Prospect Avenue Nodal Study pt. 1

PROSPECT Re

2018-2019 Prospect Avenue Nodal Study

-- centered -- linked -- connected

This studio publication, generated during the 2018-2019 academic year at the Kansas City Design Center, was written and designed by Rachel Rankin and Regan Tokos with the support of Thomas Allen and Mariah Randell in collaboration with Vladimir Krstic, Studio Director and Instructor.

This publication is not intended for retail sale and cannot be sold, duplicated, or published, electronically or otherwise, without the express written consent of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University. The purpose of this publication is academic in nature and is intended to showcase the research, scholarship, and design work of the students of the Kansas City Design Center.

CONTENTS 07

Introduction

11

Site Analysis

99

Vision Framework

115 Community Engagement 123 Concept 135 Design Proposals Prospect North Infill Brush Creek Prospect South

259 Conclusion 263 Appendix

Foreword This publication represents a year-long urban design study whose purpose was to contribute to the ongoing effort of the Kansas City Missouri City Planning Department, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, and numerous community associations and stakeholder groups to research, envision, and render tangible critical design intervention that would serve as an implementation platform for the redevelopment of the Prospect Avenue area. Our intentions were not only to document and present the project development process and its outcomes, but more so to lay ground and make a case for a research-based approach to urban design that contemplates an alternative way for comprehensive consideration of the found conditions and seek more viable design thinking methodologies.

The heterogeneity of the American city, with its divergent and divisive histories and their impact upon its physical body, in addition to the enduring marks of inequality and still persisting socioeconomic and cultural practices, contribute to an almost unsurmountable challenge for urban design, both as an academic undertaking and a professional enterprise. The scale of an eight mile long urban design question with all of its inherent complexities was, in that regard, considered almost out of the bounds of common urban design practice. Particularly the possibility of the creation of a related, if not entirely coherent urban whole. To that extent the designs presented herein are primarily studies of the ‘proof of concept’ while the majority of our work was focused on development of a method for discerning critical natural, infrastructural, morphological, historical, and socioeconomic conditions that could be strategically appropriated and reorganized to create a framework for the generation of a new urban order that capitalizes on the qualities of place. In doing so we hope that rather than applying normative typologies to emerging design questions we have opened possibilities for the generation of new design inquiries and the discovery of innovative design solutions germane to answering specific needs of improving urban environment along Prospect Avenue.

We further hope that this study and publication provide Prospect Avenue communities with a useful platform to inform and guide their pursuit of urban improvement implementations in their neighborhoods. We are very thankful for their participation and input in developing this project, particularly the Prospect Business Association. Much of what we were able to accomplish during this study is due to our collaboration with the KCMO Planning Department and the Project Advisory Group which is comprised of Jeffrey Williams, Kate Bender, Angela Eley, Beth Edson, and Brien Starner. Students and I remain indebted to all of them for their generous support and guidance.

Finally, this project would not have happened without a talented and dedicated group of KCDC students who toiled intensely to meet the many challenges and take the ownership of their work above and beyond academic merit standards. The project publication is solely conceived, deigned, and executed by Rachel Rankin and Regan Tokos, including writing, editing, and preparing all texts included herein. Their former classmates and I owe them a great debt of gratitude.

We remain committed to continuously examine, cultivate, and build upon ideas developed in the Prospect Avenue Nodal Study as a strategic basis for an urban design approach that focuses on urban contexts marked by conditions of excessive vacancies and inconsistent urban fabric. In that challenge resides the actual opportunity for the creation of new and unprecedented possibilities, and we look forward to our continued collaboration with the stakeholder communities towards forging a genuine and implementable vision for a better urban future.

Thank you, Vladimir Krstic

Collaboration Testimony City staff, with direction from Mayor Sly James and City Council, were challenged to identify new investment opportunities along the Prospect Avenue Corridor to build momentum for additional commercial and residential development from Independence Ave. to 75th St. In 2016, City Planning & Development received a technical assistance grant from Smart Growth America (SGA) funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Transit Administration to prepare Transit Oriented Development findings and recommendations for the Prospect Corridor. In the findings and recommendations, SGA recommended focusing on the following guidelines: establishing compact commercial areas for development along the corridor, ensuring infrastructure supports transit-oriented-development, and selecting priority nodes to concentrate development.

Those recommendations helped shape further discussions with the community to establish a “Prosperity Playbook� through an initiative by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to identify collaborative efforts between the City and other federal partners to develop commercial and residential development projects along the Prospect corridor. The Prosperity Playbook documented the process by that City was utilizing to address affordable housing and economic mobility along the corridor while identifying federal partners, other public partners, and private entities who could assist in the efforts.

In 2017, the voters of Kansas City, MO approved a citywide economic development sales tax at a rate of 1/8 percent devoted to projects located within the area of the city bounded by 9th St. on the north, The Paseo (Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. on the west, Gregory Blvd. on the south and Indiana Ave. on the east. This Central City Sales Tax will be enacted for a period of 10 years and generate approximately $10 million per year to fund catalyst projects along Prospect Corridor structured to support the SGA and Prosperity Playbook recommendations.

The Kansas City Design Center staff and students approached the Prospect Corridor from a design prospective when they made their recommendations. The KCDC used previous planning recommendations combined with a fresh eye to propose design interventions that focused on specific nodes for development. Their efforts allow citizens to use their research, vision, and findings to create a proposal which could be funded by the Central City Sales Tax or other incentive programs.

INTRODUCTION

8

Prospect Corridor Nodal Study The goal of this publication is to present the comprehensive investigation and proposals for the Prospect Corridor. The eight-mile urban corridor has been targeted for rapid transit development, based on objectives that include increasing density, nodal development, and mixed-use expansion, none of which are currently present in a functional manner on the corridor. Prospect is in need of a comprehensive urban vision, in anticipation of this development, that stitches the corridor into a continuous entity since it is currently marked by a fragmented street that lacks identity and function, but has endless potential.

The Prospect Corridor is marked by complex historic events, whose uncovering and understanding was essential for considering the possibilities of urban improvement. Redlining, the 1969 protests, and the development of Highway-71 all contribute to the inconsistent urban fabric.

The vacancy bears witness to the long history of neglect, discrimination, and unilateral decision-making that has historically worked against the prosperity of the Prospect Corridor and its residents. The studio gained a profound understanding of the existing conditions and historic challenges, and simultaneously saw them as opportunities for change, rooted in community values as a basis for seeking strategic design solutions.

All related City planning documents, ongoing initiatives or incentives, and impacting plans were taken into consideration to evaluate existing efforts and assess common goals and objectives to be built upon. Reviews of planning goals and stakeholder responses aided the studio in developing conceptual design inquiries. In response to ongoing locally concentrated developments, the studio’s critical design interventions were generated as part of an overarching attempt for a more integrated and holistic concept, providing an additional dimension to the existing momentum.

The publication is organized as a dialogue between the analytical inquiry, the working urban design concept, and the detailed design explorations.

It captures the process of defining critical urban segments and their related contextual design strategies for development as catalytic components that propel urban change.

9

SITE ANALYSIS The site analysis of the Prospect Avenue Corridor provides an in-depth understanding of the organic landscape that currently exists, the historic context, and the influence of recent attention given to the area. By investigating the background and history of the corridor’s development, the site analysis explores the peak and decline of commercial, residential, and entertainment functions. The available building stock exposes the trends and patterns of architectural styles as well as the community ownership. By examining the socioeconomic data of the area compared to historic redlining maps that banks implemented for who receives loans, the lasting effects of the policy are made visible on the Corridor.

Each of these investigations leads to a variety of conclusions about how the character of the Prospect Corridor has changed over the past century and how it is currently evolving to be a major transit corridor in the Kansas City, Missouri landscape. This study of urban design, development, and social conditions provides the basis for the studio’s understanding of the Prospect Avenue Corridor.

12

History The history of the Prospect Avenue Corridor is diverse, tragic, frustrating, and inspiring. Prospect has been a part of Kansas City’s fabric from the beginning, and for this reason, it was crucial to understand the controversial history. The ups and downs of the area have shaped the urban form and inspired both cultural development and key elements of the design proposals. For this study the studio focused on seven key elements that shaped the Corridor’s current conditions which are the historic planning of Prospect, the influence of the Kessler Plan, Prospect as an entertainment corridor, the impacts of redlining and the resulting white flight, the protests and riots of 1968, and the long implementation period of Highway-71.

