[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 117 (Monday, September 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1688-E1689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          18TH & VINE DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 8, 1997

  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge an event 
that I attended this weekend which exemplifies the rich heritage of the 
Fifth District of Missouri and demonstrates the phoenix-like results 
that can come from congressional investments for urban revitalization 
and bipartisan cooperation to improve our urban centers. That event was 
the opening of the historic 18th & Vine District Jazz Museum and 
historic Gem Theater.
  Kansas City has made a significant contribution to the great American 
art form known as jazz. The 18th & Vine District is steeped in history, 
with the old Attucks School on 18th and Woodland which Charlie Parker 
attended, and the Street Hotel on 18th and Paseo where all of the great 
players, like Josh Gibson and Rube Foster stayed. The District also 
includes the Shannon Building on 18th and Vine, where Joe Louis 
trained, and the Mutual Musicians' Foundation which is registered as a 
national landmark. This weekend, the area came alive with the music of 
jazz legends such as Clause (Fiddler) Williams and 81-year-old big band 
leader Jay McShann.
  The 18th & Vine Project truly represents the best of American 
ingenuity and public-private partnership. When the project appeared to 
be in limbo, and public skepticism was running high, creativity came to 
the rescue and Federal empowerment zone funds were made available to 
continue this marvelous effort. Private sector commitments came from 
large corporations such as Sprint planning to open a call center in the 
district, and small business such as Winslow's BBQ agreeing to manage 
the Blue Room night club in the jazz museum. Further evidence of the 
public-private commitment can be seen in the opening of Count Basie 
Court Apartments, which was a collaborative effort joining the local 
private Citizen Housing Information Center and Black Economic Union 
with Federal housing development initiatives.
  The Federal empowerment zone initiative is critical for directing 
resources to revitalize urban areas. Kansas City is maximizing this 
tool for economic development within our communities and neighborhoods. 
The congressional bipartisan tax relief package, recently signed into 
law by the President, included not only an expansion of the empowerment 
zone initiative, but also a perfect compliment--the brownfields 
initiative, which provides incentives to transform economically 
distressed areas and hazardous waste sites into thriving economic 
centers by providing developers and businesses with a tax credit to 
improve and reclaim the land.
  What is happening in Kansas City is a stellar example of the way the 
partnership between the public and private sectors and the Federal, 
State, and local governments can work, and a fundamental reason that 
the Environmental Protection Agency chose to hold its 1997 national 
brownfields conference here last week. Initiatives such as the 18th & 
Vine District, building upon the heritage and unique qualities of that 
community, create jobs within the community--bolstering local welfare 
to work activities--and cleaner, safer, and more livable neighborhoods 
out of areas that were urban blight
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in recognizing the efforts of the 
community embodied in the opening of the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz 
Museum and Gem Theater and acknowledging the accomplishment of this 
important public-private partnership. It serves as an example of 
successful coordination among

[[Page E1689]]

economic development, welfare-to-work initiatives, and environmental 
cleanup in our great Nation.

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