About Mary Hutchison

Every day I'm driving around my cherished neighborhood of Brookside (and Waldo)...observing what's going on, watching new businesses move in and out, and touring homes (I'm a Realtor with Weichert Realtors). Starting this blog about Brookside/Waldo is a way I thought I could promote the area and spark some discussion about what's happening here...and what's going to happen. Your comments are welcome.

Hey Anthony Bourdain, Try Dining in Brookside!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

So Anthony Bourdain’s excellent travel show, No Reservations, broadcasts an episode tonight that filmed in Kansas City last fall. According to the article in today’s’ Kansas City Star, the visit focuses on many of our beloved barbecue joints. It’s been done, Anthony! We know how much you love Oklahoma Joe’s….you need to make a visit to Brookside for dining! And if you did….here’s where I would take you….

First, a short stop at Waldo Pizza for an appetizer of their St Louis Style pizza. OK, so maybe this pizza with provel cheese originated in St Louis, (and it’s in Waldo) but this is the kind of place Tony would like: locally owned, crazy busy all the time, interesting artwork on the walls and a wait staff with lots of tats. My personal favorite is the fresh mushroom and pineapple pizza..go ahead and groan. Along with our cheesy treat, Tony can try several of the freshly brewed beers from Boulevard.

Julian in Brookside

Our next stop for the entrée: Julian. No need to hop in your chauffeured limo, Tony, we can just walk along the Trolley Track Trail. We’ll dine outside, as it would be a perfect spring evening. Knowing what a pork fanatic Tony is, I would suggest we order the crispy pork shoulder with sweet potato puree. This is SO tasty, I almost have to order it every time I go to Julian. It must be a house specialty, as owner Celina Tio once told me how it’s made—it takes two days to concoct this dish! Of course, Celina and Tony may recognize each other from their appearances on Top Chef—and don’t all those famous chefs know each other anyway? As tempting as it would be to stay for chocolate pudding and a ginger doughnut, we move on for dessert…

Tony isn’t big on eating sweets, but who could resist the profiteroles at Aixois? A light pastry puff, split open and topped with vanilla bean ice cream, toasted almonds and chocolate sauce…so simple yet so good. He would appreciate another casual, locally owned restaurant with a warm atmosphere and reasonable prices. Tony might compare it to his old French bistro, Les Halles. We’re not done yet, though, there is one more stop…

Heading back south on the trail, we would order lattes at The Roasterie Café. Notice, Tony, the wide rimmed cups that provide a creamy sip of foam with

The Roasterie Cafe in Brookside

every drink of locally roasted coffee! Ok, it’s not like drinking espresso in an Italian courtyard, but still, the people watching is good, the service friendly, and if you crave another shot of chocolate…indulge in a Christopher Elbow chocolate with your beverage. Or we could walk a bit further to Glace and try scoops of their artisan ice creams: basil lime sorbet, salted pretzel, goat cheese and wildflower honey. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

You see, Tony, our barbecue has a well deserved great reputation..but there’s more to Kansas City than big smoky meat, fries and a cream soda. Brookside is your kind of place…the next time you come to KC to satisfy a craving for Oklahoma Joe’s, spend some time dining in Brookside. Like all other die hard New Yorkers, you’ll be surprised at what’s happening here outside of the barbecue scene.

Impressions of Celebration, Florida

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

The second half of my recent Florida vacation was spent in Celebration, Florida. I’ve always been fascinated by this city, ever since I read about it back in the late 1990s. My Orlando hosts, Mike and Julie Neal, write The Complete Walt Disney World guidebook and live in Celebration. I spent one morning just walking around the various homes and main streets, getting a feel for this master planned community.

Developed by the Walt Disney Company almost 20 years ago, Celebration is a town of about 7500 persons. An example of “New Urbanism”, Celebration was modeled after a small town that has everything residents would want and need: its own schools, golf course, fitness center, hospital, pool, parks and downtown retail/restaurant area. When it was created, 5000 buyers entered a lottery for a chance to buy one of the first 350 homes for sale. A totally planned and managed community from just about every aspect of everyday life, Celebration is like a Disney park—frees of litter everything just so, with coordinated colors and architectural styles, extensively landscaped and perfectly plotted homes pleasing to the eye. Disney hired famous architects to design some of the public buildings: Phillip Johnson, Michael Graves, and Robert M. Stern. It is a very pretty town to tour —with everyone abiding by the very strict HOA rules and regulations. It is reminiscent of another Florida town featured in the movie “The Truman Show” called Seaside.

