Promenade Tower Development

[ComandanteCero]

Marty Development won city approval late last year for a $226 million redevelopment plan that calls for the motel to be razed and replaced by an office tower, hotel and retail project called Promenade Tower.

The Kansas City Council authorized up to $69 million in tax-increment financing to assist with development costs, including an underground garage and site preparation.

At this point, Quadrangle wants to stick with the basic elements of the redevelopment plan approved by the city. The main elements are a 12-story, 275,000-square-foot office tower and a 160-room hotel.

I hope the underground garage aspect stays (and it looks like it might, considering it was part of what was to be TIF'd in the original plan, and the new developer is hoping to just transfer the old approval to his new project). 

[DaveKCMO]

eek! the TIF should be revoked unless the retail that replaces the grocery store is truly beneficial to the neighborhood (i wouldn't consider restaurants to fit the bill, since the plaza is well-served in that regard).

One element that will probably be dropped from the plan is a natural foods supermarket.

The developers say there should be some retail opportunities in the project, possibly a restaurant and neighborhood services.

[LenexatoKCMO]

hopefully we'll see this puppy go up within my lifetime!

Heh, at least it has a solid active use in the meantime - it would be a lot more frustrating if they decided to go ahead and bulldoze the holiday inn and leave a gravel lot for three of four years, as seems to be apt to happen DT. 

[Maitre D]

“because we’re not going to break ground for a long time.”



Nuff said.

[GRID]

yea, if the developer says it's a "long way out" then god knows when or if it will get built.

I would just assume we try to get some of the potential tenants that would have filled this office building to fill a new or existing office building downtown anyway.

Unless the potential tenant is absolutely not interested in downtown or they pull the "we will move to JoCo card", we have got to get more aggressive in selling downtown.

The plaza is fine for a while.

I'm not against this project or the incentives for the garage.  But I hope that if a company has a choice between this location and a similar new structure downtown, the downtown incentive package would be a better deal than a plaza location.

If that's not the case, the the incentives should not be offered in the plaza area, at least for a few years.

But again, JoCo competes much more with the plaza than downtown.  If KCMO wants to compete with College Blvd, they tend to have their backs against the wall on developments like this because most companies that play the plaza against joco are simply not interested in downtown.

[Maitre D]

I doubt many companies really play this "card".  Some larger ones might get benefits b/c they have lots of payroll/jobs but you could fill up the Promenade with several staffing agencies/law firms.

Plaza is a great spot for professional firms, partnerships, etc.  That's why it has the highest lease rates in the entire Metro (last I checked).

[KCTigerFan]

“because we’re not going to break ground for a long time.”
Nuff said.

This is how developers should be doing things in this town... Under promise and (hopefully) overdeliver.  I can guarantee you that if they sign a tenant or two that wants 150,000 sq/ft of Class A, this project will be on the fast track.  Do I see this happening soon?  No. 

[DaveKCMO]

am i the only one pissed about the bait-and-switch with the grocery store?

[KCTigerFan]

am i the only one pissed about the bait-and-switch with the grocery store?

I think it is premature to say it is a "bait and switch."  But, I too am concerned about how this project will develop.  I will say that the numbers would be a challange to make a full-service grocery work in this location.  That is the reality from what i know of the area and assisting other developers in their plans.  The trade area simply isn't ideal given the shopping patterns.  I also know there would be concern about entrance and egress for vehicles to shop. 

All that being said, I could easily see a limited service, gourmet style grocer/deli going in.  That along with a pharmacy could be resident friendly. 

[kclofter]

Went to another neighborhood meeting last week about the development at 45th & Main.

This project was already approved for a TIF last year with the plans for a mixed use development to include a grocery store on the Main Street level, a hotel & office space.  Seems the plans have changed, as has the developer.  I don't recall how many floors the main tower is to have, but developers did say the top would be 10 feet lower than the top of the Marriott).  The grocer is now out as the space previously avaliable (20K sf) has been reconfigured into 2 sets of 10K sf, each on different levels.  Entrances into the retail and office space is on Main (with a right-turn-only exit lane) and on 45th (directly across from the Marriott's garage entry).  Entry and exit to the hotel (161 rooms, 6 stories) is planned for Walnut, directly across from All Souls Church.

Developers are seeking input from neighborhoods and other institutions in the area (including the Kemper, KCAI & the Nelson).  One major concern voiced was the fact that if both this development, and the one planned for Cleaver/47th/East of Main proceed, the entire character of Walnut and the fabric of the neighborhood could be threatened.

[ComandanteCero]

here's an existing thread:  http://forum.kcrag.com/index.php/topic,9411.60.html

[kclofter]

Thanks!  Mean, can you move this to the existing thread on the Promenade development?

[KCPowercat]

bump

[Maitre D]

Developers are seeking input from neighborhoods and other institutions in the area (including the Kemper, KCAI & the Nelson).  One major concern voiced was the fact that if both this development, and the one planned for Cleaver/47th/East of Main proceed, the entire character of Walnut and the fabric of the neighborhood could be threatened.

Curuios - what is this 'other' development?

[KCPowercat]

Curuios - what is this 'other' development?

http://forum.kcrag.com/index.php/topic,12730.0.html

[FangKC]

Yeah.  That's kinda boring.  I think there's a field in Corporate Woods that wants its building back.   :)

It is bland, but there are worse buildings.  It could have been something grotesque like Kathryn Shields (oops) the Radisson downtown. The only saving grace of that building is that the round top gives it a bit of distinction. 

This proposed tower could be jazzed up a bit. I don't mind the look of it that much.  Let's call it a "contributing structure." 

I've reconfigured it a bit, and whipped up one of my infamous renderings in Paint.    God, I love that program! If it had been available when I was kid, I would never have come out of my room, and ended up a spindly invalid with some sort of muscle-wasting ailment and dark circles under my eyes.  Sort of like Gollum in Lord of the Rings.''



My version is an homage to Burnam & Root's Board of Trade Building at W. 8th and Wyandotte.  This proposed building has sort of a faux double wing thing visually happening in the tower's trunk, so that is what inspired me.  The structure needs a topper, so I've added a central mast to tower over it and demand some visual dominance over the adjacent structures on the east side of Main.    I see the central shaft tower being glassed in, and containing some sort of meeting rooms, a large ballroom, or lounge with a soaring roof and views.   The mast has a light feature on the front to signal its' place on the night sky.

[FangKC]

The second Board of Trade Building

[FangKC]

[FangKC]

Check-out time? Plaza Holiday Inn owners weigh 'tear-down' option

http://tinyurl.com/nsr6dpg

[Eon Blue]

They can't make Main Street any worse along there. Utterly desolate walk along the east sidewalk. It would be pretty hard to make 45th worse, too.