“For symbolic reasons, this development on the east side should be of interest to all Kansas City.”
Kelvin Simmons, president and CEO of Swope Community Builders
An ambitious proposal to transform a dreary 12-block section of downtown’s east side into a cozy neighborhood anchored by corporate offices is expected to begin in earnest today.
Backers of the $340 million East Village redevelopment plan are scheduled to make their opening pitch to the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, a city agency that controls property tax incentives and other development tools vital to the project’s realization.
If successful, an underused swath of surface parking lots and scattered buildings northeast of City Hall will be redeveloped into a project with 1,183 housing units, 87,200 square feet of retail and 213,000 square feet of office space that backers hope will house a new headquarters for J.E. Dunn Construction Co.
“Rarely do you get an opportunity to have such a tremendous impact on a downtown,” said Brian Gorecki, project manager with Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates, a nationally known urban redevelopment firm. “We have an opportunity to create a dynamic district.”
Sherman Associates is part of a team, East Village LLC, which includes Swope Community Builders and Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corp., both of Kansas City. It was the only respondent to a request for proposals issued by the PIEA. The East Village plan covers an area roughly between Ilus W. Davis Park and Charlotte Street, from Eighth to 12th streets.
Kelvin Simmons, president and CEO of Swope Community Builders, said the East Village project would ensure that all parts of downtown participate in its current renaissance.
“This quadrant is vitally important to the entire downtown of Kansas City coming alive,” Simmons said. “We can bring additional services to this district and provide affordable and livable housing.”
The project also would help break down the racial divide that too often has accompanied development patterns in Kansas City, Simmons said.
“For symbolic reasons, this development on the east side should be of interest to all Kansas City,” he said. “We’re making sure this area doesn’t get left out of the vital resurgence of downtown Kansas City.”
The approach being taken to the East Village development resembles the massive South Loop Redevelopment Plan currently under construction on the south side of downtown.
That multiblock project includes a new headquarters for H&R Block, the Power & Light District entertainment area being developed by the Cordish Co. of Baltimore and the restored President Hotel.
Just as the South Loop plan is using the H&R Block headquarters as an anchor, the East Village plan would like a new headquarters for J.E. Dunn to serve as a catalyst.
J.E. Dunn has its offices in the proposed redevelopment area on 10th Street between Holmes and Charlotte, and it owns about two blocks in the district. The firm plans to expand, and while officials say they’re interested in the East Village plan, they have made no commitment to participate.
“We’d like to find out what the city is going to do,” said Chairman Steve Dunn. “If we’re going to make a substantial investment, we want to make sure the blight is removed. …The city has to be the catalyst to make it happen.”
Architecturally, the look of the East Village calls to mind the 20-year-old Quality Hill project on downtown’s west side. The residential buildings would be no more than four stories high; constructed of cast stone, brick and concrete, and the streets and sidewalks would be heavily landscaped to make the area pedestrian friendly.
The architect is Rosemann & Associates. The proposed housing breakdown would be 658 market-rate condos, 69 affordable condos and town homes, 232 affordable apartments and 224 market-rate apartments.
“Creating new residential construction will add a committed constituency that will make the (downtown) loop feel safer and provide a connective fabric of public open spaces and graciously tree-shaded streets in the core of the city,” the application to the PIEA board said.
The East Village plan would retain the more historic and commercially viable buildings in the area, including the Ozark National Life Insurance Co., Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Federal Aviation Administration building, a Commerce Bank branch and the Blackstone Hotel building.
Several structures would be demolished under the plan, including Bradford Apartments, Diamond Shamrock service station, All-Makes Machine, Cherry Street Inn, Ragan Pest Control, American Bail Bonding, Della Lamb Charter Elementary School, Wiltshire Apartments and the former MC Sporting Goods building and garage.
The PIEA already included most of the proposed redevelopment area in an East Downtown Area PIEA established in November 2003. East Village LLC is asking the PIEA to expand the boundaries to include the entire project.
The PIEA designation would make the project eligible for Chapter 353 property tax abatements that typically abate 100 percent of the additional tax value the first 10 years and 50 percent the following 15 years. The application also notes that the developers may seek tax increment financing assistance.
PIEA designation would also allow the use of eminent domain to obtain properties if deals can’t be reached voluntarily with owners.
Using condemnation for economic development has been a controversial issue, even more so in recent months since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Kelo v. City of New London case. The ruling upheld a local government’s power to use eminent domain for a redevelopment plan that benefited a large segment of the community.
The subject is expected to be taken up at the next session of the Missouri General Assembly, and eminent domain opponents have said they will try to eliminate its use for economic development.
The development team wants to begin acquiring properties next spring if it is designated master developer by the PIEA. The plan calls for the entire East Village project to be completed in 10 years, but that timetable could be accelerated.
“We’ve received very favorable comments from a variety of players at City Hall,” Simmons said. “The city is capable of providing financial assistance, and the city wants to provide financial assistance.”
Sherman Associates is expected to invest significantly in the project. The firm has done $1 billion in urban redevelopment projects, according to the PIEA application.
U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. also is backing the project. The subsidiary of U.S. Bank has invested $28 million in tax credit equity in previous Sherman Associates projects, and the bank has lent $88 million to Sherman developments with $11 million more expected by year’s end.
“The proposed East Village neighborhood plan offers Kansas City the opportunity to ‘round out’ the revitalization of the Downtown Loop and build upon the impressive resurgence occurring throughout the greater downtown,” said N. Lynn Craghead in a letter supporting the PIEA application.
Reproduced with permission of The Kansas City Star © Copyright 2006 The Kansas City Star. All rights reserved. Format differs from original publication. Not an endorsement.
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© Kansas City Area Development Council
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