While the Prospect Corridor may have never been one ‘cohesive’ urban element, it has always been a prominent urban transit corridor throughout Kansas City’s vibrant history. Prospect was originally a farming community on the outskirts of the city, and people called it the Boulevard of Churches due to the many religious centers lining the streets. It is adjacent to one of Kansas City’s first planned neighborhoods, Santa Fe Place, and in the years prior to WWII, served as the eastern boundary for African Americans. It served as an entertainment core with theaters, dance halls, sports venues, and a theme park. Prospect Avenue was an active, energetic location that attracted people from surrounding communities.

13

Entertainment Corridor

Prospect Historic Figure-Ground

Prospect Historic Building Use 14

Linwood Blvd.

Independence Ave

In the early- to mid-1900s, the Prospect Corridor was an active entertainment corridor that housed Kansas City’s first baseball stadium and theme park. Prospect is adjacent to both 18th & Vine and 12th Street, landmark music districts known for their impacts on jazz. Kansas City Municipal Stadium (originally Muehlebach Field) was on Brooklyn and 22nd where the minor-league and Negro-league baseball teams played, and even hosted MLB’s first All-Star game in 1960. Fairyland theme park was located on 75th Street and was a popular desegregated summer destination for swimming and thrill rides. The park closed in 1978 and was redeveloped as a drive-in movie theater, which closed in the 1980s.

75th St.

St. Joseph Hospital Postcard

63rd St.

Brush Creek

Fairyland Park Postcard

Commercial Civic Industrial Residential

15

INDUSTRIAL ZONE SPARSELY BUILT ZONES

4th Grade 3rd Grade 2nd Grade 1st Grade

Housing Survey “Negro” Districts 16

REDLINING MAP OF 1939

KCMO Redlining Map, 1939

COMMERCIAL ZO “BEST” AREA TO LOAN/LIVE

“STILL DESIRABL AREA TO LOAN/L

“DEFINITELY DEC AREA TO LOAN/L

“HAZARDOUS” A TO LOAN/LIVE

Red-Lining, 1939 Independence Ave.

Linwood Blvd.

Brush Creek

63rd St.

Redlining is the intentional denial of housing-related services and loans to residents of neighborhoods mapped as risky investments, assessments based on race and class, and created long-term impacts of disinvestment.

American cities saw their populations growing drastically after the end of Civil War that was fueled by the “Great Migration,” where nearly 6 million African Americans migrated from the rural south to industrialized cities of the north and midwest. In Kansas City, the African American population tripled from 1900-1925, but from the 1880s to 1948 they were not allowed to live south of 27th Street. The concentrated African American population was between 9th Street, Prospect Avenue, 29th Street, and Troost Avenue, and was known as the “Twenty Blocks of Black”. These concentrated populations of African Americans were living in an economically thriving, densely-populated, mixed-income area.

In 1933 the United States faced a housing shortage, so the federal government began a program explicitly designed to increase - and segregate - America’s housing stock, called the National Housing Act of 1934.

Kansas City developers and the city council between the 1930s-40s redlined areas as risky investments, effectively holding back entire neighborhoods, and making it more difficult to attract or retain residents. The practice prevented new construction in areas deemed undesirable, and people were kept from being able to invest in their own homes, creating a situation where economic mobility was infinitely more difficult.

Redlining was deemed unconstitutional by the Fair Housing Act of 1968 as part of the Civil Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, or gender (Fair Housing Act, 1968). Issues of race and class became spatial as increased mobility in housing choices meant furthering the preference for racial separation. Redlining stimulated disinvestment in the East Side and contributed to population decline and “white flight,” where homeowners move away from the urban areas in favor of the suburbs.

75th St.

Prospect Corridor 1939 Red-Lining

Selected text adapted from reports by Rachel Rankin & Regan Tokos 17

Students gathering at Parade Park

Marching on I-70

Students protesting outside of City Hall

Violence erupts downtown 18

Woman confronting police line

Police gather around protesters

Violence erupts downtown

The East Side burns

Protests & Riots, 1968 Independence Ave. 5

3

4

2

6

The Kansas, public schools were closed on April 9, 1968, to observe the passing of the historic civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., allowing students and communities to mourn. The KCMO public schools decided they would remain open, and the students from Lincoln, Manual, and Central high schools walked out in protest. They marched onto I-70 highway, rallied at Parade Park, and continued the protest to City Hall. Police presence followed the group in bus loads, and things quickly escalated downtown where gas grenades were thrown. School officials set up a last-minute dance at Holy Name Catholic Church on Prospect as a way to move the students away and calm the situation.

