Beacon Hill

[Eon Blue]

At the Downtown Council GDAP Implementation Committee meeting today, the future grocery store at 27th & Troost was teased a bit. The people discussing it were rather excited and promised that it would be a full-service grocery store, and not something like an Aldi. (Full disclosure--I think Aldi rocks and shop at the one on Paseo a lot.) Based on some Twitter chatter I saw, I'm optimistic that it will also be something urban that will fit in the context of the neighborhood.

[KCtoBrooklyn]

Was any time frame discussed for start or completion of the grocery store? I am anxiously awaiting this.

[Eon Blue]

No timeline, just "soon" for the reveal of the plans.

[flyingember]

No timeline, just "soon" for the reveal of the plans.

even if it's a big box design, something closer to the Dick's in Zona Rosa would be nice. pedestrian friendly entrances and facades on three sides is better than the Costco on Linwood

[chaglang]

DRAW Architecture is doing the design, so I have high hopes for it not looking anything like Costco.

[FangKC]

Some updates on Beacon Hill construction.

A third house foundation is being dug on the west side of Forest Court next to the existing houses near 24th Street, and a fourth foundation is being dug on the same block further south near where the court leads to the outlet next to the townhouses on Beacon Hill Place.





On the east side of Forest Court, another foundation is being dug in between the three finished houses.



And here are how the two houses on the east side of Forest Court turned out.



On Tracy Avenue north of Beacon Hill Place, a new house foundation is being dug just south of that new gray Victorian house--on the west side of Tracy.



Further south on Tracy Avenue at E. 26th Street, two houses have been completely framed in. Garages are in back of the houses and face the alley.

[chaglang]

Thanks for the update! I need to go check out the newer houses going in. The ones that were finished in the last year look great. I believe Randy Kietzman is the architect.

The construction traffic on Troost north of 31st has gotten so bad that I've been avoiding that stretch of the street. Not that I'm complaining...

[FangKC]

I found this image and thought it would be a great design for a mixed use building on the NW corner of 25th and Troost, and could house a grocery store at street level, a parking garage in the basement level, and some office or residential above.

[KCtoBrooklyn]

Thanks for the update! I need to go check out the newer houses going in. The ones that were finished in the last year look great. I believe Randy Kietzman is the architect.

Same architect as the Longfellow homes on Charlotte that everyone seems to love so much.

The home that recently went under contract listed at $495k was pretty spectacular - really nice modern finishes throughout.

[chaglang]

Same architect as the Longfellow homes on Charlotte that everyone seems to love so much.

Really!? The guy who also built the modern place at 20th and Summit?

[KCtoBrooklyn]

Same architect as the Longfellow homes on Charlotte that everyone seems to love so much.

Really!? The guy who also built the modern place at 20th and Summit?

Yep, the same one.

Beacon Hill and Longfellow are the same developer and the same architect, but a different builder. You can see a lot of architectural and design similarities, aside from the obvious difference in the placement of the garage (which is everyone's biggest gripe).

[chaglang]

Same architect as the Longfellow homes on Charlotte that everyone seems to love so much.

Really!? The guy who also built the modern place at 20th and Summit?

Yep, the same one.

Beacon Hill and Longfellow are the same developer and the same architect, but a different builder. You can see a lot of architectural and design similarities, aside from the obvious difference in the placement of the garage (which is everyone's biggest gripe).

That's amazing, I would never have guessed that Hoffman/Keitzman did both. I actually see more differences than similarities. The tall Beacon Hill houses are very, very nice. Even the shorter BH houses have good porches, and facades that look like someone spent some time thinking about. The Longfellow houses have none of that. Makes me wonder if there is another reason why the Longfellow houses went off the rails.

[FangKC]

The answer could be the developer. No matter the architect, one has to remember that the developer gets what they want in the end.

[loftguy]

The answer could be the developer. No matter the architect, one has to remember that the developer gets what they want in the end.

* Note: Fang is a keen observer

[chaglang]

So Hoffman isn't the developer for both?

[KCtoBrooklyn]

So Hoffman isn't the developer for both?

Hoffman is the developer for both. I think a big difference is the Logfellow homes are half the price, smaller in size and smaller lots than Beacon Hill.

[Demosthenes]

Has anyone noticed the apartment buildings going up on 27th? If my memory is correct, there were 2 other buildings like the one they are renovating that they have torn down. In their place though are a couple new buildings that seem to be very similar in size and form so far, and are being built in the same urban nature.

I must say, I am SHOCKED at what I see so far. I never would guess that they would build apartments or houses this close together and with such small setbacks in new developments here in KC. Developers always seem to be so scared to do so, which is funny since all of our old neighborhoods (which are so desirable) are built in this manner. Anyway, I am very impressed so far. It looks like this stretch of 27th will actually be quite dense and urban. I cannot wait to see how these turn out.

Beacon Hill as a whole is turning out quite nicely so far. When all said and done this neighborhood may be one of the most desirable and impressive in the entire city. I think this is going to be the game changer in terms of development crossing Troost Avenue.

Edit: I just looked on Google Maps and I can tell from the view above that there once were 6 total colonnades sitting next to each other on this block (between Tracy and West Paseo). I don't know when the other 3 were torn down but I'm guessing not too long ago because you can still see their footprints on Google Maps. These buildings were definitely in rough shape, but I'm curious as to why they decided to salvage one of them and not the other two. Must be something structurally, because from the exterior they all looked about the same: decrepit.

So I have to check on the new development again, but it looks as if they may be recreating the six, 3 story apartment buildings. I will be very interested to see how they tackle this architecturally.

[FangKC]

Some updates on development of Beacon Hill.

Some more new houses are being constructed on Forest Court between E. 24th and Beacon Hill Lane.

[FangKC]

The apartments along E. 27th are taking shape.

[FangKC]

The student apartments for UMKC are finished now, and residents have moved in.



The City has also added some interesting median designs to Troost.