As I walked through the streets, I saw neighbors chatting, golfers riding on the course, kids tossing a ball in the street island, residents biking along the sidewalks. I kept thinking, ‘this is just like Brookside, isn’t it?’ Well….not quite. The goal is the same: homes and shops in a centralized area, parks and paths nearby, foot traffic encouraged. Celebration is too new and controlled. It’s inviting in a perfect way. This is not a criticism, but a comment. I can see the strong appeal of living in Celebration, especially now as it’s more affordable because of the housing crash. The stores are mostly locally owned, and it’s small enough so you can easily walk or bike everywhere, get to know the merchants, participate in the neighborhood events. There is virtually no violent crime here. Yet I doubt you would ever find anything out of place …there would be an instant citation from the homes association. Keeping the exterior landscape and house coloring to particular types of plants, shrubs, paint shades gives each street a certain amount of pretty blandness. That same strong codes enforcement control keeps the property values high and establishes the atmosphere. It also squashes some individual expressions of homeowners. Is that necessarily a bad thing?

On my walk, I did find one small, subversive expression high up in a second floor window. There was a naked baby doll, lying on its side; eyes wide open, looking out on the street. It made me smile.

Celebration offers the best of Brookside in many ways—the walkability, the close-by shops and amenities, the pretty porches and various home sizes. It is comfortable, beautiful, safe, desirable, and friendly. But can the heart and soul of a community be master-planned? I suppose so, if all the residents agree to what the planners have established. But if you want to color outside the lines, this isn’t the place for you. I think I could live in Celebration…I would have the house with the doll peeking out of the window!

Moving to Florida? Take Brookside With You!

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

Back from vacation and it’s funny…Brookside was very much on my mind while I was in Florida! My host moved from his beloved Brookside home to Jacksonville almost two years ago….and he moved into a neighborhood very much like Brookside, called Springfield. However, Springfield is an ‘up and coming’ area, as we real estate agents say. There are beautifully renovated homes sandwiched between abandoned houses and vacant lots. But anyone driving through can see and feel the potential…

Springfield is on the National Register of Historic Places, located just north of downtown Jacksonville. Once a wealthy suburb (similar to the Hyde Park area in Kansas City), most of the homes were built in the late 1800s through 1920s. I was surprised to see so many oak trees among the palm trees! (Curiously, no squirrels!?) In January 2010, Southern Living magazine named Springfield the “#1 Comeback Neighborhood of the South”. Springfield is very much a resident driven improvement project, with its own sustainability focus (www.sustainablespringfield.net) and neighbors committed to saving the historic homes in danger of demolition (www.preservationsos.org). There is a Springfield Merchants Association (www.sambajax.org) and monthly potluck suppers hosted by homeowners.

So when my friend bought his home, he deliberately chose this area to help push it forward into a more stable neighborhood. Of course, this happens house by house, small business by small business. Not knowing many people in Jacksonville, he was surprised at the very strong sense of community in Springfield—neighbors shouting “Welcome to the neighborhood, thanks for moving here! “ and baskets of goodies left on his front porch. He was so excited to find Three Layers Coffehouse, a small ‘loft-style café’ coffee shop/wine bar just down the street. It’s the only business on the corner, with empty storefronts next door. Still, it’s thriving with local residents. It seems much easier to meet and strike up friendships when everyone is living in the same area for a common cause—a passion for historic, charming neighborhoods with easy walkability, where local entrepreneurs and business owners are committed to making a difference in their own square mile of the world.

Brookside is an area years ahead of what Springfield is becoming …yet it is the very same emotional pull of a certain type of lifestyle that keeps Brookside thriving…and Springfield growing. Thanks to the urban pioneers who recognize it is the unique and historic neighborhoods of a city that give it personality and flair. These neighborhoods are worth preserving, no matter what city you live in!

During the second part of my trip, I stayed with friends in Celebration, Florida..and that will be the subject of my next blog. A neigbhorhood inspired by Brookside, but with a very different feeling.

Armour Hills March 2012 Board Meeting Recap

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

This post is about a week late! I’ve been busy trying to work ahead as I’ll be out of town on a little vacation soon. So let’s get right to it—here’s a brief recap of the March 20, 2012 Armour Hills Homes Association board meeting:

Once again, we had several local residents attend and speak about the plans to be more aggressive preventing crime in our subdivision. The Board is planning a mailing calling for a vote to increase dues, with the extra monies going for regular security patrol a few hours each day. We are also planning a ‘security fair’ (in June) where residents can stop by and learn about various preventative measures they can take to protect their home and vehicles from burglaries.

The Board is concerned that KCMO is planning to delete funding for residential fall and spring leaf pick-up due to budget cuts. We are drafting a letter to our city council representatives stating we are against this budget cut.

