Brush Creek Community Partners-Monthly Newsletter

NEIGHBORHOODS FOCUS ON TROOST
TO PLAN FOR ECONOMIC AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Many residents of the Historic Manheim Park Association think their neighborhood is scary and dilapidated, where violence and vacant property shape the community's image.

People living in the Rockhill and Hyde Park Neighborhoods love the historic nature and stability of the area.

Residents of all three neighborhoods appreciate the cultural diversity of their central location in the city, the proximity to cultural and educational amenities and the tree-lined streets. And they all want to be able to view Troost Avenue north of Brush Creek as a place to where they can walk to shop in local businesses.

The planning area for economic and environmental sustainability includes
the Manheim Park, Hyde Park and Rockhill neighborhoods.
Residents want to capitalize on the area's central location,
proximity to cultural amenities and diversity to realize improvements
along their commercial corridors.

In preparation for introduction of Bus Rapid Transit along Troost Avenue and street improvements along Cleaver Boulevard, residents of the Historic Manheim Park Association, Rockhill Homes Association and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association have come together to articulate a vision for these commercial corridors that will be part of an urban renewal plan for the area.

With support from the City of Kansas City's Neighborhood and Community Services Department, Brush Creek Community Partners is convening the community to create a proactive urban renewal area (URA) from 42nd Street to Cleaver Boulevard, both sides of Troost to the west side of The Paseo. The URA will make incentives available and can attract other resources in the defined area to:

BNIM Architects and Patti Banks Associates are providing professional services in the planning initiative. The types of businesses identified in the urban renewal plan would be eligible for real property tax abatement in the defined area. Residents of the three neighborhoods participating in the first of three planning meetings identified tailoring services, shoe repair, coffee shops and other neighborhood restaurants and places to buy groceries as desirable businesses.

University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate student Kumud Pyakuryal listens
as Historic Manheim Park Association Vice President Obiagele Lake describes
a vision for improvement of Troost Avenue and the
neighborhood. UMKC economics students assisted with the planning
meeting of the Manheim Park, Hyde Park and Rockhill Neighborhoods.

Tax abatement may also be made available for single-family housing improvements. Manheim Park residents will determine its plans to address housing needs in the southern half of the neighborhood. The neighborhood wants to increase the number of homeowners living in Manheim Park and residents that respect their properties.

Collectively, the three neighborhoods also represent a watershed. The residents want street, sidewalk, sewer, storm water and parks improvements that promote sustainability and walkability. The community will explore the potential of becoming certified for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Neighborhood Development, which will not only improve the overall environment, but enhance the marketing potential for housing and commercial redevelopment.

The rerouting of utility lines this spring will be the first step in a series of improvements around Troost Avenue that advances the city's commitment to the Brush Creek Flood Control and Beautification Project. When it is all completed in late 2010, the Troost @ Brush Creek project will feature roadway, intersection and streetscape improvements along Troost Avenue between 42nd and 52nd Streets, the connection of trails, a pedestrian bridge over the creek between Troost and The Paseo and channel enhancements. The centerpiece of the project will be the artwork along both sides of the bridge, ten-foot high glass walls that are both transparent and reflective.

The $21 million project will connect the original Plaza Reach and the Paseo Complex. The Plaza Reach, from Tracy to Roanoke, was designed and built by the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after a 1977 Brush Creek flood resulted in the deaths of 25 people and property damage exceeding $66 million. It was completed in 1996. The city and federal governments renewed their commitments to the flood control and beautification project after an October 1998 flash flood in Brush Creek killed eight people, including seven who were swept off the Prospect Bridge by high water. With work to be done from State Line to the Blue River, the Paseo Complex was completed and the Woodland Bridge was removed in 1999.

"When the community started talking about replacing Troost Bridge, the message was clear: this is more than a bridge," said Brush Creek Community Partners Executive Director Carol Grimaldi. "The stakeholders that live and work around Troost and Brush Creek want the bridge and other public investments to become part of the destination of Brush Creek. The unique artwork on the bridge achieves this goal," said Grimaldi.

