Why tear down a functioning well occupied office building?

[GRID]

I don't understand.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... 7#cxrecs_s

The developer wants to tear down a six story 100,000 sq ft office that is 95% occupied and replace it with a six story affordable housing apartment building.

I would assume there are very few large functioning office buildings on KCMO's east side. What in the world would be the point of tearing it down and chasing all the tenants out of the area?

There has to be a million places to build this development within a mile of this site without tearing down such a structure. Blows my mind.

[normalthings]

I don't understand.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... 7#cxrecs_s

The developer wants to tear down a six story 100,000 sq ft office that is 95% occupied and replace it with a six story affordable housing apartment building.

I would assume there are very few large functioning office buildings on KCMO's east side. What in the world would be the point of tearing it down and chasing all the tenants out of the area?

There has to be a million places to build this development within a mile of this site without tearing down such a structure. Blows my mind.

Class C office space in a high vacancy market. Likely has not been taken care of (evidence of such on Google Earth). Real value of this parcel is the existing parking garage.

Ton of land to the east of this project owned by KCMO and TIF. Anyone know what all that is for?

[DaveKCMO]

City was working with Urban America. I believe they received Central City sales tax for pre-development work. $180-190 million project.

http://cityclerk.kcmo.org/LiveWeb/Docum ... bDGg%3D%3D

There was also a separate KCDC planning project for the space:

http://www.kcdesigncenter.org/prospect- ... odal-study

[FangKC]

Why don't they just convert the existing building to housing?

Again, these types of projects aren't helpful in the battle against climate change. This is a bad practice. Tearing down a concrete and steel structure, that has materials in its' construction that put carbon into the atmosphere years ago, that are likely still up there.

I just believe the mindset is still "it's easier to tear it down" that figure out a re-use plan. We've got to stop doing this, or humanity will be increasingly imperiled.