Updated 3:30 p.m. "While the flames were dramatic, the fire damage could have been worse," stated City Manager Troy Schulte in a news release. "The redevelopment plan will move forward on schedule." City officials said Thursday that despite the damage to two of the buildings in the historic 18th and Vine jazz district "there are no plans to demolish the surviving facades as a result of the fire." The 1920s buildings on the west side of Vine Street between 18th and 19th, including the Roberts Building, were featured in the 1996 film Kansas City directed by Kansas City native Robert Altman . The Roberts Building was "the site of the first black owned automobile dealership in America," according to the National Register of Historic Places . The Kansas City Star reports the city closed just last Friday to purchase the properties from the Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation (JDRC) as part of its redevelopment plan for the district . The city plans to continue to seek proposals for the
↧