Katz Out of The Bag

Development

Katz Out Of The Bag

The old Katz Drugstore building in Midtown, which is being turned into a new luxury apartment complex, is starting to take shape with residents able to move in as soon as the fall of 2023.

• Katz Meow: The future Katz building, purchased in 2021 by St. Louis-based developers Lux Living, will completely gut the old drug store and in its place add a 192-unit apart above the intersection of Main and Westport.

• 9 Lives: Part of the plan to revitalize the all-but-dead drug store comes with Lux Living maintaining the building’s iconic outer structure and replacing the inside with a full-service bistro open to the public.

• Easy Commute: One benefit to residents will be the nearby stop for the KC Streetcar project, which will be walking distance from the front door of the new apartments when the streetcar opens in 2025.

Plans for the Katz building have it slated to fully open in 2024 with first-wave residents moving in this fall. For more information, see their website here.

Community

Powell Gardens Reporting For Duty

Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s largest botanical garden, is officially a 2023 Blue Star Museum, meaning they will now be offering free admission to all currently serving US military personnel and their families.

• Botanically Heaven: Powell Gardens, located a few minutes southeast of Lee’s Summit, has nearly 1000 acres of local flora that feature 8 unique gardens begging to be hiked through.

• Blue Star Museums: Blue Star Museums are a partnership between National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and museums across America, offering free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families.

• A Hidden Gem?: If you’ve lived in KC for a while and you’ve never been, you should go to check out the hundreds of acres of gardens and one of our favorite local architectural features, the Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel.

   

Blue Star Museums offer free admission to military families each year, from Armed Forces Day on May 20, to Labor Day. If visiting Powell Gardens is on your summer bucket list, you can purchase tickets and get directions on their website here.

Business

Recruiting Gets Easier

The Panasonic EV plant currently being built is being used by the city of De Soto and Johnson County officials to bring in more businesses to the area.

• Job Growth: As the Panasonic plant goes up, local officials estimate that the plant itself could create 4000 jobs, with speculation that another 4000 jobs could be made for suppliers and local businesses.

• Surrounding Infrastructure: As those jobs flood into the area, developers have begun to look at expanding the food and beverage infrastructure in the area to meet the incoming demand.

• Win-Win: The local economic win comes as a bonus to the larger win of Panasonic offsetting emissions by 300 million tons by the year 2050 through their EV initiatives.

As the plant nears closer to its 2025 target date, hiring could start as soon as mid-2023. Anyone interested can apply online here.

KC Daily Picks

In Other News

• 🍵The European Way: Cafe Europa, the former Brookside staple, announced that while they will be relocating, but it won’t be to Town Center as initially planned.

• 🏈Everybody Loves Chris: Chiefs’ defensive lineman Chris Jones agrees to a massive new deal, keeping him in KC for another 4 years.

• ♻️Please Recycle: Phase 2 of the recycling bin delivery takes place this month in KCMO.

• 🍕Paying the Pied Piper: There’s a new pizza joint opening in Prairie Village, Peter Piper Pizzeria after the success of their first local opening in the Ward Parkway Center.

• 🎸Sugar We're Going Down: Fall Out Boy is coming to KC for a concert at Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs this weekend.