Development
Sale of Historic Kansas City Star Building Completed, New Owner Weighing Options for Redevelopment
By Kevin Collison The sale of The Kansas City Star building was completed last week although the new owner has no immediate plans to redevelop the historic property at 1729 Grand Blvd. “I’ve worked a little over a year on the transaction so I’m excited to complete the acquisition,” Vince Bryant of 3-D Development says….
Groundbreaking for $25 Million Hampton Inn Expected Soon, Latest Hotel in Growing Crossroads District Market
By Kevin Collison A seven-story Hampton Inn hotel on the northeast corner of 16th and Main is expected to start construction in October, a project that is reinforcing the Crossroads reputation as the hip place to stay downtown. “It’s a perfect fit, right on the streetcar and near the incredible restaurants in the Crossroads,” said…
New Development Site in River Market Considered Potential Location for Mid-Rise Apartment Project
By Kevin Collison A massive industrial plant at First and Grand that opened in 1904 to supply electricity to the old Kansas City streetcar system may wind up capitalizing on the popularity of its revival. Veolia energy, the French firm that began operating the five-story behemoth in 2008, has begun marketing a nearby four-acre site…
Ambassador Hotel Gets Incentive Nod for $14.9 Million Expansion, Work to Begin Soon
By Kevin Collison The owner of the Ambassador Hotel at 1111 Grand plans to break ground on a nine-story addition this fall after receiving approval for tax incentives last week. The $14.9 million project will add 70 rooms to the 43-room boutique hotel that opened in the historic Gate City National Bank Building in 2012….
City Club Apartments Begins Marketing Its New $76.8 Million Crossroads Project
By Kevin Collison City Club Apartments has begun a marketing campaign for a $76.8 million development that’s expected to transform a desolate block along the streetcar line in the Crossroads District into a dynamic mixed-use project. The suburban Detroit-based developer is planning to renovate the historic Midwest Hotel at 1925 Main St. and combine it…
ARTerra Apartment Project in Crossroads District Expected to Set New Bar for Downtown Rents
By Kevin Collison It was only a few years ago that apartment developers in downtown Kansas City dreamed of getting $1.50 per square foot in rent. Last week at the groundbreaking for the ARTerra project, developer Jon Copaken said its units will go for $2.30 per square foot, the same rate as Two Light, the…
Denver Investor has Discovered his Development ‘Play’ in River Market
By Kevin Collison Craig Slawson knows a lot about oil exploration, a business his family has been in for 60 years. In that industry, when you find a ‘play,’ you’ve identified a geological region where conditions are ripe for discovering oil fields, lots of them. Now that he’s expanded into real estate, the Denver-based founder…
Kemper Arena Developer Receives State Historic Tax Credits, Last Hurdle Before Beginning Mosaic Arena Project
By Kevin Collison The $39 million redevelopment of the former Kemper Arena into an amateur sports and fitness complex that’s expected to draw a half million out-of-town visitors yearly to the West Bottoms has cleared its last financial hurdle. Developer Steve Foutch of Foutch Brothers LLC expects to begin work within two weeks on his…
Sale of The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion for Fraction of 2006 Cost Reflects Declining Newspaper Industry
By Kevin Collison When it opened in 2006, The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion was hailed as a major contribution to the revitalization of downtown and the latest technology in the newspaper industry. The striking 434,000 square-foot building clad in green glass and copper covered two city blocks, rising from four stories along 17th Street…
Historic Hotel Bray in Downtown Kansas City to be Redeveloped as Apartments
By Kevin Collison A slender downtown architectural beauty, the historic former Hotel Bray at 1114 Baltimore Ave., is being redeveloped as an apartment project by developer John Bennett Jr. The nine-story building is 25-feet wide and 125 feet deep, and is wedged between the Hotel Phillips and the Italian Garden garage on Baltimore. Bennett plans…