OFFICIAL: West Edge/Plaza Vista development

[trailerkid]

Bet the West Plaza Neighborhood Association meetings are total bitchfests.

karma is a bitch for those wankers.

[geeman68]

Make it different colors and call it a piece of art.

  LOL    Popart!

[KCMax]

Consultant being hired to seek buyers for stalled project

The bankrupt West Edge is about to get some marketing help, the first step toward trying to finish the long-stalled development near the Country Club Plaza.

R. Pete Smith, the attorney representing developer Robert Bernstein, said the lenders, collectively owed more than $90 million on the project, agreed to a plan last week to hire a consultant to seek buyers for the property and review proposals.

That consultant is expected to be in place by early September....

That would apparently leave open the possibility that the mixed-use development at 48th Street and Belleview Avenue, which includes quasi-separate office building and hotel components, could be sold to different buyers.

[GRID]

So is Bernstein completely out of this project now?  I'm a bit confused on this.  Have they walked away from every part of this project?

[aknowledgeableperson]

With the whole project in bankruptcy, with no attempt by Bernstein to bring it out, it would appear that, indeed, Bernstein is out of the post-bankruptcy picture.

And considering how he screwed it up maybe that is the best thing to happen to the project.

[LenexatoKCMO]

With the whole project in bankruptcy, with no attempt by Bernstein to bring it out, it would appear that, indeed, Bernstein is out of the post-bankruptcy picture.

And considering how he screwed it up maybe that is the best thing to happen to the project.

I think the question is more whether Berstain & Rein is still hoping to be a tennant in the new building.  Even if someone else winds up owning and operating the real estate project, there wouldn't be any reason they couldn't still lease the space they were going to occupy.  In fact I would think that having a primary tennant already lined up would vastly enhance the marketability of the project and the chance of something getting done timely.  Of course, with the way the advertising business is going, B&R may not be quite so ripe for a new, expanded space. 

[dangerboy]

I believe that the project is owned by Bernstein the person, not Bernstein the company.  So the ad agency has no formal connection to it, other than a common owner. If he is successful in selling it to someone else, Bernstein the company could possibly still locate there.  But would a new landlord want to take in a company owned by the person that turned the building into a clusterfuck?

[im2kull]

I believe that the project is owned by Bernstein the person, not Bernstein the company.  So the ad agency has no formal connection to it, other than a common owner.

Are you sure?  I thought the opposite was true, although...that's mainly because the "Advertising Icons" museum was going to be located inside.

[grovester]

I believe it was a separate entitiy from either, a shell corp, that declared bankruptcy.

[moderne]

Trilogy development was a LLC owned by Bob Bernstein, a seperate entity form Bernstein-Rein.

[Midtownkid]

The building was being built to primarily house the firm though.  right?

[Midtownkid]

Here is an old news story...

Bernstein-Rein pursues Plaza development

By KEVIN COLLISON
The Kansas City Star

Bernstein-Rein Advertising, the region's largest ad agency, is plunging into the development business and plans to build a corporate headquarters, hotel and retail project near the Country Club Plaza.

The firm expects to break ground this fall on an $80 million development that will occupy most of the block between Roanoke Road and Belleview Avenue, from Ward Parkway to 48th Street. It is purchasing the prime property from businessman Cecil Van Tuyl for an undisclosed price, and has hired developer Raymond Braswell to oversee the project.

Braswell won city approval a year ago for a development plan for the site called the West Edge. Robert Bernstein, the president and chief executive of the 300-employee firm, currently located in the Plaza West building at 4600 Madison St., was so impressed with the development he is buying it and has put Braswell on his payroll as director of real estate development.

...


The advertising executive also said he wants the design of his project to be exemplary. An architect is expected to be in place by May.

?As the owner, we'll be living in the project and we expect to exist in it for a long time, Bernstein said. ?It's very important it be the kind of building our people will be proud of.  We want it to be tasteful, something that fits in to the community but also makes a statement.

The plan calls for the construction of a 224,000-square-foot office building across the middle of the block that would be five stories along Roanoke, and about 10 stories along Belleview. Bernstein-Rein and its subsidiary businesses would occupy at least two-thirds of the office building.

...

Bernstein said he began working at the Plaza when he was 15 and has been dedicated to the district ever since. He founded his company there in 1964 and said he's pleased that his new project will keep the firm both in Kansas City and on the Plaza for many years to come.

[KCMax]

Traffic lanes at bankrupt West Edge project are being reopened

On Monday, construction crews hired by the city began dismantling the fencing and concrete barricades that have closed portions of Belleview Avenue on the west, Roanoke Road on the east, and 48th Street on the north.

The lanes bordering the mixed-use project, which was to have been the showcase headquarters of Bernstein-Rein advertising, have been shut down since construction began in early 2006. The contractor, J.E. Dunn Construction Co., left the project in September 2008 following a lengthy dispute over construction costs, and the developer filed for bankruptcy last spring.

In the meantime, weeds have grown, traffic has been snarled and nearby businesses have suffered....

Work reopening the lanes is expected to be completed by late next week, Gagnon said.

[markf]

But would a new landlord want to take in a company owned by the person that turned the building into a clusterfuck?

I "clusterfuck" a fancy urban planning term? 

[jdubwaldo]

Don't know if anyone saw this, yesterday at 8 AM the street was closed and there was some activity.  Went by today at 11:30 and there were two tower cranes erected and a "terracon" sign up.  Anyone know anything about this?

[DaveKCMO]

Don't know if anyone saw this, yesterday at 8 AM the street was closed and there was some activity.  Went by today at 11:30 and there were two tower cranes erected and a "terracon" sign up.  Anyone know anything about this?

new asphalt.

[dangerboy]

Belleview/Madison are now open with brand new asphalt and markings. Sadly it does not look like the city is doing anything to restore the sidewalks. But hey, as long as cars are accommodated, all is well

[jdubwaldo]

They would not need tower cranes for new asphalt....

[moderne]

Have not those same motionless cranes been there for over a year?

[dangerboy]

Have not those same motionless cranes been there for over a year?

Yes.