Development
Renderings Posted of Proposed Lux Living Riverfront Apartment Project
By Kevin Collison Preliminary renderings of a riverfront apartment project proposed by Lux Living have surfaced on social media and show what’s described as a design “bending” along the Missouri River. The renderings were posted on the Lux Living Instagram account this week. The St. Louis developer has been negotiating with Port KC for what’s…
18th & Vine Concept Called ‘Beale Street,’ Sparks Council Clash
By Kevin Collison A $23 million mixed-use redevelopment proposal backed by Mayor Quinton Lucas that would add apartments and retail space to the 18th and Vine District is being opposed by Council members who fear it would turn the area into another “Beale Street.” “On this first day of Black History, we are working to…
Boutique Hotel Proposed for Historic Workhouse Castle on Vine
By Kevin Collison The ruined former City Workhouse Castle built in 1897 to incarcerate petty criminals and vagrants would accommodate a far more upscale clientele as a boutique hotel in a new redevelopment proposal. The massive limestone curiosity at 2001 Vine St. near the 18th & Vine Jazz District and 23 acres of nearby property…
Omaha Going Big on Downtown with New Skyscraper, Streetcar Line
(Editor’s note: This article about two major developments announced Wednesday in Omaha is being published to inform CityScene readers about what other regional cities are doing to revitalize their greater downtowns. The last office tower built in downtown Kansas City was the 18-story H&R Block headquarters in 2006. The 30-story 1201 Walnut building opened in…
Mac’s Big Midtown Project Dead After Council Rejects Funding
By Kevin Collison A $100 million proposal that would have added 385 apartments next to the planned streetcar stop at Main and Armour is dead after the City Council rejected funding considered key to including affordable housing. Mac Properties had proposed renovating the US Bank building at Main and Armour and the nearby New Yorker…
Proposed City Market Apartment Tower Hailed as Future Development Model
By Kevin Collison A 13-story, 300-unit apartment development planned for just west of the City Market was endorsed by a Port KC committee Monday after being hailed by the city manager as a model for future downtown development. The $75 million project proposed for what’s now a city-owned parking lot would occupy a one-acre…
Plan for Keystone Innovation Campus on East 18th Street Collapses
By Kevin Collison An ambitious proposal for a Keystone Innovation District campus on East 18th Street has experienced a major setback with a planned new office building and renovated warehouse no longer in the works. Keystone Community Corp., a strategic economic development initiative backed by the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, had been working…
Oak Tower may be Restored to Original 1920s Grandeur
By Kevin Collison A towering downtown architectural treasure that’s been hidden by cement stucco since 1974 may be restored to its Gothic glory by a Lawrence developer. The 28-story Oak Tower near City Hall was bought by Bill Schultheis a year ago, and he’s pursuing a renovation plan that would restore its original terra cotta exterior…
New Plan Would Redevelop Former AT&T Building Into Apartments
By Kevin Collison The vacant, former AT&T office building at 500 E. Eighth St. would be redeveloped as a 265-unit apartment project under a fresh proposal that’s been submitted to a city development agency. The Bernstein Cos. of Washington D.C. has a contract to purchase the property from its current developer, Maxus Properties of North…
West Plaza Flats Importing ‘Co-Living’ Concept to KC
(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Dec. 28, 2020) By Kevin Collison Construction has begun on a five-story apartment project at 44th and Belleview that’s introducing a lifestyle imported from Denmark and an imposing tower crane above the West Plaza. The 102-unit West Plaza Flats development is being built on a 1.5-acre site at…