That's it, this town is too disgusting for me for the rest of today given the fact that the only thing this City seems willing to support are luxury condos and sports arenas for beloved billionaires.
Here's the latest news regarding how Kansas City is in now completely in the clutches of get rich quick con(struction) companies. The Biz Journal reports:
The Tax Increment Financing Commission of Kansas City on Wednesday approved a request to use taxes produced by a $49.3 million condominium tower at 19th Street and Broadway in an existing TIF district.Never mind that the first 10 years of property taxes could be abated under the plan and forget that the Accardo's pretty much sneaked this thing under the radar of all of the neighbors . . . The development of YET ANOTHER CONDO TOWER in KC is a distinct reminder of where the priorities of this city lie . . . Not even half of that kind of money is available to do anything about the constant news of dead Black guys on the Eastside, or this town's sewer system in desperate need of repair along with antiquated underground pipes that burst during every cold spell.
No, the people who hold elected office in this town and their donors want everyone to think Kansas City's future is dependent on attracting rich people while running out the poor and brown folks who already occupy the place. Thing is, this strategy is a recipe for failure that's done nothing but create a speculative market and a slew of politicos for sale in this city.
These condo contingent plans for urban renewal have failed time and again when they neglected to address the underlying problems that created so-called blight in the first place.
And I'm not going to call for anyone to "realize this" or "recognize that" . . . I'm a big believer in the free market and as the war continues as gas prices creep upward as housing grows increasingly overvalued the market will/always has found a way to straighten itself out . . . and we'll soon find out if empty condos can finance a city that has sold its soul so that developers could make a quick buck.
i hope that by the time i'm ready to retire i can pick up one of these condos cheap. i figure by then they will have been boarded up for a while.
ReplyDeletePart of the reason KC is so far behind in infrastructure improvements is because all the wealth fled the city to the suburbs.
ReplyDeleteNow the city is trying to lure it back.
Which way do we want it?
part of the reason people live in the suburbs is that JoCo has a strong public school system, roads that aren't full of pot-holes, and the homicide rate is a tiny fraction of what it is in KCMO.
ReplyDeleteOf course we want growth and revitalization in the urban core, according to my understanding tony thinks this kind of building is addressing symptoms and not causes, and risking our financial future on top of it all.