The 39th Street Community Improvement District (CID)

The appeal of the KC metro and abroad! The 39th Street Community Improvement District (CID) is one of the most diverse locations in the City when it comes to...well...almost everything! As an international mix of businesses and consumers, this comfortable resident and local tourism spot is bustling with people of all kinds. Our social media of over 50k organic followers shows the same dynamic and it is a great place to take a break away from the nearby KU Medical Campus for visitors and loved ones. Have you seen our colorful branded stickers? 

The CID's focus on pedestrian amenities and walkability of the corridor led the Community Improvement District to invest in pedestrian lighting in two phases, projects Phase I and II, completing approximately 100 stylized LED lightposts and a $500k investment over the course of years 2010 - 2016. A continued maintenance plan is a key highlight of the CID's budget each year. 

The Community Improvement District completed 5,500-5,800 sqft. full replacement of sidewalks and curbs with the worst critical damage of 30+ years of neglect,  and tree well re-construction to improve the visual aesthetic and water management of impervious surface space through the corridor. The 39th Street CID applied for the project in 2016, structuring the work coordinated for permitting with the Public Works Department and construction engineers by completing a significant amount of the groundwork performed by the 39th Street CID.  The project was successfully completed in 2017.  

As a creative solution to signage the CID already maintained and to meet new City regulations, the District designed and fabricated lamp post sign brackets to accommodate the pedestrian lighting in the corridor. The stylized historic appeal of the sign brackets engineering designed by in-house urban planner, and longer lasting branded signs produced by a local business can be seen in the photo gallery below.   

The 39th Street Community Improvement District hosts community activities throughout the year. The CID is well known for it's low key 3rd Friday events held on the 3rd Friday of the month during the spring to fall season. The monthly event hosts local musicians, vendors, shops stay open later with special boutique sales and happy hours.  Holidays are especially fun in this community-oriented District, including Trick-or-Treat 39th Street and the annual Christmas holiday activities.   

As each Community Improvement District (CID) is unique in not only it's geography but people and atmosphere, West 39th Street is dedicated to recognizing this area of town with pride. The District puts the focus of small businesses and locally owned places at the forefront as 95% of the District's established shops and services are locally run and owned. Although small in physical space, the District holds a small feel with big impact to the greater Kansas City area.    

West 39th Street suffered an unfortunate incident in 2012, with long established street trees being decimated by a new utility installation. Since then, the 39th Street CID has invested countless hours and new installation of street trees for the pedestrian corridor. Over 32 new trees were installed or evaluated for maintenance issues from 2014 - 2021 and continues to be an important part of the corridors ambiance, landscape and aesthetic. 

The 39th Street CID has taken phased urban planning measures to implement care of the District within the corridor boundaries. As the other elements describe; maintenance, hardscape, softscape, place identity, lighting and landscape are incremental actions taken to the public purpose of community improvements and the CID fulfills all of them as a long-term implementation plan. 2021 began a new year of landscape installation that will progressively show the vital difference planning, teamwork and landscape can make into 2022 and the future years to come.  

The 39th Street CID invests in additional security for public safety and continues to have a strong relationship with KCPD. For many years the team has done an outstanding job in managing relationships and incidents in the District. The CID's purpose for security officers is simply to add additional monitors and communication for the District to aid with public safety, and not to replace our citywide resources.  

In 2019, the CID replaced and installed all new trash receptacles in partnership with the City of KCMO with a more equitable distribution for locations. The previous trash receptacles had been in place since the early 1980's and many were demolished by car accidents in the right-of-way.  The new trash cans were installed in 2020 in order to dissuade littering along the sidewalk areas and maintain a clean and safe atmosphere amongst the restaurants and businesses in the District.  

Please don't litter! The largest maintenance issue the inner-city Community Improvement District corridor faces is general littering. All of the small businesses do their part to maintain their storefronts, however, the CID stations daily clean-up of littering from end-to-end everyday. You may not see them, but every single day of the week minor trash is collected along sidewalks and the right-of-way. Litter clean-up has been performed every week since 1998. Did you know an average 70 pounds of trash are picked-up by hand every month? We have an outstanding photo collage of collected litter.  It genuinely helps when we all do our part!    

Graffiti and tagging is illegal citywide and reported to the proper Kansas City police department. Weather permitting, the CID attempts to clear surfaces as soon as possible to prevent additional Community Improvement District and public destruction of property. Since 2018, the CID on average covers 80-95 minor pieces of graffiti in a two-month timeframe. The Community Improvement District prefers to spend resources on improvements but are often faced with keeping this illicit activity reduced. On the contrary, the 39th Street murals created by local artists of the Kansas City community are phenomenal.