KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A new plan is shaking things up at Martini Corner on the northwest corner of East 31st Street and Gillham Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
New renderings from Kansas City-based Exact Architects, provided to 41 Action News, show a second-floor outdoor deck that would connect Brick House KC, Sol Cantina and Ollie’s Local. Another part of the development plan includes adding buildings behind Brick House and Sol Cantina to create a few new businesses.
People who work in the area are excited about the proposed changes.
"I've seen it go through so many different phases of chapters through Sol Cantina,” said Shawn Larson, operating partner.
Larson has seen the area in its ups and downs.
"This industry is a tough industry, and you have to know what you're doing,” Larson said. “You have to know how to adapt with the times.”
Part of the area’s transformation includes fixing up a vacant property on the southwest corner of 31st and Oak streets, which is catty-corner to the redevelopment plan.
"We're going to have retail but it's going to be unique, its going to be a little different, it's not going to be just another bar,” real estate developer Paul Nagaoka said.
It’s the potential of the district that brought Nagaoka to invest in the area.
"This can become a real destination, not only for the people that actually live here, but people across the city,” Nagaoka said.
But the area also comes with heavy traffic. As a result, the plan calls for a “road diet," reducing the number of lanes from four to two in that area.
"I'm really excited about changing the dynamic of the street to make it more pedestrian friendly,” said Kansas City Councilman Eric Bunch, who represents the Fourth District.
The traffic measure, Bunch believes, could resolve the issues in this district.
"Think that a lot of the turnover is because the street is so unfriendly, the traffic moves very quickly,” Bunch said.
Overall, those involved with the redevelopment plan hope to create a sustainable — not shaken — Martini Corner.
Caleb Buland with Exact Architects told 41 Action News he hopes to present the plan to city staff and eventually to the full City Council in the coming months.
If all goes as planned, he said the project could be completed by summer 2021.