7 1

Linwood Blvd.

5 KCMO City Hall

Manual High

3

4

Parade Park

Brush Creek

2 Lincoln High

6 Holy Name Church

63rd St.

7 75th St. Fire Impact Blocks

Byron Hotel

1 Central High

Protest Route of April 9, 1968 19

Damage and Impacts But when the Kansas City Police Department arrived at the church, they threw tear gas cans into the church basement. Police interaction with protesters at the Byron Hotel resulted in the deaths of five black men and one teenager. A well-intentioned student protest evolved into fullblown riots and violence. Over the course of the night, 44 other people were hurt. Looting, vandalism, and arson reports were flooding the police departments. Businesses were being destroyed, and the state troopers were called in. By the end, the 1968 cost of damage was estimated at around $4 million, or $29 million in 2018. Forty structures were burned, half of which were on Prospect. The results had lasting effects on the area and prompted many middle- and upper-class African American families to move out, weakening the economic base of historically minority neighborhoods. The families that could move out did so to follow better jobs and schools into the more suburban areas. This resulted in depressed property values, making these neighborhoods attractive to lower-income families and absentee landlords.

Damaged structures 20

“This city was divided along time ago along racial lines. The idea that you can cure those decades of irresponsibility in 2, 3, 4 years is not logical, and it is not practical�

- Mayor Sly James (Our Divided City, 2016)

Shop with broken windows 21

Impact path of HWY-71 22

Highway-71 Independence Ave.

“Highways connect people and places with a speed we’ve come to take for granted. But highways also have a history of dividing and sometimes nearly obliterating the very communities they intersect.”

- KCUR, ‘HWY 71: Connecting The Metro, Dividing Neighborhoods’

Linwood Blvd.

Brush Creek

63rd St.

75th St.

Modern day figure-ground

The most recent controversial development impacting the Prospect Corridor is the implementation of U.S. Highway-71. While commuters appreciate the convenience and speed, the large infrastructural project displaced thousands and disconnects neighborhoods.

The highway was first proposed in 1951 during a time of integration, block-busting, and white flight alongside the post-war economic boom, suburban development, public transit removal, and sprawl. During the 50 years it has taken to build, more than 10,000 people have been displaced, including homes and local shops. The communities along the proposed route (Prospect Ave. and Euclid Ave. running north and south) include Ivanhoe, Beacon Hill, and Key Coalition, all minority neighborhoods.

Residents did not understand for the longest time why houses and properties were being purchased by the City and MoDOT, then sitting vacant for years, and attribute the disinvestment and higher crime rates to the thousands of empty properties. The convenience served those in the suburbs while the minority neighborhoods paid the price.

While Kansas-Citians have noted that the highway is convenient for getting to the Country Club Plaza and Downtown Kansas City from the south, the majority of feedback on the thoroughfare is negative, critical of the traffic issues and continued impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

But Highway-71 is here to stay, and reconciling the neighborhoods being disconnected, the people being displaced, the vacancies that have followed, and the disinvestment in the communities are all problems that face the existing Prospect Corridor.

Selected text adapted from a report by Rachel Rankin 23

24

Connectivity This section of the study focuses on understanding how the Prospect Corridor relates to the rest of Kansas City’s urban fabric. The Corridor is one piece of a multifaceted system that links different communities and resources. The context of the Corridor shows how transportation both connects and divides the corridor to surrounding areas. Since the Prospect MAX bus line is central to the conception of this study, transit and connectivity are essential elements to the project’s development.

25

I-2 9

I-35

River Market West Bottoms

I-70

CBD

I-670 Power & Light 18th & Vine

HW

Y7

Crossroads

1

Crown Center

Linwood Blvd.

The Paseo

Linwood Shopping

Westport

Cle

ave rI

I Bl

vd.

39th St.

Nelson

Swope Pkwy.

Plaza UMKC Rockhurst

Meyer Blvd.

Brookside

Gregory Blvd.

Waldo

Street Hierarchy 26

Prospect connections to KC districts

Swope Park

Corridor Connections Independence Ave.

Linwood Blvd.

While the Prospect Corridor is within 25 blocks of Main Street, it is not a central element to the urban core. That being said, it has clear connections to main attractions, institutions, and cultural districts in Kansas City. Two distinct areas are within the corridor: 18th & Vine historic jazz district and Linwood Shopping area, both of which could be catalytic to future development on Prospect if utilized.

