Is the inner city/urban core a viable investment area now?

[Timothy Howdeshell]

Hi all, 

I've been investing in Kansas City, MO for several years now. I've always stayed away from the inner city (South of the river between 71 and 435. I'm seeing that development has continued pushing east towards 71 from downtown. And with prices going up all around the metro, the inner city seems to have a lot more development in it as well. 

When I started out I was told not to invest east of the Paseo and to avoid inner city due to high crime, low values, etc. Is this changing now though? 

I'm not a fan of D class areas (or C- for that matter) so would like to avoid that type of investing, but I'm wondering if it is safe from a crime and ROI perspective (fix and flip).

Thank you!