Acme Cleaning/Luzier Cosmetics Reuse Suggestions

[chaglang]

Recently he's done some pretty rough stuff to his buildings on east 63rd.

I'd rather see developers doing the kind of thing Rigby is doing on east 63rd and paying their fucking taxes. That stretch looks better than it has since the 60s.

Rigby got a shload of PIEA money for that. And I agree that the stretch looks better than it has in decades.

[FangKC]

The Luzier Cosmetics building will be renovated soon.

Historic architect’s fabulous facade on Gillham building will be saved

...

“The facade was falling on the street, the roof needs to be replaced, the whole building has challenges,” Rigby said this week. “Fortunately, the interior is all concrete, so the inside damage isn’t too bad.”

...

Rigby said he paid $600,000 for the 17,600-square-foot buildings and expects to put $2 million into reclamation. He will seek historic tax credits and some kind of tax abatement, expecting to make payments in lieu of taxes through Kansas City’s Planned Industrial Expansion Authority.

Some time next year he hopes to begin renovations leading to restaurant/retail use on the first floor and office space on the second.

“I’ve started repair work now,” Rigby said. “Right now, we can fix the roof and the skin. But we’ll need a new sprinkler system, new windows, the works.”

Rigby said the Gillham Plaza building was “a building I could get really excited about. We didn’t need to lose another Nelle Peters building. It’s proof that 100 years ago women architects in Kansas City were making a strong statement.”

...

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/development/article116995363.html

[FangKC]

The Acme Cleaning building, at 3200 Gillham, will be redeveloped.

Shabby vacant building on Gillham will get new life in midtown Kansas City

Architectural plans call for 19 living spaces on the first and second floors and four commercial spaces plus a lobby on the first floor. Developers plan to add a third-floor space to become what Buland termed “a community kitchen and workout center.”

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/development/article128409104.html

Google aerial of the building.

http://tinyurl.com/jxwvmtz

[KCtoBrooklyn]

Butch Rigby has purchased another building nearby, the Bitterman's Candy building:

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2017/03/08/butch-rigby-bitterman-candy-gillham-renovation.html

The plans sound vague and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see much happen with this building for a while. I'm glad that Holy Cow gets to stay (for now, at least) even though it may not be the greatest use of that space. I hope the exterior can be restored to something more original/period appropriate.

There was also this related subscriber only article:

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2017/03/08/midtown-redevelopment-gillham-rigby.html

Any subscriber want to fill us in if there is any new info in it?

[chaglang]

Nearby/related: the florist at 31st and Gillham Plaza has closed. Not sure what's going on that space next.

[town cow]

A quartet of new redevelopment projects on Gillham Road and Gillham Plaza is striking a promising chord for that part of Midtown.

Most recently announced among the four are redevelopment of the former Bitterman Family Confections complex at 3107-3111 Gillham Road by developer Butch Rigby, who specializes is providing midmarket rents to small retail and office tenants, and redevelopment of the historic Acme Cleansing Co. Building at 3200 Gillham Road by a partnership that specializes in multifamily-anchored projects.

After acquiring the historic Acme Cleansing Co. Building at 3200 Gillham Road, development partners Ilan Salzberg and Caleb Buland plan to turn it into market-rate apartments with a splash of creative office space.
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After acquiring the historic Acme Cleansing Co. Building at 3200 Gillham Road, Ilan Salzberg, a Denver developer partnering on the Acme project with local architect Caleb Buland, said they recently were able to acquire the vacant 93-year-old building southwest of Gillham Road and Linwood Boulevard for $70,000 from the Land Bank of Kansas City. But they will spend about $4 million on environmental remediation and converting the structure into 20-some market-rate apartments and a couple thousand square feet of creative office space.

The other two Gillham and Gillham Plaza projects about to get underway include Rigby's $2 million redevelopment of the 17,600-square-foot Luzier Cosmetics Building at 3216 Gillham Plaza and Epoch Developments' redevelopment of the 35,000-square-foot Velvet Freeze/Levy Building at the northeast corner of 31st Street and Gillham Road.

The Epoch project, which also will include 83,000 square feet of adjacent new construction, will offer 122 market-rate apartments and about 8,000 square feet of commercial space.

The Luzier Cosmetics Building, which includes two connected structures, was designed in the late 1920s by Nelle Peters, one of the most prolific Kansas City architects of her time. The building, which includes tile roofing and an ornate brick and terra cotta exterior, will be restored and repopulated with ground-floor restaurant/retail users and second-floor office tenants, Rigby said.

"In my opinion," Rigby said, "the most powerful and best opportunity for us as a city to make a difference (through redevelopment) is going to be along Troost Avenue and that area between Gillham, Troost, 25th Street and Linwood.