The urban fabric and street hierarchy of the Corridor create a form that shows the highways as the most prominent features. These dense roadways cut through the traditional urban fabric and street grid that would put more hierarchy on Prospect Avenue. Rather than the historically prominent roadway it had been, Prospect fades to the back and feels lost within the urban hierarchy.

Brush Creek

63rd St.

75th St.

Prospect Corridor Street Grid 27

Prospect

Brooklyn

Woodland

Troost

Wyandotte

12th Truman 18th 23rd

27th

31st 35th 39th 43rd

51st 51st 55th 59th 63rd Meyer

Gregory

75th

Ridership 28

Pedestrian

Vehicle

Prospect MAX Bus Line 2020 Plan

Prospect Transit Independence Ave.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s new MAX system will be implemented on Prospect avenue in 2020. This bus-rapid-transit line will provide new connections to the Corridor to help link residents to more areas of Kansas City. It aims to improve job access, spur transit-related economic development, improve public safety, increase public art, and improve the overall accessibility to the area. The activity counts identified the most populated bus stops and major cross-corridors, and also show that the bus lines are popular pieces of social infrastructure.

This large public investment became a driving public force behind the design and development of the studio project.

Linwood Blvd.

Brush Creek

63rd St.

75th St.

Prospect Corridor Bus System 29

30

Urban Morphology This is the study of the urban fabric and physical characteristics. The purpose is to understand the network of urban form and spatial systems.

The studio looked at the geomorphology, viewsheds, implied street edge and urban teeth, building stock, and architectural patterns.

31

Prospect Corridor Figure-Ground

Prospect Section facing West 32

Linwood Blvd.

Independence Ave

Prospect Section facing East

NOITCES 0003:1 :ELACS

33

75th St.

63rd St.

Brush Creek

34

Geomorphology Geomorphology is the study of the physical features of the landscape and their relationship to urban or environmental structures. Studying the figure-ground, topography, street grid, and infrastructure of the Prospect Corridor shed light on its cross-corridors and resulting nodes.

This examination of the built and natural forms advanced the study by showing the underlying reasons for development patterns. The studio understood the established relationship between urban and organic interactions on the Prospect Corridor.

35

Geomorphological Nodes

Independence Corridor

18th & Vine District

31st to Linwood

Brush Creek

Research Medical Center

75th Street Node

KC Geomorphological Corridors 36

Prospect Cross-Corridors

Important east-west connection to the Downtown Core and gateway to the Prospect Corridor. The commercial strip provides some regularity to the chaotic street layout.

Defined by Highway-71, I-70, and the rail line. Street organization is chaotic and defined by large industrial buildings with surrounding surface lots.

Independence Corridor

18th & Vine District 37

38

31st and Linwood run parallel to form a nearly perfect grid that intersects Prospect and creates a commercial node. Highway-71 breaks this grid and cross-connections.

Major topographical corridor in the landscape that effectively divides KC into two. Highway-71 crosses Prospect here, forming a no-man’s land of infrastructural barriers.

31st to Linwood

Brush Creek

RMC is located at the top of a ridge and next to a drainage way, Town Fork Creek, and a peak at Daniel Boone Park. RMC defines the area but creates an irregular street pattern with few paths through it.

Gateway to the Prospect Corridor and defined by Alphapointe and Arleta Park, which disrupt the street grid and create a transition zone into a more suburban condition going south.

Research Medical Center

75th St Node 39

40

12th St

27th St

55th St

I-70 Highway

51st St

63rd St.

24th St

HWY-71 crossing Brush Creek

Gregory Blvd at Research Medical

Viewsheds A viewshed analysis provides an understanding of how the Prospect Corridor visually relates to itself and the rest of Kansas City. It was found that there are key points along the Corridor where people can have a visual relationship with downtown as well as views of Prospect as far as fifteen blocks. Prominent views are an important factor in the design process.

41

Viewshed Section - Vignettes

12th St Section - Looking North

31st St Section - Looking North

Prospect and 44th St Longitudinal Section - Looking West 42

Independence Ave.

12th St and Prospect - Looking West Linwood Blvd.

Brush Creek

31st St and Prospect - Looking West

63rd St.

75th St.

