Video: Nonprofit wants to bring coworking, craft fairs and farmers markets to Troost
October 18, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Nonprofit group Troost Market Collective hopes to revitalize a section of Troost Avenue — from 31st to Linwood — bringing a coworking space, art collective and maker spaces, as well as regular festivals and farmers markets.
While other developers are busy building residential and retail space along the Troost corridor, Troost Market Collective co-founders Katie Mabry Van Dieren and Crissy Dastrup want to be the region’s community builders, they said.
[pullquote]
Check out the rest of Startland’s six-part series on new development on Troost Avenue, a historic racial and economic barrier in Kansas City.
Part I: Transforming Troost
Part II: Troost Coalition
Part III: Wonder lofts
Part IV: Back to Troost
Part V: Food startup Village
[/pullquote]
“We’re hoping that the collective is an awesome catalyst for the corridor, bringing resources for creative entrepreneurs,” said Mabry Van Dieren, who is also the founder of indie craft fair Strawberry Swing. “What I’ve been hearing is everyone is getting priced out of the Crossroads Arts District, and we don’t like anything like that to ever happen on Troost. We want to bring affordable awesome-ness.”
In Kansas City, when most people think of Troost Avenue, they think of a dividing line separating the haves from the have-nots.
It wasn’t always that way. Until the mid-1900s, the corridor was bustling with activity and entrepreneurship. Discriminatory lending real estate practices brought a stigma to one of Kansas City’s first major commercial shopping districts.
Troost Market Collective is currently searching for potential partners as well as makers, artists and entrepreneurs who might be interested in joining a collective. The development project has been in motion for about a year and is eying completion by spring 2018.
Clemons Real Estate is assembling 11 properties for the effort as part of its Legacy Crossings project at along Troost between 31st and Linwood, said Audrey Navarro, managing partner at the boutique-style real estate firm.
“The exciting part of that corridor, from our perspective, is that a lot of these buildings carry a lot of historical significance to Kansas City,” she said. “And it’s a corridor that still has a lot of large structures intact. … It’s one of the areas that has a lot of density of existing buildings that can be repurposed.
Watch the video below to learn more about the initiative.
To learn more about the developments on Troost, check out the interactive map below.
[divide]
Check out the rest of Startland’s six-part series on new development on Troost Avenue, a historic racial and economic barrier in Kansas City.
Part I: Transforming Troost
Part II: Troost Coalition
Part III: Wonder lofts
Part IV: Back to Troost
Part V: Food startup Village
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Biz class to barista: UMKC student’s mobile matcha cart hand-whisks crowds of thirsty fans
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. [divide] HerCafe, a matcha business founded by a University of Missouri-Kansas City student and her friend, has found success with its…
Tim Tebow to entrepreneurs: Embrace the heavy lift if you want to reap life’s real profits
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Business should be about driving impact, not just scoring another win, said former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow — challenging Midwest entrepreneurs, community builders, and investors to consider outcomes that boost others, not just one’s personal pocketbook. “Probably everybody in this room has been super blessed with skill sets, resources, relationships, opportunities, companies,…
Here’s how a Prospect renewal project invests in both those who built KC and the city’s future
Economic development initiatives are measured not just in buildings, but in opportunity, said Melissa Patterson Hazley, lauding the use of the Central City Economic Development (CCED) Sales Tax Program to transform underutilized parcels in Kansas City into modern, energy-efficient housing that support long-term neighborhood vitality. “Projects like Prospect Summit represent the intentional work of making…
Fusing talent, passion: Serial founder trades his Screamin Cow for offshore talent hiring platform
Brad Starnes’ itch to lean into a newly realized pain point at the end of 2024 led to the acquisition of his Screamin Cow Marketing Group and the launch of another passion project, the former UMKC Student Entrepreneur of the Year shared. With the move — which sees Screamin Cow transitioned to Builders of Authority…