KCRag Forum

When do you think the two light website will be updated? Will we get an introduction video like we did for One Light?

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... nears.html
Construction to start in the First Quarter on Two Light. Contractor to be announced soon.
520,000 sq feet compared to One Lights 340,000 sq ft

If the demand is that high, I don't understand why they wouldn't announce the Three Light tower construction schedule, and even build it at the same time as the Two Light tower?

Is it financing? Does Cordish have to stagger construction to show banks/investors that the buildings are mostly-rented before they will approve the next building?

For that matter, why isn't anyone else stepping into the midrise/highrise game in the loop?

harbinger911 wrote:http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... nears.html

<<<"Benjamin said the complex should be 90 percent leased by the time renters start moving in on Nov. 28.
The exceptionally high demand — he said 3,000 people are on a waiting list for a spot in Cordish’s towers">>>

The 2nd tower should be well underway with completion mid-summer 2016.
What are they waiting for? This city just can't get ahead of the game, even on the smallest level.
These tower locations and amenities are infinitely better than the stucco crap being thrown up against the river.

What have you ever built, or developed, or organized? Just curious what depth of experience you are drawing from when you lay out all this thoughtful criticism.

There is going to be quite a lot of market rate housing coming online throughout 2016-2017 between the Crossroads and City Market. Me thinks any new highrise developers will wait a bit longer to see how the market reacts once these get closer to coming online.

missingkc wrote:For that matter, why isn't anyone else stepping into the midrise/highrise game in the loop?

I think one of the reasons is that Kansas City lacks local developers that have a lot of experience doing new-built high-rise residential. Not a lot of high-rise apartment buildings get built in Kansas City compared to other large metros, and I think local developers stick with what they know.

We don't have a huge back-bench of local developers that do new urban residential developments. This is what has made the East Village, and even the Beacon Hill, developments so frustrating to watch. You don't see local developers jumping in to divvy up these locations and build projects. Instead, in the East Village, we relied on Swope Community Developers to oversee development of the East Village, and we have all seen how painfully slow movement has been.

The other factor I think is that experienced developers of high-rises focus on higher-profit, higher-volume markets like Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, and San Francisco. Kansas City is just not on their radar the way these cities are.

Good points, Fang. It would just be nice if the success that Cordish - a big out of town company - is experiencing in KC would pique the interest of some other players.

FangKC wrote:

missingkc wrote:For that matter, why isn't anyone else stepping into the midrise/highrise game in the loop?

I think one of the reasons is that Kansas City lacks local developers that have a lot of experience doing new-built high-rise residential. Not a lot of high-rise apartment buildings get built in Kansas City compared to other large metros, and I think local developers stick with what they know.

We don't have a huge back-bench of local developers that do new urban residential developments. This is what has made the East Village, and even the Beacon Hill, developments so frustrating to watch. You don't see local developers jumping in to divvy up these locations and build projects. Instead, in the East Village, we relied on Swope Community Developers to oversee development of the East Village, and we have all seen how painfully slow movement has been.

The other factor I think is that experienced developers of high-rises focus on higher-profit, higher-volume markets like Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, and San Francisco. Kansas City is just not on their radar the way these cities are.

I think it says a lot about our "traditional" urban developers and architects when a RFP for 3rd & Grand, a site meant to convey transit & urbanism, is won by a group that has yet to develop an urban building. Also, NSPJ, an architecture firm based out of Prairie Village that typically designed suburban properties, is now one of the most used firms for downtown development.

I think these firms will get better at developing more interesting/thoughtful buildings (and a lot of it has to do with how cheap the developer wants to be), but like Fang said, downtown is a whole new arena for the firms around here, experience will take some time.

I just had the thought that the City will finally get around to striping the bike lanes on Grand right when Two Light gets started and the Two Light construction closures immediately block the SB bike lane.

Eon Blue wrote:I just had the thought that the City will finally get around to striping the bike lanes on Grand right when Two Light gets started and the Two Light construction closures immediately block the SB bike lane.

KC! (Also, please see my avatar.)

harbinger911 wrote:http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... nears.html

<<<"Benjamin said the complex should be 90 percent leased by the time renters start moving in on Nov. 28.
The exceptionally high demand — he said 3,000 people are on a waiting list for a spot in Cordish’s towers">>>

The 2nd tower should be well underway with completion mid-summer 2016.
What are they waiting for? This city just can't get ahead of the game, even on the smallest level.
These tower locations and amenities are infinitely better than the stucco crap being thrown up against the river.

complete in 2016? or do you mean 17?

You can just add him to your foes list and it will hide his posts. Click on his username and it will give you the option. Works well.

Found a rendering on the architect's wesbite (Hord Coplan Macht in Baltimore)



Also found a permit for the Building Plans Review for this project. Typically, a project is anywhere from 3-6 months from starting construction when this permit is issued.

KCDowntown

They flipped the sign or added one. So that's a new design. Previous rendering had it facing the other way

And the snow geese are heading in the wrong direction, they were flipped. Perhaps the change in signage confused them.

.

And of course transparent people are usually high.

.

Any other new renderings or permits?