The Sarah and Landon Rowland American Art Galleries, an expansion and major reinstallation of the American art collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, will open April 22, providing a fresh view of the range of artistic expression that shaped American culture from the Colonial era to World War II. The expanded suite of galleries increases space for the American collection by nearly 20 percent. As part of the $7 million project, previous space was stripped to its core, allowing for new walls and wall colors, lighting, ceilings and flooring. The project includes the conservation of more than 20 paintings, reframing of more than 20 works, and conservation of several pieces of furniture and a period room. The American collection at the Nelson-Atkins is among the strongest in the United States.

James L. Spigarelli, president and chief executive officer of Midwest Research Institute for the last ten years, will retire from MRI effective October 1, 2009. Upon retirement, Spigarelli will become a vice chairman of MRI's Board of Directors. Michael F. Helmstetter, MRI senior vice president and director of Research Operations, has been selected to succeed Spigarelli. In addition, Dan E. Arvizu, MRI senior vice president and director of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been promoted to executive vice president. Spigarelli joined MRI in 1970. He holds numerous leadership positions in the academic and business communities including service on the Rockhurst University Board of Trustees and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Board of Trustees. He was a founding member of Brush Creek Community Partners' Board of Directors.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has established a new fellowship program that will increase the number of experienced founders for startup companies and help the foundation better understand the dynamics of firm formation, or what the foundation calls the "science of startups." Grants to support the fellowships will total $5 million over the next four years. The Kauffman Entrepreneur Fellows program will pair prospective entrepreneurs with select venture creation companies to take innovative ideas to market and eventually create profitable companies. In addition, the foundation will support and manage the Entrepreneur Postdoctoral Fellows program, which will educate selected researchers about developing companies to commercialize innovations from the lab. The Entrepreneur Fellows program is the first program developed from a new, multimillion dollar initiative of the foundation called Kauffman Laboratories for Enterprise Creation. Through a variety of programs, both existing and in development, Kauffman Labs is focused on increasing the number and success of high-growth startup companies.

UMB Financial Corporation is this year's large business ArtsKC pARTnership Award winner. It is one of three Kansas City businesses recognized by the Kansas City Arts Council for its mutually beneficial partnerships with an arts organization or an individual artist. In addition to directly supporting the Kansas City Symphony and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, UMB conducts "Artist of the Month" and quarterly "Art Appreciation" programs to provide student artists opportunities to exhibit their work in UMB banking centers. UMB has also created "pARTnership Place", an office space for non-profit organizations.

Steven Holl, architect of the Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, has been awarded the first Frontiers of Knowledge Award for the arts by the BBVA Foundation. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), a multinational Spanish banking group. The Bloch Building was one of six Holl buildings specifically cited in the announcement of the award. Holl's work was praised for its "personal language and recognizable identity," as well as creating a language that "has consistently remained apart from external, formal and stylistic compromise." The jury also singled out "the formal, spatial and
functional processes of his personal artistic vision."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have awarded Blue Hills Community Services the 2009 ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence in Energy-Efficient Affordable Housing. The award recognizes efforts to provide energy-efficient housing for low-income residents. Blue Hills Community Services will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 31 for its Olive Street Homes development of five new houses in the Blue Hills Neighborhood that became available for sale last spring.

Two University of Missouri-Kansas City researchers have recently been awarded national research grants totaling almost $4 million. Anil Kumar, professor and chair of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Division of Pharmacology in the School of Pharmacy has received a $2,294,705 award from the National Institutes of Health to study the effect of methamphetamine use on HIV/AIDS non-human primates. Curator's Professor J. David Eick, chair of the Department of Oral Biology and director of Graduate Programs in the School of Dentistry received a $1,699,000 award from the Department of Defense for the "Consortium for Bone and Tissue Repair and Regeneration." Work between UMKC and Missouri Science & Technology is expected to provide a seamless mechanism for designing and developing new biomaterials and biosensors far exceeding the capacity of the individual groups at each campus.