"It's going to take the combined efforts of a bunch of us to create critical mass. But I think it's a great area. And usually, if I think it's a great area, I'll invest in it and have some fun."

Rigby, who previously invested in several redevelopment projects in the Crossroads Arts District and East Brookside, recently completed improvements to five buildings along the latter neighborhood's 63rd Street corridor.

One of the best ways to elevate a distressed corridor such as Troost Avenue, the racial and economic dividing line of Kansas City's past, is to improve the the connections to it, Rigby said.

Besides 63rd Street, Rigby said other important east-west links to Troost and Kansas City's East Side include 18th Street, 31st Street and Linwood Boulevard.

The latter two bisect the Midtown area where Rigby, Salzberg and others are starting to make a big difference.

Salzberg agreed that 31st and Linwood are key links between Gillham Road, where the Acme building is located, and Troost, which lies six blocks east of Gillham.

In the second quarter, Salzberg and Buland plan to break ground on Wonder, a project that will convert an old bakery at the northeast corner of 30th Street and Troost into 86 apartments and 35,000 square feet of commercial space.

That project is scheduled for completion early next year, about the same time the partners plan to begin the Acme project.

"I agree with Butch that there's so much opportunity there (between 25th and Linwood from Gillham to Troost)," Salzberg said. "But because I'm from Denver, I see it from the eyes of somebody who doesn't really know the history of that unfortunate racial divide."

He just sees a lot of gorgeous old buildings with good bones that need to be restored to their former glory to stitch together different portions of the urban core.

Revitalization already is well underway in the area near 30th Street and Gillham Road, where Union Hill developer Bob Frye and UC-B Properties have added hundreds of new multifamily units in the past several years.

Now UC-B and Milhaus Inc. are teaming up on an $80 million mixed-use project, called Gallerie, which will be developed to the north, between Union Hill and Crown Center. In addition, those two firms are part of the new wave taking the redevelopment wave east from Gillham to Troost, which is becoming a surprisingly hot development corridor.

MORE: A sweet deal: Rigby will transform Bitterman candy complex

Rob reports on real estate and development.

[KCtoBrooklyn]

Nearby/related: the florist at 31st and Gillham Plaza has closed. Not sure what's going on that space next.

That building had been for sale for a while. I assume it has new owners now. It is currently up for rent:

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/reb/6034891805.html

"In my opinion," Rigby said, "the most powerful and best opportunity for us as a city to make a difference (through redevelopment) is going to be along Troost Avenue and that area between Gillham, Troost, 25th Street and Linwood.

"It's going to take the combined efforts of a bunch of us to create critical mass. But I think it's a great area. And usually, if I think it's a great area, I'll invest in it and have some fun."

I've been saying this for a while. The whole NE corner of Midtown has so much potential. It has the bones to contain some of the best urban neighborhoods in the city. There is already a lot of great things happening in the area, but much remains to be done. If a developer was able to acquire all of Superior Linen's properties, that would be a huge step.

[rxlexi]

I've been saying this for a while. The whole NE corner of Midtown has so much potential. It has the bones to contain some of the best urban neighborhoods in the city. There is already a lot of great things happening in the area, but much remains to be done. If a developer was able to acquire all of Superior Linen's properties, that would be a huge step.

Agree. Hoping we'll see some movement on 31st east over to Troost sooner than later - can't believe it hasn't happened yet. Also sad El Torreon has never been effectively redeveloped - so much potential.

I've always thought that little commercial strip where Sidestreet bar, the limo service, etc. is just off Gillham could be an excellent, small neighborhood retail hub.

Would love to see Hyde Park, probably along/near Armour, develop some retail to mature into a real walkable neighborhood, and something of a destination a la Westside, or a baby Central West End (StL). Mother Earth Coffee in the MAC developed International building (former IBM) is a start - clearly they (MAC) see the appeal also.

[mykn]

I'm amazed by the pushback some of the neighbors on the neighborhood facebook have to redevelopment in Midtown. Hopefully they are just a small minority of people.

[KCtoBrooklyn]

I've always thought that little commercial strip where Sidestreet bar, the limo service, etc. is just off Gillham could be an excellent, small neighborhood retail hub.

There are a number of spots like this with the potential for nice little neighborhood retail hubs throughout North Hyde Park and Longfellow. Just around the corner from Sidestreet are a couple more potential retail spots (around where Bike Walk KC has their offices).

On 34th St, across from Acadamie Lafayette is another old retail building, although that one remains in limbo thanks to title problems resulting from Charlie Williard.

Holmes between 33rd and Linwood has a few more possibilities. The building where Pech Limo is located actually used to be a nice looking neighborhood market building and I think the bones are there behind the siding. It sounds like Slavic sold his limo business and may be repurposing the building. I also noticed some work is going on at the commercial building at 3312 Holmes.

