SomeraRoad West Bottoms District

[bspecht]

Figured this needed breaking out of the general "West Bottoms Redevelopment" thread at some point...

Anyways, here come the vacation requests for their 5-over-1, should be taken up at NPD on 1/24.
https://clerk.kcmo.gov/LegislationDetai ... 7C&Search=
https://clerk.kcmo.gov/LegislationDetai ... 7C&Search=
https://clerk.kcmo.gov/LegislationDetai ... 7C&Search=

Better utilize? It’s no small lot, could build just as many units on it. But why when you can just take real estate from the City? (and capture several efficiencies, sure)

I’m sure many would use it with proper destinations, especially pedestrians from WBF. St Louis Ave is a wider ROW than Mulberry, could be a great corridor with treatments, or we can just shut it off.

[bspecht]

Goodbye to the Weld Wheel building. Each passed NPD, will be heard by Council tomorrow.

Bunch voted "present" for Saint Louis Ave vacation – didn't seem like he had much an idea it was coming, oddly.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

Still absolutely pathetic that we just throw our hands up and say “yep, demolish the tallest building in the district for a 5/1”

[TheLastGentleman]

It’s startling how there’s been absolutely zero reaction by preservationist in KC over the weld wheel. I guess the building is so ugly right now that everyone assumes it has to come down? Very odd.

Also concerning that demolishing a big building is one of the first things they want to do. Here’s hoping they don’t knock it down and then run away, leaving an empty lot for 50 years, per KC tradition

[grovester]

KC is so paranoid about potentially pissing off a developer on big project.

Totally lose perspective on the power dynamics.

[bspecht]

Goodbye to the Weld Wheel building. Each passed NPD, will be heard by Council tomorrow.

Bunch voted "present" for Saint Louis Ave vacation – didn't seem like he had much an idea it was coming, oddly.

Vacations passed Council. Bunch & Lucas voted 'No' for main vacation "on principle," offered no discussion to sway others.

[FangKC]

Goodbye to the Weld Wheel building. Each passed NPD, will be heard by Council tomorrow.

Bunch voted "present" for Saint Louis Ave vacation – didn't seem like he had much an idea it was coming, oddly.

Big projects aim to raise KC's West Bottoms
...
Although eight of SomeraRoad’s 13 individual projects are historic conversions, one storied structure, the Weld Wheel Industries Inc. building at 933 Mulberry St., first will meet the wrecking ball. In the weeks ahead, the developer expects to start demolition on the 114-year-old building — left to languish after a previous owner’s conversion plan fell through — to free up a future apartment site.

The Weld Wheel building exemplifies the sorts of unexpected discoveries developers can encounter when working with historic properties. During due diligence, SomeraRoad found that the building’s concrete slab ran deeper than expected, as many as 32 continuous inches beneath its basement.

A need to stabilize the nine-story building atop sandy ground might account for the extra concrete, Hromas said. A less benign explanation may have involved payments to legacy ownership of a city concrete company, he acknowledged.
...
https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... 6&empos=p4

[TheLastGentleman]

Tearing down one of the few examples of a concrete daylight warehouse in the kansas city area as the first step of a historic preservation project is absolutely wild. I love what this group has planned for the buildings they plan to keep but wow starting with the demolition of a HUGE national-register listed historic building is NOT a good first step.

Industry City, Somera’s big claim to fame, consists of many such warehouse buildings, so struggling to find a new use for this one is concerning

[Chris Stritzel]

They’re New Yorkers. All talk and full of bad acting. They look down on Midwesterners and see KC as a way to make a quick buck. Wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the only major tear down they pursue

[taxi]

They’re New Yorkers. All talk and full of bad acting. They look down on Midwesterners and see KC as a way to make a quick buck. Wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the only major tear down they pursue

I sure hope not but once they try to make their way through the MO DED historic tax credit system, they might change their tune.

[FangKC]

There are a lot of people and institutions with wealth looking for places to park money right now so real estate is appealing. They are looking for underdeveloped markets. Navigating the historic tax credit system probably is not intimidating to an organization that has worked in the complex New York City real estate market.

[bspecht]

Breaking the wheel: Demolition starts on West Bottoms building ahead of $526.7M development

SomeraRoad Inc. has started tearing down the former Weld Wheel Industries Inc. building as a precursor to the first projects in its $526.7 million West Bottoms plan.

Workers on Monday were doing interior demolition on the nine-story building at 933 Mulberry St. Last week, Kansas City permitted the full structure's teardown by Remco Demolition LLC.
...
The city in April agreed to give SomeraRoad $2.6 million to help offset demolition costs. The New York developer says the work will be a six-month process, factoring in the building's abatement, demolition expected to occur through May and material removal set to wrap up in the third quarter.
...

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... 1&empos=p4

[bspecht]

TIF in front of Finance committee tomorrow. https://clerk.kcmo.gov/LegislationDetai ... FullText=1

[TheLastGentleman]

[Chris Stritzel]

Latest renderings, including the first formal of the Weld Wheel replacement (to be known as "The Henning").





The Terminal will be a cutthrough on the 1st floor of the Crooks building. It'll include small shops lining this double-height space.







Lobby of, I think, the Moline Plow building (to be converted into lofts)...

[Midtownkid]

Looks fantastic really

[Cratedigger]

Looks fantastic really

100%

Very much looking forward to this

[Chris Stritzel]

Honestly, if the other new buildings followed a similar design style to the corner of the Weld Wheel replacement, I’d be a bit happier. It has more brickwork to it than the elevations made it seem. The cream color is also a nice choice. Contrasts nicely with the red brick of the neighborhood.

[Chris Stritzel]

Two more images...

[FangKC]

Throw in a black brick building, or black terra cotta, too. I've also seen some really beautiful green brick and terra cotta buildings.