urbanSTL

^The USDA move was terribly if not corruptly handled obviously to disrupt and it worked but the approx job count will supposedly still be added to KC with new job openings.  There are already 5K USDA employees in KC BTW, which is probably a reason why KC was selected.  But not a great way to score jobs.

Yeah... This was about torpedoing the group and leaving it crippled for years to come.

Mission accomplished.

Updated design of the Barney Allis Plaza office building.

https://cityscenekc.com/platform-ventur ... e-project/

Cost: $70M
Floors: 14 floors
Size: 152K sqft (up from 70K originally proposed)
Timeline: Incentives approved, Plans filed, Targeting early 2020 start, complete late 2021

I had expected the H & R tower to be taller. 

framer wrote: ↑

Oct 22, 2019

I had expected the H & R tower to be taller. 

Did you mean W&R?  There was speculation that they would be part of a $200M project which would include residential on top (potentially 45+ floors) but turns out it will likely be build to suit $90M project, 17 floors, no residential.  But still not confirmed.
Seems office construction will start to hit some momentum downtown KC by next year.   

W & R, yes. Seventeen floors is a far cry from the earlier rumors. 

hobo digitale wrote:

framer wrote: ↑

Oct 22, 2019

I had expected the H & R tower to be taller. 

Did you mean W&R?  There was speculation that they would be part of a $200M project which would include residential on top (potentially 45+ floors) but turns out it will likely be build to suit $90M project, 17 floors, no residential.  But still not confirmed.
Seems office construction will start to hit some momentum downtown KC by next year.   

The total project cost was rumored to be $200million (from solid sources). $90 million is the investment Waddell and Reed will be making in lease payments and equipment over 15(I think) years.


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hobo digitale wrote: ↑

Oct 22, 2019

$200M seems high for a 17 floor building.  The Barney Allis office proposal is 14 floors at $70M for a pretty sharp looking Class A building.  $200M for 17 floors must be ultra uber luxury. We'll just have to wait till the actual W&R proposal comes.  Nothing has been confirmed.

WR will be taking roughly double the space that BAP has to offer.


Kevin Collison has a new article out on Waddell and Reed. 14th and Baltimore and 13th and Grand are floated as finalists. Fencing went up around the 14th Street site yesterday.
City Scene KC

In Kansas City, they call that progress. 

Planned Waddell & Reed building could be up to 12 stories, total cost $140M, occupy 1st Q 2022, per EEZ board presentation. Mayor has endosed incentives. #cityscenekc

5 floor garage + 12 floors office?


https://twitter.com/kckansascity

The Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board endorsed the property tax abatement recommended for the Waddell & Reed development, the recommendation will now go to the Kansas City Council for consideration.

During a presentation, attorney David Frantze, who represents the firm, said the total project value is $140 million and 250,000 square feet of office would be built on top of a 1,000 space garage. Total structure, including garage, would be up to 15 stories. It would be completed by early 2022.

Frantze estimated the city would gain a net $800,000 in earnings taxes the first year. He also told the EEZ board that Mayor Quinton Lucas supports the recommended tax incentive plan.

The attorney also said the tenant will be paying about $40 per square foot rent, almost double the $21 per square foot currently paid for Class A office space in downtown. Frantze said project should drive up office rents downtown, making it more financially attractive for new projects to be built.

City Scene KC

A few updates and news on metro-wide projects that have flown under the radar

1. The Scarritt building downtown is being proposed for a $50 million renovation into a 4 star Wyndham Grand hotel and a high-end restaurant. Developers are aiming to begin work sometime between mid-late 2020. 

The Scarritt building

2. Marriott has received additional approval from a city council committee last week for a dual brand hotel development in the Plaza region off 46th street and Wornall Road. The development will comprise of an Aloft hotel and a "signature" upper scale hotel to be operated by Marriott's Tribute Hotel branch along with 19,000 sqf of retail space and underground parking for over 300 cars. The total rooms added will be 313 rooms. If all goes well, opening could happen in 2021. Developers plan to spend $104 million with $80 million in industrial bonds. 

3. I suppose if KC yet again drops the ball with office development Overland Park will step up. A massive mixed use development in Overland Park is moving forward with the city council. The Brookridge development, comprising of 2000 apartment units, 550 hotel rooms and 2 million square footage of office and retail/restaurant space capable of supporting up to 24,000 jobs with a value of around $1.2 billion is proposed for an underutilized golf course. Another public meeting will take place the first week of December. Unsurprisingly, the project has been met with stiff resistance from local residents who are fearful of the additional traffic, construction and decrease in property values (the usual boomer bellyaching). Northern Overland Park has seen a steady decrease in wealth and job creation as investment and population growth have increasingly concentrated in southern Johnson County. This project, while big, will bring much needed tax revenue, population and white collar jobs. I'm hopeful the city council will think long term and disregard the incessant b*tching from ignorant, obstructionist NIMBYS.

Brookridge Development overview

4. A "Greenline" concept has recently been proposed for downtown Kansas City. A greenline is an urban pathway network that will connect the downtown loop region with recreational parks and trails. The proposal envisions over 10 miles of pathway. The greenline is being modeled off other similar projects such as Atlanta's BeltLine and Toronto's Bentway Park.

Atlanta's BeltLine, inspiration for the greenline

Proposed greenline network

5. The Rock Island Bridge renovation is undergoing final approval. The Rock Island Bridge is currently a decommissioned railway bridge over the Kansas River that is slated to be renovated into a mixed-use venue with eateries, shops and potentially an event space. Work could begin either 4Q 2019 or 1Q 2020 with a target completion date for July 4th 2020.

Rock Island Bridge renovation rendering

1. Hotel Bravo:
TIF Commission did not back incentives for the project. A supermajority is needed in the city council to advance the incentives. Hotel Bravo is likely dead.

2. Strata Office Tower: 
The city council gave the developers an additional 2 weeks to finalize a new agreement.

3. Barney Alles Plaza Office Building:
Project is on track to break ground next quarter. Here are higher resolution renderings: