Also, the new parking garage near City Hall opens next week. They will have retail space for 6 tenants, perferably restaurants and deli/cafes. Two proposals for former courthouse revealed
By KEVIN COLLISON
The Kansas City Star
Rival proposals for redeveloping the old U.S. Courthouse were revealed Thursday, both focusing on returning office users to the building and providing much-needed parking.
The proposals, submitted by the MC Lioness project development team and the Zimmer Companies project team, differed primarily in the amount of investment contemplated and the prospective tenants. A decision is expected from the General Services Administration by April 15.
Brad Scott, regional director for the GSA, the federal agency overseeing the reuse of the historic building at 811 Grand Blvd., said he was pleased by the finalists' submissions.
"This is a who's who of architects and developers in the city," he said. "We're extremely pleased at the vision they have for the building."
The Zimmer team envisions a $37 million development that calls for the nine-story building, which opened in 1939 and was vacated in 1998, to become a "metropolitan enterprise center."
Zimmer has approached the Economic Development Corp., the Kansas City Area Development Council, the Mid-America Regional Council, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and others about becoming tenants.
"Each of these organizations have evidenced strong interest and strong initial support to pursue this further," said Hugh Zimmer, the firm's chief executive.
The Zimmer project is modeled after a similar center in Pittsburgh, which converted the former Alcoa Building into a regional development and educational complex occupying 300,000 square feet.
"This Pittsburgh center is just a great success story," Zimmer said.
The Zimmer proposal includes construction of a 1,400-space parking garage east of the old courthouse that would serve its tenants and the new Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse at 400 E. Ninth St.
The proposal from the MC Lioness team carries a steeper development price of $59 million, and its backers say it would provide a more attractive product geared more toward private users.
"We've had ample interest, especially because it's an outstanding product," said James M. Stacy, president of MC Lioness Realty Group. "I have no doubt we can lease it."
Stacy said Quinn Evans Architects of Ann Arbor, Mich., one of the partners in the MC Lioness team, had extensive experience doing first-class renovation work on former government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the old Executive Office Building.
The MC Lioness proposal also calls for a larger garage, with 1,550 spaces, that would be clad in stonework compatible with the old courthouse and its replacement.
U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican who has helped set aside $1.6 million in federal funds to assist the 811 Grand project, said both proposals would fit his goal of making the building an economic engine for downtown.
"I'm excited about it," Bond said. "When we funded the new courthouse, I told Kansas City leaders we wouldn't let the old one be a white elephant."