The 13th annual EarthWalk and EarthFest are coming to Theis Park Saturday, May 9, organized to help people save money and green the Kansas City region. Sponsored by Bridging the Gap, organizers hope to attract more than 5,000 people to the heart of Kansas City.

EarthWalk will be a 2.5 mile green walk starting at 10 a.m. in the parkland between the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Midwest Research Institute. Walkers will stroll along Brush Creek towards the Plaza.

EarthFest will be organized into five "villages" in the park to reinforce key areas where people can "go green:" Greener Eats, Greener Rides, Greener Home, Greener Goods and Greener Earth. Workshops will also be conducted in the villages. EarthFest is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about EarthFest and EarthWalk, visit www.bridgingthegap.org.

BCCP MEMBERS PART OF
INTERFAITH HABITAT HOUSE

Representatives of Saint Francis Xavier and Visitation Parishes participated in the groundbreaking for the Habitat Abraham House at 3528 Flora in February. These Catholic churches are building the home for a local family with Jewish, Episcopalian and Islamic congregations. As construction continues, each church is inviting members of the other faiths to attend one of their worship services to learn more about their respective traditions. Dedication of the completed home is scheduled June 28.

DEPUTY CHANCELLOR SEES DIVERSE EXPERIENCES
ALONG BRUSH CREEK

The Deputy Chancellor for the Division of Diversity, Access and Equity at the University of Missouri-Kansas City hopes to help the university create an inclusive climate. As a member of the Brush Creek Community Partners Board of Directors, Karen Dace brings that same vision to work in the Brush Creek Corridor.

Dace works collaboratively across the UMKC campus and in the entire metropolitan area on a wide range of diversity issues. "My goal is not just to celebrate diversity," Dace says. "We need to understand how we all benefit from it as well." She says that means ensuring students, faculty and staff at UMKC welcome diversity and never silence it. Dace manages a growing staff that oversees affirmative action and diversity initiatives. Her department also is creating a number of programs, lectures, trainings and other resources to improve the experience of both students and the community.

Karen Dace

Dace says she's mostly been learning from other members since she joined the BCCP board. But she also shares her expertise in communication and diversity. The Chicago native came to UMKC from the University of Utah where she was named Associate Vice President for Diversity in 1999. Dace brought her skills to Kansas City in 2007, when she accepted the newly-formed position of Deputy Chancellor for Diversity, Access and Equity at UMKC, charged with enhancing the experiences of diverse students, staff and faculty.

In 2007, the division presented the social justice book and lecture program for first year students in which an author on a social justice issue is brought Kansas City to speak. Based on its success the last two years, this fall the program will not only go city-wide in featuring author Michael Eric Dyson and his book Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster, but the topic will be engaged in programming throughout the academic year. Program organizers are
considering the issue of environmental racism for the 2010 school year.

Dace is particularly proud to find the programming developed by UMKC's Diversity, Access and Equity Division has been embraced by the community as well as the campus. The first Martin Luther King, Jr. event sponsored by the division in January featured renowned writer and speaker Cornel West, and attracted over 3,000 people. Dace was also pleased by the breadth of campus and community that recently turned out for the César Chávez Celebration which focused on the murders of women in Juárez, Mexico.

Dace joined the BCCP board a little over a year ago, and feels it's an appropriate role for her. "UMKC is a part of this community. We need to engage and be a good neighbor," she says. Dace believes BCCP faces some unusual challenges now because of the economic crisis facing all organizations, but she also sees hope that the economic stimulus may allow progress to be made along Brush Creek.

Overall, Dace finds BCCP an interesting group of people from diverse backgrounds such as businesses, educational entities and neighborhoods. "You would think there might be a lot of contention, but there isn't. There is a genuine commitment from everyone around the table to Brush Creek," she says. "It's impressive. It's a true partnership."