44th St and Prospect - Looking South

Viewsheds from Prospect

Viewsheds on Prospect 43

Urban Teeth Conclusion

44 E 43rd St

E 39th St

E 35th St

Linwood Blvd

E 31st St

E 27th St

E 25th St

E 22nd St

E 18th St

E Truman Rd

Independence Ave

Linwood Blvd.

Prospect Corridor Figure-Ground

Urban Teeth

Urban Teeth

75th St.

63rd St.

Brush Creek

The urban teeth analysis tries to further understand the physical urban form of the experience of the street. It is generally a better pedestrian experience when walking down a street that has a defined edge and street character as opposed to open space lacking uniqueness. Prospect Avenue has an inconsistent urban form due to the many breaks in the street edge that is attributed to infrastructure corridors, vacancy, and surface parking lots. This lack of consistency creates an incomplete street space that reduces pedestrians because of an uncomfortable walking experience. It is important to build to the street edge in order to establish a consistent setback and cohesive urban space centered on the streetscape experience.

Weakest Moderate

E 75th St

E Gregory Blvd

E Meyer Blvd

E 63rd St

E 59th St

E 55th St

E 51st St

Swope Pkwy

Cleaver II Blvd

E 43rd St

Strongest

45

Street Edge Consistency

46 E 18th St

E 22nd St

E 25th St

E 27th St

E 31st St

Linwood Blvd

E 35th St

E 39th St

E 43rd St

E 18th St

E 22nd St

E 25th St

E 27th St

E 31st St

Linwood Blvd

E 35th St

E 39th St

E 43rd St

Independence Ave

E Truman Rd

Street Edge Depth

E Truman Rd

Independence Ave

E 43rd St

E 39th St

E 35th St

Linwood Blvd

E 31st St

E 27th St

E 25th St

E 22nd St

E 18th St

E Truman Rd

Independence Ave

Linwood Blvd.

Street Edge

Prospect Figure-Ground

Implied Street Edge

Cross-Arteries

E 75th St

E Gregory Blvd

E Meyer Blvd

E 63rd St

E 59th St

E 55th St

E 51st St

Swope Pkwy

Cleaver II Blvd

E 43rd St

E 75th St

E Gregory Blvd

E Meyer Blvd

E 63rd St

E 59th St

E 55th St

E 51st St

Swope Pkwy

Cleaver II Blvd

E 43rd St

Widest

Moderate

Narrowest

Inconsistent

Moderate

Consistent

47

E 75th St

E Gregory Blvd

E Meyer Blvd

E 63rd St

E 59th St

E 55th St

E 51st St

Swope Pkwy

Cleaver II Blvd

E 43rd St

75th St.

63rd St.

Brush Creek

Street Form Patterns

Street Edge Block Selection

48

49

50

51

52

Architectural Facade Patterns The facade assessment looks at the architectural character of the Prospect Corridor’s building. From the results of the analysis a typology was formed based on single-family residential homes versus brick buildings, porch forms, and street edge styles. The single-family homes were built between 1900 and 1925 and fall under five categories derived from nuanced shirtwaist and bungalow styles. The brick construction focuses on commercial and multi-family buildings built between 1900 and 1925 and categorized as veneer, painted, porch, or pitch facades. This inventory and analysis gives more grounds to the characterization of the Corridor.

53

Pattern Typology: Single-Family Residential, Porch Facades Architectural Style: Stone Skirt

Shirtwaist Type A

Prospect Figure-Ground

Construction Period: 1900-1925

Single-Family Residential 54

Shirtwaist Type B

Shirtwaist Type C

Bungalow Type A

Bungalow Type B

55

Pattern Typology: Non Single-Family Residential, Brick Facades Architectural Style: Facade Intervention

Painted Facade

Prospect Figure-Ground

Construction Period: 1900-1925

Brick Patterns 56

Veneer Facade

Porch Facade

Pitch Facade

57

Urban Form Conclusion

Single-Family Patterns

Brick Patterns

I-70 Industrial District

Overlay

Architecture with Urban Teeth

Conclusion 58

59

60

Corridor Programming The Prospect Corridor is afflicted with vacant properties, absentee landowners, surface lots, and boarded up buildings that detract from the character of the community. The study of how these buildings are used was done to analyze the available services on the Corridor in addition to how the programming impacts community quality and development.

This section reviews vulnerable parcels that could be utilized for development and dives into the distribution of key neighborhood and regional services along the Corridor.

