By Sylvia Maria Gross
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-560679.mp3
Kansas City, MO – As Kansas City rebuilds downtown and hopes for a revitalization, the neighboring arts and residential areas are bracing for change. This week, the City Plan Commission approved a proposal to freeze property taxes for artists and gallery owners in the Crossroads. The plan responds to a fear that downtown development will make the property too expensive for artists.
And in turn, residents of the neighboring Westside, Kansas City Missouri's historically Latino neighborhood, are worried that the Crossroads is encroaching westward and raising property values there. Joe Arce and Yvonne Bruner of KC Hispanic News reported two weeks ago that concerns about the Westside's neighborhood identity have recently focused on one futuristic-looking house. KC Hispanic News publisher Joe Arce spoke to KCUR's Sylvia Maria Gross.