Regarding our PIAC request submitted last year, now that we are now in the 6^th district rather than the 4^th district, we did not get as much funding as requested. However, thanks to our City Liaison board member Gunnar Hand, we are getting $90,000 for tree maintenance! Every street tree in Armour Hills will be trimmed and we will have money to plant new trees where needed. Gunnar is working with the city forester on details to implement this project. The funds we requested for tennis court maintenence and lights addition will not be available.

Reminder: the annual Armour Hills garage sale is Saturday May 19, and the Ice Cream Social is September 7.

Repurposing Bryant Elementary School in Brookside

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

Last night I attended the first “Reuse Proposal Presentations” hosted by the Kansas City School District. This one was about repurposing Bryant Elementary School at Wornall and Westover. It was held at the Country Club United Methodist Church, and over 100 people turned out to listen and ask questions, mostly middle aged and retired residents from the nearby homes.

So far, the only proposal submitted for this site is a combination condo/private country club project by six developers, banding together as an LLC. (It was difficult to read their formal company name from the overhead projector in the back of the church!). This group plans to keep the existing structure and footprint of the building. About half the space would be turned into 14 condos (25,000 SF) and the rest of the building would be a private club with an Olympic sized outdoor pool, six tennis courts, a racquetball court, restaurant, fitness club, and common area for residents, banquet area available for rental, and a private rooftop terrace. Developers plan about 110 parking spaces, with 28 of those associated with the condos. Condo prices would start at approximately $300 per SF, or around $300,000 for the smallest condo (1000SF). The developers are seeking tax credits for the project, estimated to cost $11.9 million with construction beginning next year (if approved). The country club will have a ‘non profit’ classification—did I hear that correctly??

It seemed to me that most of the persons present in the audience were against the project. The main concern is the increased traffic for the residential area surrounding the club, as well as ‘light and noise pollution’ from the outdoor sports and some ‘visual pollution’ from the inflated domed tennis courts. The developers reported that no formal traffic study has been done and they feel the traffic disruption will be ‘minimal’. They will ‘work with the neighbors’ to restrict parking on surrounding streets. Everyone was asked to complete a form expressing their views about the project that the KCMO School District will take under consideration.

Personally, I am not opposed to a condo development on the site, especially if the existing building will be used. As for the private country club, I am concerned about the increased traffic and parking shortage for project. Already there is heavy traffic surrounding nearby St Teresa’s Academy during the week and on weekends during special events. This private club will obviously cater to people with substantial incomes, and therefore unavailable to many nearby Brookside homeowners. In addition, how will this project look from the street? Will it be a gated community with tall fencing, an ugly streetscape for passers-by? These specific concerns could not be adequately addressed at the meeting.

Iwant to see other interested parties step up with proposals for this site so there are more options for this building. You can express your views or get more information by emailing repurposing@kcpublicschools.org

Brookside Events this Week

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

It can be a challenge to keep up with all the Brookside events I want to attend! This week there are two especially important meetings, so I’m blogging about the details below:

Tuesday (March 20) is the monthly board meeting of the Armour Hills Homes Association. We’ve been discussing raising the annual dues to pay for private security a few hours a day as a response to the increase in crime. This topic will again be discussed in more detail. All residents of Armour Hills are welcome. The meeting is at 7pm at the Country Club Congregational Church, 205 W 65th St.

Also Tuesday night is the first of two meetings regarding proposals related to ‘repurposing’ nearby closed Kansas City MO schools. Prospective buyers for the Bryant School (319 Westover), will present their ideas at 6pm at the Country Club United Methodist Church, 400 W 57th St. Proposals for the Bingham School (7618 Wyandotte) will be presented at 9am Saturday March 24 at the Broadway United Methodist Church, 406 W 74th.

I’ll report back via blogs later in the week with a summary of both meetings…wish I could clone myself for the night so I could be both places at once!

Brookside Area Home Sales Statistics

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

Hi fellowBrooksiders …. here are home sales statistics for the main Brookside zip code of 64113, from February 2012:

Eleven single family homes sold in February. The highest sales price was $650,000; the lowest was $169,275. The average list price was $315,266, and the average sales price was $296,289. Average days on market: 144.

In February 2011, ten homes sold. The highest sales price was $630,000, the lowest was $152,000. The average list price was $362,830, and the average sales price was $341,545. Average days on market: 183.

Currently there are approximately 103 homes for sale in zip 64113, with an average list price of $489,046. The high average price reflects several more expensive homes on the market in the Hampstead Gardens/Sunset Hill areas. (Note all figures are taken from Heartland MLS, deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

There certainly is quite a bit of activity as far as showings and open house attendance in Brookside–I’m optimistic for a strong spring buying season!

