KCRag Forum

Get rid of it, but not until a new building approved to replace. Reading between the lines, it sounds like they plan a garage '[to work in conjunction with other properties]." At least design/build the garage with intent to add a tallish building on top later.

kas1 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:24 am The previous owner had found that it would be cheaper to replace the building than to rehab it...

Yeah, I’m going to call BS on that. Now, the value to them is obviously more as an empty lot. But, if the goal of development DT is new residents, it is cheaper per new resident to rehab the existing building. You might be able to get a new person DT that would spend more with a new construction building, but to me personally I don’t care if the new resident is rich or poor. Numbers are the goal, not wealth generated for the developer.

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:13 am

kas1 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:24 am The previous owner had found that it would be cheaper to replace the building than to rehab it...

Yeah, I’m going to call BS on that. Now, the value to them is obviously more as an empty lot. But, if the goal of development DT is new residents, it is cheaper per new resident to rehab the existing building. You might be able to get a new person DT that would spend more with a new construction building, but to me personally I don’t care if the new resident is rich or poor. Numbers are the goal, not wealth generated for the developer.

I mean, ONE of the goals downtown is new residents. Opening this whole block up to develop retail, housing, and office is worth more than rehabbing a pretty big eyesore of a building on a pretty big eyesore of a block. Plus, you'd have to really bet big on the developer to (i) set aside any appetite for a game-changer east of Grand; (ii) minimize its potential gains; (iii) hope that HTC would be enough to close the financing gap; (iv) find a local lender that would actually loan for what probably ends up being an extremely thin-margined development; and (v) assume the City will have any clue how to smooth things out without tripping over themselves.

Would the ballpark fit on this block, merged with the Copaken-owned lot at 12th & Grand?

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:52 am Would the ballpark fit on this block, merged with the Copaken-owned lot at 12th & Grand?

No, it's about 200 feet too small N-S compared to St Louis, Minneapolis, Wrigley, San Francisco and Boston

Even Omaha's ballpark is too big for those two block

I do hope this Board of Education sale yields something bold and audacious. ..Something to open the "East Village" to the P&L district.

..With a lack of Class-A space; absolute absorption rates are certainly constrained by inventory of contiguous space. If a surface parking lot is considered good use of such land; I give up.

kenrbnj wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 8:59 am I do hope this Board of Education sale yields something bold and audacious. ..Something to open the "East Village" to the P&L district.

..With a lack of Class-A space; absolute absorption rates are certainly constrained by inventory of contiguous space. If a surface parking lot is considered good use of such land; I give up.

Economically, a surface lot is a great use of land until a project is identified. It's better for the owner than to do nothing with the land after a building is removed.

Could this block be a home for Waddell & Reed? Word is there's nothing to the 1034 Main discussion, which got me thinking: 12th and Mcgee would all but guarantee views of/from the south given Sprint Center's existence. Seems like a prime spot for a large office building relatively close to streetcar, buses on Grand, etc.

Here is my guess at a best case scenario (realistically):

Copaken is purchasing this because the twisty tower is about to move forward (as well as Strata and perhaps 1034 Main). The building will be demoed and the lot used for construction staging and parking for these developments.

When the other projects are completed, if no other plan emerges, they will build a garage on this site with the potential for a tower on top (like 1034 Main).

Agree with the first part, hope you are right about the second part.

That building, just like its former tenant, is an embarrassment to the city. Another face of failure. Tear it down.

I hope you're right, KC-to-Brooklyn. (My main residence is across the Raritan -- in Red Bank, NJ -- by the way.)

An assertion: Surface parking is a criminal's playground. Further; it is a denial of tax revenue for the city. The city would be well served to tax the shit out of the land and lighten the burden on the improvement (the structure.)

Herr Frank, you banged that right. Agree on both of your opinions.

smh wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 9:24 am Could this block be a home for Waddell & Reed? Word is there's nothing to the 1034 Main discussion, which got me thinking: 12th and Mcgee would all but guarantee views of/from the south given Sprint Center's existence. Seems like a prime spot for a large office building relatively close to streetcar, buses on Grand, etc.

I was thinking the same thing. While Copaken may be reviving 1034 Main, I just don't see Waddell & Reed going there. The 12th and McGee location would be so much more of a high profile and visible location. A tower there would have incredible views, it would put Waddell & Reed in a tower that is literally on top of the most visited attraction downtown etc. Just a lot of really good PR. 1034 even at 30 stories will be nearly completely hidden from nearly any angle and the views from it will be mostly of other buildings making it more appealing to multi tenants, not one tenant taking up 20 floors. It's possible Waddell & Reed would go either way but it seems like 12th and McGee would be more fitting for them. However, that project would take at least an additional year to build with a lot of excavation and parking structure construction. It also sounds more like the 300 million dollar project rumored. 1034 without any major new parking structure or major foundation work or other uses (large retail component etc) is probably closer to about 150-200 million.

Sherwin Williams has announced they are considering moving their HQ out of Cleveland and are looking at other states (aka nationwide incentive competition). They are looking at a move in 2023. Maybe a tower on this site could be part of a KC bid.

GRID wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:09 am

smh wrote: ↑Tue Sep 17, 2019 9:24 am Could this block be a home for Waddell & Reed? Word is there's nothing to the 1034 Main discussion, which got me thinking: 12th and Mcgee would all but guarantee views of/from the south given Sprint Center's existence. Seems like a prime spot for a large office building relatively close to streetcar, buses on Grand, etc.

It also sounds more like the 300 million dollar project rumored.

Whats that rumor?

I'm sorry to see that building go. The facade is a little forbidding but the interior has some unique and well-done midcentury modern spaces. Given the quality of developer-driven architecture in KC, I do not have high hopes for whatever replaces it.

BizJournal article...

Jon Copaken, a principal at Copaken Brooks, said the company owns much of the nearby real estate, so the purchase made sense from that perspective. Although the company hasn't settled on a specific idea, he said the site is perfect for a mixed-use project, given its location.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... rters.html

Bring on Corporate Woods DT-version!

They've had a video with this site developed for a while now:

https://www.copaken-brooks.com/our-prop ... 3th-grand/

Wonder how long they've been working this deal?

From that video, it appears Copaken wants to close McGee from 12th to 13th streets, and create a superblock.