Guys there is a disaster nobody is talking about. It involves the streetcar and it's affect on a neighborhood called the east crossroads. This is generally the area east of grand around 18th.
Well as you may know from food Network lore, the east crossroads is home to a fine establishment called grinders. It sat there like an oasis in an otherwise dead neighborhood which was a void between two great neighborhoods with 18th and Vine area to the east.
So along comes this streetcar thing and it's additional property and sales tax, flopping it's D all over the east crossroads. Stretch fought it because he knew it would kill his business....boy was he right. The year was 2013.
2013 the pillaging started with property tax increases and sales tax increases to the poor east crossroads and it's empty buildings. Welp, grinders may survive but no way anybody is going to invest in this area with the higher taxes...look how far away it is from the streetcar and still paying the taxes. Empty buildings will remain forever and that void between the real crossroads and 18th and Vine will never be bridged.
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017....
So here we are. 2017 ending. East crossroads is....ummm...booming? Boomed? Quick summary...
* Dozens of buildings renovated and occupied
* 4 soon to be 5 breweries
* At least 5 new bars in addition to breweries with many more under construction.
* New retail open and more on its way
* Condos under construction
* distillery, winery
* New food hall coming and other restaurants now open
* Daily see people walking east from crossroads past grand
* Surface lots being abandoned by businesses so they can sell them for redevelopment (children's Mercy giving up 8 acres of parking ....new ballpark?)
* Bike lane coming to 18th to connect crossroads to 18th and Vine.
Gross what has happened over there....you can walk down any street and not see an old building being rehabbed. Sad. Feel bad for our guy KCFD among others.