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This newsletter is 976 words — a 3.5-minute read.

A developer pursuing a multibuilding project in the West Bottoms has tackled a strikingly similar landscape before — in LA's industrial belt.

Why it matters: The Borman Group's work out West offers a look at the potential for the project in Kansas City as Port KC considers public financing and property tax incentives for it.

Zoom in: Eight mostly vacant buildings near Eighth and Madison would become offices, bars, restaurants and an event space — with parking and pedestrian improvements.

• It's dubbed the Starchworks project, named for the Faultless starch company, which has long inhabited the area.
• The project comes as other transformative redevelopment efforts are underway, including the finished Rock Island Bridge project.

Zoom out: The West Bottoms shares similarities with LA's Boyle Heights — both aging warehouse districts near railroads and rivers.

• The Borman Group's properties there have reused railroad spurs and have converted buildings into creative studios, office space, housing and a restaurant.

Follow the money: Port KC is considering up to $20 million in bonds to help with the project.

• The agency is also weighing property tax exemptions — 90% for the first 10 years, 70% for the next 10 years.
• The properties would produce roughly $1.67 million in new property taxes over 20 years, an average of $83,500 yearly, compared with the current $16,000 yearly.

Behind the scenes: Historic West Bottoms Association president Ian Davis, who also owns Blip Coffee Roasters, tells Axios he's also working with the developers on a regional grant to better connect the neighborhood with the nearby rivers and trails, including the Riverfront Heritage Trail and the proposed Greenline.

• "We are heavily engaged with these developers, and we work together really well," Davis says.

Context: The Borman Group recently finished an office building redevelopment in the River Market at 14 W. Third St.

• Those renovations are "what we would hope of historic buildings," Port KC president and CEO Jon Stephens said at a meeting last week.

What's next

Google searches for "solo travel" in the Kansas City metro hit their highest recorded level in June, part of a nationwide record year.

Why it matters: Traveling alone used to mean waiting for someone else's PTO to line up. Now it's a plan, not a fallback.

By the numbers: The eight months with the most "solo travel" searches in more than 20 years of KC data were consecutive, from December 2025 through July 2026, per Google Trends.

• The metro's two most-searched related phrases are "female solo travel" and "solo female travel."
• Searches for "best solo travel destinations usa" are up 60%.

Zoom in: Local groups skew female too.

• Explorer Chicks of Kansas City has more than 3,600 members and runs small group trips for women. Its calendar includes Alaska, Banff, Yosemite and a Yellowstone hiking and hot springs weekend.
• Kansas International Travelers has 730 members and hosts a language exchange and networking meetup every other Saturday at 4pm.

Fun fact: MCI keeps adding places to go. Southwest started weekly Saturday nonstops to Punta Cana in March, its first international route from KC, plus daily Boston service in June. United began daily LAX flights in April.

💭 Abbey's thought bubble: I've spent a week staring at data about women traveling alone and have somehow never done it. Where should I go first?

The bottom line: Book the trip.

Go deeper

🏟️ Missouri would pay $459 million for the new Royals stadium over 30 years. That means about 60% of the $1.9 billion stadium would be publicly funded, including the city's contribution. (Kansas City Business Journal)

🌸 Rock & Brews at Prairiefire is closed, but opening soon in its place will be a flowery cafe and clothing store called Boutique Collective. (Johnson County Post)

🦌 Nonresidents who hunt in Missouri are now limited to one antlered buck instead of two, part of several changes to deer hunting season. (FOX4)

Kansas City has lost several breweries, bars and pubs in recent years, leaving fewer places for socialization.

Why it matters: Americans are drinking less for good reasons, but bars and taprooms do more than just pour booze — they provide places to gather without a plan.

• That job is now going unassigned.

By the numbers: Gallup found 54% of U.S. adults drink, down from 62% in 2023 and the lowest in a nearly 90-year trend.

• Folks have an average 2.8 drinks a week, the lowest since 1996, and 40% of drinkers said it had been more than a week since their last one.

💭 Abbey's thought bubble: My personal contribution to this trend is drinking one fewer glass of wine a week.

Yes, but: It's not just about alcohol. Gathering places of every kind have been thinning out nationally, drinking or not.

• A University of Colorado Boulder study tracked coffee shops, libraries, rec centers and nine other kinds of hangouts from 2010 to 2021 and found declines in nearly every category.
• Researcher Jessica Finlay blames the economics, not the customers, including rising costs and slimmer margins.

Between the lines: The Kansas City Public Library's 2026 strategic plan lists "increased demand for safe community spaces" among the pressures shaping its next five years.

What we're watching: What we're watching: New spaces are opening with different rules, like Café 333, a sober jazz bar built for anyone who wants the late-night scene without the drinks.

🎃 Abbey loves seeing Halloween decor already displayed in storefronts. It’s never too early to experience joy.

🙄 Travis is annoyed — it's way too early for fall stuff.

Edited by Chloe Gonzales.