Development
Work Begins on $52M Apartment Project in Freight House District
(Editor’s note: This updated article originally appeared on Aug. 16.) By Kevin Collison The 193-unit Tracks apartment project in the Freight House District has begun construction, two years after it was first proposed. The $52.5 million development is being built by Milhaus, an Indianapolis developer that also recently completed the 338-unit Artistry KC apartment complex…
Council Approves Incentives for Fidelity HQ Project at Crown Center
By Kevin Collison An incentive deal for the proposed headquarters of Fidelity Security Life Insurance at 27th and Main sailed through the City Council Thursday despite neighborhood criticism and broader policy concerns about its planned garage. The Council voted 11-1 to approve a tax incentive package valued at about $9 million for the $83.4 million…
Converge KC Apartments Revive Key Midtown Corner
By Kevin Collison Converge KC, the $46 million apartment project at Valentine Road and Broadway, has transformed a formerly moribund corner with a tired strip mall and parking lot into a dynamic urban addition to Midtown. The 213-unit project was built above what was once Uptown Shoppes, which had its retail space renovated as part…
Midtown Plaza Project Nears Completion, Second Phase Planned
By Kevin Collison The first phase of the Midtown Plaza apartment project, the renovation of a 1970s office building at 3420 Broadway, is nearing completion with a second phase of the long-delayed development expected to be introduced at City Hall soon. The conversion of the seven-story, former Missouri Gas Energy building into 108 apartments was…
Ability KC Plans Medical Office Building, Retail on Streetcar Route
By Kevin Collison Ability KC wants to build a 3 1/2 story office building and four-level garage at 31st Terrace and Main, the latest big project proposed along the route of the planned streetcar extension from downtown to UMKC. The nonprofit organization, which currently operates the Children’s Center Campus at the southeast corner of 31st…
UMKC Seeks Ideas to Revitalize Historic Epperson House
By Kevin Collison UMKC is seeking ideas to save and revitalize the Epperson House, a vacant, century-old former mansion on its campus that’s been a repeat nominee on Historic KC’s most endangered list. In recent press release, the university stated it was seeking “creative solutions to restore and reopen” the Collegiate Gothic-style mansion. Construction on…
Council Committee Supports $83.4M Insurance Firm HQ Plan
By Kevin Collison Fidelity Security Life’s proposed 11-story headquarters project at 27th and Main had its incentive request endorsed unanimously Wednesday by a City Council committee over the objections of the nearby Union Hill neighborhood. The $83.4 development would be located on a 2.7-acre site currently owned by Crown Center Redevelopment, and would be the…
KC Preservation Projects Failing Key State Incentive Program
By Kevin Collison Early last month, the $69 million renovation of the former “Flashcube” office building at 720 Main into apartments received an honors award as an innovative preservation project from Historic Kansas City. The city’s premier historic preservation organization also recognized the 273-unit West Bottoms Flats development at 925 Wyoming St. with its excellence…
Mac Tweaks Big Mixed-Use Plan at Armour and Main
By Kevin Collison Mac Properties has tweaked it’s big mixed-use project proposed for Main and Armour, slightly reducing its size and incentive request in response to discussions with the neighborhood and taxing jurisdictions. The development first reported by CityScene KC in August, calls for renovating the US Bank office building at Main and Armour, and…
Plaza Luxury Apartment Tower Returns, Potential 2022 Start
By Kevin Collison A 15-story, luxury apartment project first proposed five years ago near the Country Club Plaza is returning to City Hall next month with a potential groundbreaking in the second half of next year. “The Madison” development planned by Block Real Estate Services would occupy a vacant triangular lot where Roanoke Parkway and…