Longfellow has even more potential for retail in buildings along Holmes and Cherry to compliment places like You Say Tomato, Succotash, and the Antler Room. Hopefully some of those light industrial buildings can be redeveloped.

Would love to see Hyde Park, probably along/near Armour, develop some retail to mature into a real walkable neighborhood, and something of a destination a la Westside, or a baby Central West End (StL). Mother Earth Coffee in the MAC developed International building (former IBM) is a start - clearly they (MAC) see the appeal also.

Unfortunately, I don't know if we will see much new retail/mixed used going in on Armour (aside from Troost and potentially at Main and Broadway). There aren't too many lots on Armour that would be prime for redevelopment. The biggest candidate would be the parking lot across from the Newbern, but if Mac didn't redevelop it at the time they rehabbed the Newbern, I don't they will in the foreseeable future.

There is also the large grassy lot in front of the duplex that is set way back from the street at Charlotte and Armour. If the owners were willing to sell, that lot could have potential. But I believe that is an owner occupied duplex, and I don't think they would want development in front of their building.

The bigger issue for more development on Armour could be neighborhood objection. I know some CHP residents who live close to Armour already gripe about traffic and parking issues from the Mac buildings. I'm sure they would try to stop any new development.

I think the best chance for Central and South Hyde Park to have more walkable retail is Troost.

The only other possibility for South Hyde Park is if the city would entertain selling the park land west of Gillham (aside from the tennis courts). No one ever uses that portion of the park. The grade is too steep for it to have any practical use and it is severed from the rest of the park by a busy street. I think some mixed use buildings with sidewalk cafes across from the park would be fantastic. The city could put a TIF on that land to be diverted to improvements in Gillham park and use that money and the funds from the sale of the land to actually make it a nice park.

[flyingember]

if it's steep, severed and little used it's a place for birds to feed and it cleans smog from the air.

it has a use, it's just not one where people walk into it.

Parks aren't always about walking trails, sometimes there just there to provide green space to look at and to be green.

[chaglang]

KCtoBrooklyn, the vacant lot on the SE corner of Gillham and Armour could also be developed. It's kind of a quasi-park now.

MAC is clearly making a killing on Armour and I'd guess that as they feel like they're running out of viable buildings to rehab, they may start looking at infilling some of these lots we're talking about. And eventually, Hyde Park will probably need to go to a resident parking sticker policy to help with resident concerns. Ironically, some of the people in CHP who complain about parking the most have a driveway and garage.

[taxi]

Ironically, some of the people in CHP who complain about parking the most have a driveway and garage.

I have found this to be the case in my neighborhood, too.

[Riverite]

Anyone know what's going on with this?

[FangKC]

This is the last news.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2017/03/14/nelle-peters-restore-amy-slattery-cydney-millstein.html

I imagine Rigby is in the process of getting approved for historic tax credits before the renovation begins.

[Riverite]

Thanks!

[FangKC]

Developer Pursuing Two Historic Apartment Projects in ‘Fringe’ Between Downtown and Midtown

A pair of historic buildings in what their developer calls the “fringe” area between downtown and midtown are on their way to new life as apartment developments.

Caleb Buland and his Denver partner Ilan Salzberg recently took the first step to renovating the long-vacant Acme Cleaning Co. building at 3200 Gillham Rd. and are well underway with their $15 million renovation of the former Wonderbread bakery building at 3001 Troost.

https://cityscenekc.com/developer-pursuing-two-historic-apartment-projects-in-fringe-between-downtown-and-midtown/

[earthling]

Great to see more outside developer interest spill over into Midtown.

[KCtoBrooklyn]

Plans call for a mix of studio units with an average monthly rent of $776, and one-bedroom units averaging $1,059.

I hope they can get it, but I don't know if there will be people lining up to pay over $1k for a 1 bedroom in that spot.

Since the new owners took over, the homeless/vagrant/whatever population that used to hang around that building seems to have mostly migrated across the street to between the car wash and the warehouse building to the north.

I don't really notice activity in that warehouse building, but I looked it up and it is owned the owner of Winsteads. I did see a permit dated from 2012 for installing an elevator. I'm guessing they may use it as a warehouse for all of the Winsteads locations.

In order to get the rents they want, I think that car wash needs to be redeveloped (and ideally the warehouse and check cashing place as well).

[KCtoBrooklyn]

On a separate note (but I will bring it up here because I don't think it deserves it's own thread and it was already mentioned here), the little commercial building on 34th St across from Acadamie Lafayette finally made it out of title purgatory and has a new owner who lives in the neighborhood. They have been busy gutting and cleaning out the building. The plan is for a coffee shop/bakery. I am worried that they might have problems getting all of the necessary permits since there is zero dedicated parking, but I really hope they make it work. The building already looks much better with the covering removed.