New River Market apartment project expected to begin work next month

River Market West, a $16 million development planned for 228 W. Fourth St., is expected to break ground next month and be open by early fall 2014. The 137-unit project planned by developers George Birt and Taylor McKee was approved for a 15-year, 75 percent property tax abatement Monday morning by the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority. It also has been recommended for $2 million in housing assistance from the city.

City development overhaul moves forward

A long-awaited plan for overhauling how Kansas City runs economic development is finally taking shape more than three years after it was launched. The changes in the works for the Kansas City Economic Development Corp. fall far short of the radical makeover that originated in late 2009 with then-Mayor Mark Funkhouser.

Area homebuilding is up 30 percent

The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City reports that 832 single-family permits were issued in the first three months of the year. Johnson County accounts for almost half that total.

Will Kansas builders get lab work?

Kansas officials got some welcome news last week when President Barack Obama included $714 million in his recommended budget for the planned National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, but the project doesn’t guarantee how much of the construction work will go to regional workers and contractors.

Downtown YMCA plan off to good start

Plans for a major YMCA in downtown Kansas City seem about as solid as any endeavor of this size can be. The clout of UMB Bank is behind the project and some pledges are already lined up, including $1 million from the Kirk Family Foundation.

Area builders see continued improvement

The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City said February was the 14th consecutive month of increased activity. Last month, 224 single-family home permits were issued, the most since 2008.

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