City Manager Troy Schulte thinks the city should spend $27 million to upgrade 18th and Vine and link the area to the Crossroads.
The city should spend $27.6 million in upgrades at 18th and Vine and try to link it to the prospering Crossroads district, the city manager said today.
Manager Troy Schulte made the recommendation in response to a city council resolution directing him to plan for $18 million in spending there.
That is not enough, he said at a press conference in the street at 18th and Vine.
Spending $27.6 million over three years could prompt at least $12 million in private investment and transform the area, he said.
Some of the projects included in the proposal.
Past city investment in the area has been too little and too sporadic, he said. Now there is some new housing already being built and groundbreaking was this week on a new Urban Youth Academy at Parade Park.
“There’s market activity in this area and we think there is the potential to really leverage it,” Schulte said.
A key goal is to link to the Crossroads district on 18th Street four blocks to the west.
They are looking at ways to do infill development on 18th along those blocks and the plan includes money for lighting and pedestrian improvements.
They are also looking at transit links and ways to move pedestrians, bikes and cars east and west, Schulte said.
Councilman Quinton Lucas said the improvements could be key to linking the west side to the east side, not just stopping at 18th and Vine, but going all the way to Independence.
Starting May 6, Councilman Jermaine Reed said, there will be First Friday gatherings at 18th and Vine like those at the Crossroads district.
The proposed improvements will go to a joint council committee of finance and plans and zoning and to a series of meetings and public hearings, officials said.
The money to pay for the $27.6 million in bonds could come from the capital improvements sales tax, Schulte said.
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