61

62

Undefined Land Many sites on Prospect Avenue are vacant, with a variety of characteristics. Vacancy can have different definitions and implications, but along the Prospect Corridor it most often means the land is unmanaged and undefined. These parcels are often owned by the City as public sectors cannot tax themselves for properties in disrepair. This unoccupied land is unproductive and is a detriment to the community because it provides space for dangerous activities and illegal dumping. This land disrupts the urban form, but can also provide an opportunity for urban infill and development opportunities.

63

Absentee Landlords The Prospect Corridor has many ‘absentee landlords’ that can diminish an area’s character and notion of a community. This may lead to less attentive care for properties because abandoned buildings, Land Bank properties, vacancy, and surface parking detract from the area. It is important to have attentive owners that care about the community. There are thousands of property owners who reside out of the area while not giving their land any function. This is in addition to the thousands of empty Land Bank properties that have similar characteristics. There are 164 vacant parcels on Prospect Avenue alone, and 6,545 within the corridor. However, these spaces of neglect have the potential for catalytic site selection. Vacant buildings and land provide opportunities for future development, but its extensiveness makes visible the historic conditions of disinvestment, community decline, and urban decay. The high rate of vacant parcels and buildings defines the Prospect Corridor as sparsely built and of inconsistent urban condition.

TOTAL VACANT PARCELS IN THE PROSPECT CORRIDOR - 6,545

Park Land Bank Out-of-State Owner Out-of-Country Owner Vacant

Community Ownership 64

Linwood Blvd.

Independence Ave

Surface Parking Lot

15.5% Out-of-State (3952 parcels) .5% Out-of-U.S. (113 parcels) 6% Land Bank (1477 parcels)

38 36

18

8 14

96 32

867

Overall Parcel Ownership

130

150

32

1403 46

10

24

182

10

34

31

21

,64

6

26

10

2 12 52 6 24 10

18

56 30

30 14 6

Almost 1/4 of properties within the proposed Prospect Corridor are not occupied by Missourians.

4 134 8

10 8

78% Missouri-Owned (20,184 parcels)

4

2

18

117

7 105

10

75th St.

63rd St.

Brush Creek

Out-of-State Parcel Owner Residence

65

Prospect Vacancy Classification Private Single Parcel - 32

- No relationship between public & private - Unresolved corner conditions - Non-existent street space

- Broken urban teeth - Non-existent street edge - Single parcel vacancy

Public Mid-Block - 36

Private Corner - 3

Special Condition - 14

- Mid-block vacancy - Cluster of vacant parcels - Non-existent street space

- Broken street fabric - Unresolved corner conditions - Cluster of vacant parcels

Public Single Parcel - 23

Private Mid-Block - 11

- Broken urban teeth - Non-existent street edge - Single parcel vacancy

- Cluster of vacant parcels - Broken urban teeth - Non-existent street edge

Vacancy Inventory

Vacancy Analysis 66

Linwood Blvd.

Transition Corner - 26

- No relationship between public & private - Unresolved corner conditions - Cluster of vacant parcels

Independence Ave

Public Corner - 19

TOTAL VACANT PARCELS ON PROSPECT - 164

75th St.

63rd St.

Brush Creek

Proportion of parcel types

67

Independence Ave.

Linwood Blvd.

Brush Creek

63rd St.

75th St.

Commercial Buildings 68

Civic Buildings and Parks

Industrial Buildings

Residential Buildings

Building Use The programming of the Prospect Corridor is primarily residential with commercial cross-corridors. Civic, public, or institutional buildings and park space are evenly distributed, while there is a clear industrial district between I-70 and the railroad corridor. There are still persistent gaps in the building fabric with significant amounts of vacancy and unprogrammed open space. Clear districts are formed by large blocks of the same building use, especially Linwood Shopping area, the Brush Creek area, and Research Medical Center. Examining the corridor’s existing programming shows what types of sites are lacking, what could be improved or expanded, and areas with more need for attention.

69

Prospect Corridor Building Use Blocks 70

Linwood Blvd.

Independence Ave

Prospect Corridor Building Use

63rd St.

Brush Creek

75th St. Commercial Civic Industrial Residential

71

Prospect Avenue Figure-Ground

Prospect Avenue Building Use

Prospect Avenue Building Use

Prospect Avenue Building Use 72

Linwood Blvd.

Prospect Avenue Building Use

63rd St.

Brush Creek

75th St. Commercial Civic Industrial Residential

73