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The
City of Kansas City,
Mo., Capital Improvements Office and the Downtown Council of Kansas
City hosted
a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the
City's Freight
House District infrastructure and streetscape improvement project.
Mayor Kay Barnes, other City
officials, community leaders and developers celebrated the commencement
of this
highly anticipated project with a groundbreaking and a reception in the
club room
of the historic Freight House Lofts, 2121 Central St.
The City will begin
construction on its Freight House District improvement project by
mid-March, after
utility relocation for the area is completed by Kansas City Power
& Light. The
project will affect 22nd Street
from Baltimore
Avenue
to Northwestern
Avenue,
Central
Street
and 21st
Street.
Construction is scheduled to run through March 2008.
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce -- Economic
Development
Administration, City general obligation bonds, and Public Improvements
Advisory
Committee funds are paying for the $3.5 million project. The project
will separate
the area's storm and sanitary system, and add larger-capacity water
mains to
handle the increased residential use and help to mitigate flooding. New
curbs,
sidewalks and additional street lighting will be installed to enhance
vehicle
and pedestrian safety. Existing utility poles will be removed and all
utilities
will be relocated underground.
Street closures will be
necessary during construction, but will be staggered to lessen
inconvenience to
area residents and businesses. The closures primarily will be
restricted to 22nd Street,
which runs parallel to the Freight House District restaurants, and Central Street,
which runs to the west of the Freight House Lofts. A map
highlighting
these street closures is available at http://www.kcmo.org/cimo.nsf/web/dtconst.
In conjunction with the
start of construction, private development continues throughout the
Freight
House District. Coordination of those projects will occur concurrently
with
this City project, condominium development and construction for a new
private parking
garage.
Taliaferro
& Browne Inc., a local minority-owned engineering firm,
designed the
project and Fahey Construction is performing construction services. The
City's Capital
Improvements Management Office is managing the project.
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