment at which it was purchased.[25][26][27] Although it remains unclear how this will be interpreted or enforced once the Power & Light District opens in the fall of 2007 through the spring of 2008, for now the provision widely has been accepted as allowing drinking "in the street."[27] If so, the Power & Light District will be one of only a few places in the United States with such an open container allowance (along with the city of Butte, Montana, the Las Vegas Strip, the French Quarter of New Orleans, Key West FL, and the historic district of downtown Savannah, Georgia). The City Council of Kansas City has extended this provision to include any portion not open to vehicular traffic of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Crossroads Arts District, the 18th and Vine Historic District, the Liberty Memorial, Crown Center, and the Union Hill neighborhood. Notably, historical entertainment district, Westport does not benefit from this competitor's special legal provision.[28]

Late night visitors to the outdoor Kansas City Live! venue space are required to present identification before entry which is then scanned by a hand held scanner which verifies ID and stores zip codes and age ranges for market research. The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed disapproval of the practice and P&L representatives say that a person can ask for his or her license not to be scanned.[6][7]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ "Map of the Power & Light District". Mapquest.com. http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=E%2013th%20St%20%26%20Grand%20Blvd&city=Kansas%20City&state=MO&zipcode=64106&country=US&geodiff=1. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  2. ^ The Cordish Company announces lead design team for Kansas City LIVE!, press release
  3. ^ "Kansas City Live! will feature unique architecture", press release
  4. ^ "Power & Light District Construction Reaches Next Step", Fox4 Kansas City, August 17, 2007.
  5. ^ http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Entertainment/Detail?contentId=6576725&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=7.5.1
  6. ^ a b Martin, David (2008-07-25). "P&L Scanners Looking For More than Fake IDs - Kansas City News - Plog". Blogs.pitch.com. http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2008/07/pl_scanners_looking_for_more_t.php. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  7. ^ a b http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=12FAF682-DEF6-4A6D-A7FE-228CBBAA9C5C&gsa=true
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ "The return of Famous Dave's | Dollars & Sense". Economy.kansascity.com. http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/1270. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  11. ^ a b c d "Cityscape: Power & Light adds to retail, restaurant mix | Dollars & Sense". Economy.kansascity.com. http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/4247. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  12. ^ Kansas City Business Journal (December 12, 2008). "Genghis Grill will open in Kansas City Power & Light District | Kansas City Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2008/12/08/daily56.html. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  13. ^ [3]
  14. ^ "Power & Light's first clothing store opens Friday | Dollars & Sense". Economy.kansascity.com. http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/1113. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  15. ^ "Ridin', Ropin' & Wranglin'.. PBR Big Sky Opens Today". Kansascity.about.com. 2008-04-10. http://kansascity.about.com/b/2008/04/10/ridin-ropin-wranglin-pbr-big-sky-opens-today.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  16. ^ "Raglan Road Closed". Kansas City News. http://www.kansas-city-news.pro/2011/08/raglan-road-closes-in-power-and-light.html. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  17. ^ [4]
  18. ^ "Power & Light District: Downtown dress code". Myfoxkc.typepad.com. 2008-03-06. http://myfoxkc.typepad.com/power_light_district/2008/03/downtown-dress.html. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  19. ^ a b David Martin (2008-07-03). "Kansas City officials had plenty of warning that the Cordish Co. would impose a discriminatory dress code - Page 1 - News - Kansas City". The Pitch. http://www.pitch.com/2008-07-03/news/kansas-city-officials-had-plenty-of-warning-that-the-cordish-co-would-impose-a-discriminatory-dress-code/. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  20. ^ [5]
  21. ^ a b Harper, Jason (2009-06-07). "Cordish explains why DJ Jazzy Jeff's set was cut short - Kansas City News - Plog". Blogs.pitch.com. http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/06/cordish_explains_why_dj_jazzy_jeff_dismissed.php. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  22. ^ David Martin (2008-02-14). "Martin: Cordish Is Drunk on Power - Page 1 - News - Kansas City". The Pitch. http://www.pitch.com/2008-02-14/news/drunk-on-power/. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  23. ^ a b c [6]
  24. ^ Section 311.101, Revised Statutes of Missouri (R.S.Mo.)
  25. ^ Section 311.086, R.S.Mo.
  26. ^ "Sections 10-134 and 10-135, Kansas City Code of Ordinances". Library3.municode.com:80. http://library3.municode.com:80/default/template.htm?view=browse&doc_action=setdoc&doc_keytype=tocid&doc_key=4ae801c5df83c3a28c1c22202a517fdd&infobase=10156. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  27. ^ a b Rick Alm, "Drinking to be allowed on street in Power & Light District", The Kansas City Star, July 27, 2005
  28. ^ "Section 10-134(c), Kansas City Code of Ordinances". Library3.municode.com:80. http://library3.municode.com:80/default/template.htm?view=browse&doc_action=setdoc&doc_keytype=tocid&doc_key=4ae801c5df83c3a28c1c22202a517fdd&infobase=10156. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
The Kansas City Area