Development
New Plaza Preservation Battle, Developer Plans to Demolish Prominent Church for Apartments
(Editors’s Note: Plans for this project were first posted online by Next Kansas City) By Kevin Collison A plan to demolish a prominent church in the Country Club Plaza and replace it with a 12-story, mixed-use project is unfolding as the latest historic preservation battle over the soul of the venerable district. Legacy Development wants to redevelop…
New VisitKC Exec Anticipates Filling a ‘Saturated’ Downtown Hotel Market
By Kevin Collison The first time Jason Fulvi visited Kansas City 13 years ago, he flew back to Pittsburgh convinced there was no need to ever return. At that time downtown was in the early stages of its current renaissance, the Power & Light District, Sprint Center and Bartle Hall ballroom expansion just starting or…
Troost Developers Deserve Support, Not Criticism
GUEST COMMENTARY By John Hoffman, principal and co-founder of UC-B Properties The recent editorial in The Kansas City Star entitled “Stop the Denverization of Kansas City. Troost doesn’t need to be hipster-friendly” sparked an interest worth responding to by someone who has been developing along Troost for the last 10 years. Whoever was responsible for…
Hyatt House Hotel Wins Incentive Approval, Work to Begin This Spring
By Kevin Collison Construction of a 13-story Hyatt House hotel on a parking lot at Ninth and Broadway is expected to begin this spring after its Colorado developer was approved for incentives last week–but not before a two-hour debate by the development agency involved. Boulder-based Pedersen Development won approval for a 15-year property tax break,…
One of Downtown’s Last Big, Empty Historic Buildings Slated for Apartments
By Kevin Collison One of downtown’s last prominent, dormant historic buildings, the 23-story Mark Twain Tower, is slated to be redeveloped as a 202-unit apartment project following approval of incentives Wednesday. The soaring structure at the northwest corner of 11th and Baltimore, which opened in 1923 as the Kansas City Athletic Club, is expected to…
Developer Passes ‘Squint Test’ on New Armour Apartment Project
By Kevin Collison The design of the first apartment building in MAC Properties planned $78 million Armour Corners redevelopment won support from the City Plan Commission Wednesday after its developer noted it had passed the “squint test.” Peter Cassel of Chicago-based MAC said a consultant who assisted in the design of the seven-story building planned…
Uptown Lofts a Transformational ‘Valentine’ to Midtown
Editor’s Note: Sunflower Development Group announced today (July 30) it has closed on its private financing and plans to begin construction next week on the Uptown Lofts mixed-use project with an expected completion in summer 2021. Mutual of Omaha Bank with participation from Capital Federal Savings has provided the financing for the project, according to Sunflower….
Historic Palace Clothing Co. Building Finding New Future as Boutique Hotel
By Kevin Collison The historic Palace Clothing Co. building at 12th and Grand is slated to become a 110-room Canopy by Hilton boutique hotel, the latest entry to the booming downtown hospitality market. The planned $30 million renovation is being done by Mark Patel, a developer who also redeveloped the historic Gumbel Building into a…
Hospital Hill Construction Boom Continues with $70M University Health 2 Project
By Kevin Collison The building boom at what’s now being branded the “UMKC Health Sciences District” aka Hospital Hill is continuing with the kickoff of the $70 million University Health 2 project. The 80,000 square-foot facility will accommodate women’s care and primary care services currently in Truman Medical Center, freeing hospital space to expand its…
A Missed Starbucks Opportunity Brews Call for Downtown Office Development
By Kevin Collison Lack of a big chunk of premier, new office space likely cost downtown Kansas City a major Starbucks operation with 900 jobs last summer, and how to address that challenge was the focus recently of the second annual Downtown Office Summit. Mayor Sly James kicked off the summit organized by the Downtown…