If you would like home sales statistics for your particular neighborhood, email me!

Brookside’s 32cd Annual St Patrick’s Warm Up Parade 2012

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

We are just a few days away from one of the most fun events of the year in Brookside: the St Patrick’s Warm Up Parade. It begins at 2pm on Saturday March 10, and lasts around 90 minutes. The parade starts at 65th and Wornall, heads north on Wornall to 63rd St, east on 63rd to Main St, south on Main to Meyer, west on Meyer to Brookside Blvd. The weather should be great!

2012 Brookside Warm Up Parade

2012 is the 32cd year for the parade. According to LaDene Morton’s book, The Brookside Story, the first parade was started on a lark by the owner and patrons of Hogerty’s Tavern. Virginia Kellog was running the merchants association at the time, and she decided to make the parade an official Brookside event. The downtown KC St Pat’s parade was gaining in popularity, and Brookside would piggy-back on the celebration by having their parade a week early.

At first the ‘parade’ wasn’t very big. It was mostly children from the neighborhood church and school groups who participated. One car would chauffeur the Grand Marshal of the parade. Eventually, the parade grew in size and length to what it is today. In the 1980s, the merchants started giving awards for various categories, including best music, best float and best theme. The parade now has to limit entries, currently over 100, and regularly attracts local media coverage. Local politicians and dignitaries to join in the fun, creating their own floats or walking along with residents. This year’s Grand Marshals are Bob and Darlene Drummond, owners of Drummond Cleaners–a Brookside business since 1919.

One of the best things I like about the parade is that it’s a very easy parade to watch–you aren’t far back from the street so you get a good look at the floats and the riders. It’s a true family affair, with many folks making it a party day on the front porch or lawn so friends can gather and socialize all afternoon. The parade is one of the special annual events that makes Brookside such a special place to live. Just be aware of the traffic closures and avoid the route area from late morning until late afternoon!

January 2012 Home Sales Statistics for Brookside — Zip Code 64113

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

Hello, fellow Brooksiders! Here are Brookside single family home sales statistics for January 2012, followed by the stats from January 2011 for comparison. I am using the main zip code of 64113 for these figures:

In January 2012, nine homes sold. The lowest sales price was $210,000 and the highest sales price was $920,000. Average list price was $357,933; average sales price was $346,167. Average days on market: 123.

In January 2011, nine homes sold. The lowest sales price was $146,770 and the highest sales price was $800,000. The average list price was $407,633 and average sales price was $382,030. Average days on market: 235.

As of this writing, there are 101 single homes for sale in zip 64113…that is a lot of inventory!

Although the same amount of homes sold in each month, the average price was much lower in January 2012. Keep in mind that Brookside is an area where home prices vary widely—there are $200,000 homes within a few blocks of $800,000 homes. For a true comparison, you have to look at stats that compare with your own smaller footprint of homes, and know that if more higher priced homes sold, that brings up the average sales price.

If you would like home sales for your area…email me!

All figures taken from Heartland MLS, deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

When Clients Become Friends

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Mary Hutchison

Last night I took two clients to dinner. This couple recently closed on their home purchase in Overland Park, and I enjoy spending time with them…so I invited them to dinner to celebrate their new purchase. My husband came along for the evening.

When I first met the wife, Diann, I knew we would get along great! She’s a happy, sparkly, positive person. A retired English teacher, we had a lot in common as my daughter plans to be an English teacher. Jeff is an employment lawyer who used to be a pharmacist—he has a calm and honest manner about him. We shared stories about our kids, books, home décor, restaurants—a very easy conversation. I know we will share more social time together now that the business side of our relationship has closed.

This is one of the best benefits of being a real estate agent—getting to know so many interesting people, and becoming friends with (some of) them. When first meeting a customer, it’s a great feeling to ‘click’ over certain shared interests: love of travel, kids the same age, political leanings, current events, favorite TV shows and movies. Besides talking business, I enjoy taking a break and sharing conversation about these other topics we all like. And after the business is over…continuing the relationship through social events and meals is a huge benefit.

At the start of each year, I think ‘who am I going to meet this year through real estate that will join my circle of friends?’. At the end of every year, I look back and smile, relishing those new customers-turned-friends. It’s one of the joys of life, making that circle of people in your orbit a bit larger..and real estate has done that for me!

Inside Brookside (And Waldo)

What's Happening In Brookside and Waldo (Kansas City, Missouri)

Author Archives: Mary Hutchison