Dream small: Botwin Family Partners finds results focusing on 'small, intimate' projects, Kansas City Business Journal, Feb 2, 2008,
by Jim Davis.

Diane Botwin, general partner of Botwin Family Partners LP, says that it was overwhelming when the old building she owned at 75th
Street and Washington Avenue in Waldo burned down but that "I don't want to live in the past." The new building will incorporate
environmentally friendly practices.

Diane Botwin was devastated when fire ravaged a building she owned in the Waldo section of south Kansas City.

The February 2007 blaze exacted an emotional toll on Botwin, whose parents had bought the property 34 years earlier.

"To watch something like that burn down so quickly and so violently was overwhelming," said Botwin, general partner of
Botwin Family Partners LP. She worked her first job in the building, seating guests at the old Waldo Astoria Dinner Playhouse.

When she realized that the fire had claimed no lives, Botwin regained her composure fast.

"My mind starting saying, 'What can I do for my tenants?'" she said. "'What are we going to do next?'"

Karolyn Dreiling, a co-owner of Kennedy's Bar & Grill, smoked out by the fire, said Botwin was "not only supportive but also a steady voice."

"I was in tears and not knowing what to do next," Dreiling said. "Diane put her arm around me and said, 'It's going to be OK, and here's what we'll do.'"

Kennedy's relocated to a nearby building Botwin owned but will return to its former address, where a new building is under construction.

The $2.5 million project epitomizes the gestalt of Botwin, a self-described forward-thinking "modern girl."

"I don't want to live in the past," said Botwin, who "didn't want a building that looks like 1923," when its predecessor opened.

The new two-story structure at 75th Street and Washington Avenue will be an environmentally sustainable showpiece. The roof,
to be planted with native prairie grass, will capture three-quarters of rainwater to avoid overtaxing a neighborhood with no storm sewers on 75th Street.

The developer's personality is further revealed by the building's relationship to its environs. Bike racks will encourage riders' interaction
with pedestrians amid streetscaping designed to entice such traffic.

Botwin said the design's retro nod foretells what she sees as Waldo's future.