The long-awaited public hearing on the proposed Polsinelli Shughart office tower will happen on Tuesday, February 1st. The Bungalow Club - along with many Kansas Citians - feels that this tower is an unwelcome, out-of-place addition to the historic Country Club Plaza and should be stopped at all costs.
The tower has been redesigned, but the Bungalow Club still feels that it will prove to be an eyesore that will serve to obliterate the historic charm of the Plaza district; too many modern interventions have eroded part of that charm, and this building will be one more such negative addition. The tower removes existing residential usage from the plaza, as well as converting publicly-subsidized parking - always a problem on the Plaza - to private use. Moreover, should this tower win approval by the City Council, the developer - North Carolina based Highwoods Properties - purportedly has more towers planned for the Plaza. City Hall's Development Review Committee has already endorsed the Highwoods proposal, despite traffic and parking concerns.
We need you to be there! It always means something to the City Council when citizens show up at public hearings. The "Friends of the Plaza" organization is arranging for free bus transportation to and from City Hall. Buses will arrive at City Hall at 8:00 a.m. and depart at 1:00 p.m. Two locations have been chosen as park-and-ride stations for the buses: the Baptist Medical Center's south parking lot on the east side of the 6700 block of Holmes Road, and the Kauffman Legacy Park at 48th and Rockhill Road. To reserve a spot on the buses, please call 816-931-8448 or through this e-mail address.
The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. and will be held on the 26th Floor of City Hall, which is located at 414 E. 12th Street in Kansas City; this topic is the only agenda item for the event. The Bungalow Club is asking for six volunteers to help out with the bus transportation and serve as guides at City Hall - please call Jan Bentley at 816-651-4187 or e-mail her at jbentleyinkc@yahoo.com.
"Friends of the Plaza" will supply signs and badges for attendees, but handmade signs are encouraged, as well.
If you feel that the Plaza should not be converted piecemeal into another typical suburban office park - a la Corporate Woods - make your voice heard! The Plaza is a world-famous landmark and one of the things that makes Kansas City great; it must not suffer from the weight of its own success and be sacrificed to corporate vanity and greed.
Please show up on February 1st!
