Development

VanTrust Assumes Lead Role On East Village, Acquires Key Properties in Stalled Downtown KC Redevelopment Area

By Kevin Collison Almost four years after becoming co-developer of the planned East Village redevelopment, VanTrust Real Estate has negotiated a new lease deal with the city that puts it fully in charge of moving the floundering project forward. And while VanTrust has no immediate plans for construction in the eight-block downtown redevelopment area northeast…

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Flashcube Building Receives Nod for Tax Incentives, $50M Downtown Kansas City Apartment Project

By Kevin Collison The $50 million redevelopment plan for the reflective glass-clad building known as the Flashcube received critical tax incentives to move forward today, the latest project on the downtown Kansas City streetcar line. The nine-story building at 720 Main St. is being redeveloped by Worcester Investments into 184 apartments and 35,800 square-feet of…

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Downtown Kansas City Office Vacancy Drop Leads Nation Thanks to Conversions and New Tenants

By Kevin Collison Downtown Kansas City leads the nation these days reducing its office vacancy rate, but not because it’s returning to its heyday as the region’s business center. The drop is primarily due to the conversion of many older, obsolete office buildings into apartments and hotels as downtown has transitioned to a mixed-use, ‘live,…

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KC Preservationists Pursue Campaign to Document Westport Architecture as Development Pressure Mounts

By Kevin Collison New projects in the works for historic Westport are prompting a grassroots effort to survey the district’s buildings to provide a solid planning base for future development decisions. Plans for two apartment projects and a hotel are being reviewed at City Hall for a district that’s been popular destination since before Kansas…

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Design for New Downtown YMCA Would Keep Lyric Facade

By Kevin Collison Backers of a planned Downtown YMCA that would incorporate the facade of the historic Lyric Theater as part of the $30 million project hope to wrap up fundraising this summer. David Byrd, CEO of the YMCA, told the Downtown Council board Thursday that $21 million has been raised and anticipated the remaining…

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Downtown KC Convention Hotel Design Connects Downtown with Crossroads

By Kevin Collison The planned $310 million convention hotel project is expected to create a better pedestrian connection between major downtown destinations as well as provide dramatic views for its guests, its architect says. “We believe that this building should be designed for the residents of Kansas City,” architect Bob Neal of Atlanta-based Cooper Carry…

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Kemper Arena Redevelopment at Risk as Missouri Reviews Historic Tax Credit Program

By Kevin Collison The Missouri historic tax credit program, a development tool that’s revived scores of landmark buildings, is facing its most serious challenge in years, putting such major projects as the redevelopment of Kemper Arena in jeopardy. “After several years of raising alarms and nothing coming to pass, this year the tenor has really…

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Plan Calls for Historic Kansas City Star Building to be Sold and Redeveloped

By Kevin Collison The owner of the Kansas City Star has a tentative agreement to sell the newspaper’s headquarters at 1729 Grand Blvd., a downtown landmark since 1913 where a young Ernest Hemingway once reported. McClatch Corp., the owner of The Star, has reached a “handshake agreement” with a developer who wants to convert the…

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