Adam Blue

Kansas City was voted America's number one abandoned city by Forbes Magazine in 2009. This was declared when rental vacancy rates rose to 15 percent from 11.9 percent, and homeowner vacancy nearly doubled up from 2.1 percent to 3.8 percent in one year's time.

There is no doubt that the overall economic disaster is the main cause for this title, but here are a few things that I would like to point out from a local Kansas City resident's point of view:

The Kansas City Power and Light District

In 2007, Kansas City brought in The Cordish Group to build an entertainment district in the nearly abandoned downtown Kansas City. The Cordish Group defines themselves as "a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate of businesses defined by two major areas of expertise: one of the leading real estate development companies and most successful entertainment operating businesses in the world." Cordish began building what is now known as The Kansas City Power and Light District and real estate agencies and building contractors started to "speculate" and began buying up large plots of land and (already) abandoned buildings around the new district believing that it would be a major hotspot for real estate opportunity. Then, just as the P&L district was completed...the market crashed.

I want to back up for a minute and note that most of the abandoned real estate in Kansas City is rental property and most notably, condos. I've lived in Kansas City my entire life, and I know for a fact that it is NOT a condo kind of town. Kansas City is deeply rooted in the Midwest lifestyle of eating, (thus all of the great Kansas City restaurants), going to the movies, having babies, and buying / renting cheap houses in the immediate suburbs. Most of the single folk in KC live in the abundance of apartment buildings that also lie in the suburbs. Thus, our condos are empty.

Kansas City may top the list of the most abandoned cities in the USA but it is not because the citizens are moving away, it's just that the real estate market has built too many useless properties, mainly condos.

Adam Blue, CEO
Adam Blue Productions
Kansas City, Missouri
USA

The Power and Light District in Kansas City is the newest and hottest territory in the Midwest. The district features several great Kansas City restaurants, nightclubs, stores, hotels and even a dueling pianos bar.

The P&L District is located in downtown Kansas City on 13th and Grand directly across from The Sprint Center. It is basically a large courtyard that is heated and has a large stage featuring National bands as well as local Kansas City bands on the weekends. The courtyard is surrounded on all sides by nightclubs - kind of like a football stadium where the field is the outdoor courtyard and the stands would be the indoor / outdoor nightclubs - if you can picture that.

The Kansas City real estate market slightly overestimated the popularity of the Power and Light District. Several condos were built around the area and they now lie vacant. Kansas City was voted the number one abandoned city in 2009 as a result of the over-anticipation of the power and light district popularity. Kansas City is trying very hard to be a swank, pop culture city, but it is and always will be a simple cow town where folks like to live in the suburbs, go out to eat, make babies and basically not buy condos.

The KC P&L District has come under a lot of scrutiny lately due to their racist dress code. When the district first opened, several black people complained that the dress code was geared to keep black people out. Then, mysteriously, all of the security guards at the power and light district were suddenly replaced by black men dressed like pimps. I think that Cordish group (the owners of power and light) thought that if they placed black security guards dressed up in stylish suits at the gates then the blacks couldn't complain about being turned away by their own kind. Pretty sneaky - but we caught it. In Cordish's defence, our group was also denied entry due to our clothes (we had just finished a round of golf and had on Adidas wear).

For the most part, the Kansas City power and light district is a tourist attraction mostly frequented by rural white trash and convention-looking white collar hotel stayers, but it is still a lot of fun and a great addition to the Kansas City community.

Adam Blue, CEO
Adam Blue Productions
Kansas City, Missouri
USA

Kansas City restaurants are some of the best in the Midwest. Several varieties and options are available for kc visitors including famous Kansas City BBQ restaurants such as Gates BBQ, Famous Dave's BBQ, Jack Stack BBQ, Smokestack BBQ and BB's Lawnside BBQ just to name a few. If you are in a beefy kind of mood there are always some great kc steak restaurants as well such as the Longhorn Steakhouse, Hereford House, Ruth Chris and The Majestic Steakhouse.

If it's fine dining you "fancy" there are several great Kansas City fine dining restaurants to choose from such as EBT, The Bristol, J. Alexander, The Intercontinental, McCormick and Schmicks and The Raphael. Many of kc's fine dining restaurants are located on the plaza, one of Kansas City's most famous shopping areas.

There is a new area of town called The Kansas City Power and Light District that features many great restaurants as well. KC P&L is located in downtown kc and offers great dining options including 801 Steak and Chop House and Raglan Road Irish Pub. The power and light district is the new hotspot in Kansas City and features several great bars, restaurants, shops and hotels.

When you visit, don't forget to check out the great Kansas City live music restaurants. Kc is known for live blues and jazz music and several of the restaurants feature superb live entertainment and incredible Kansas City bands. Some of the best live music venues in kc are The Power and Light District, BB's Lawnside BBQ, EBT, Raglan Road, The Phoenix Jazz Restaurant, The 75th Street Brewery, The Daily Limit in Red Bridge and The Well in Waldo just to name a few.

Stay away from The Legends at Village West as it has terrible management and is designed for overweight females.

Adam Blue, CEO
Adam Blue Productions
Kansas City, Missouri
USA

Kansas City Homes for Sale and Rent and much more info about Kansas City from Adam Blue Productions.

Looking to move to the Kansas City area? Look no further - we have all of the information that you need right here. Browse our Kansas City News blog, look into dining at one of our Kansas City Restaurants, or just look at the lovely nature scenery on our Live Kansas City Nature Webcam!

Our little town in the midwest has a lot to offer. Great food, excellent entertainment, and with the addition of The Power and Light District, there are a lot of great concerts and outdoor festivals going on year-round.

Adam Blue, CEO
Adam Blue Productions
Kansas City, Missouri
USA