KCRag Forum

GRID wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 12:56 pm Is one developer having so much control and property a good idea though? I hope they are able to keep things going especially after they start tearing things down.

FlippantCitizen wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 1:12 pm

GRID wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 12:56 pm Is one developer having so much control and property a good idea though? I hope they are able to keep things going especially after they start tearing things down.

Definitely a valid concern

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 1:21 pm

FlippantCitizen wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 1:12 pm

GRID wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 12:56 pm Is one developer having so much control and property a good idea though? I hope they are able to keep things going especially after they start tearing things down.

Definitely a valid concern

East village anyone?

earthling wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 1:28 pmIdeally each block would be different developer but this is a real opportunity for WB (WeBo haha) to reach DUMBO potential. Doubt that would occur with smaller players with no master plan.

earthling wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 2:19 pm I'll be back in Brooklyn in a couple weeks. Will try to capture shots of DUMBO/IC that could perhaps show 'WeBo's potential.

rxlexi wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 2:33 pm

earthling wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 2:19 pm I'll be back in Brooklyn in a couple weeks. Will try to capture shots of DUMBO/IC that could perhaps show 'WeBo's potential.

Checking out the architect of record (per KCBJ) and their prior work on Industry City and across NYC gives a pretty good idea of the potential. Would be amazing if the end result of this master planning resembles a micro version of this stuff:

https://s9architecture.com/work/

KCDowntown wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 1:31 pm Here's this development's rezoning permit that has an attachment with a thorough rundown of their plans for the West Bottoms. I only have had time to give it a very cursory look - but the timeline, developments on each block and streetscape plans can be gleaned from this document.

KCDowntown

...
The New York developer and investor shared the broad strokes of its efforts to carry out a five-phase redevelopment of more than 20 acres it now owns or controls in the historic district during a neighborhood meeting Wednesday evening at the Faultless Event Space. At least 50 people attended, including numerous West Bottoms residents and business owners.
...
In early May, SomeraRoad applied to rezone 21.85 acres to an urban redevelopment district, setting the stage for what submitted materials show as up to 1,238 apartments, mixed uses and open-space amenities developed through 2035.

Between November and late March, the developer came to own 20 properties through transactions with seven sellers. Included among these were 14 buildings, many of them historic, such as the Moline Plow Co., Avery "Poe," Laramie Tires and Perfection Stove Co. buildings.

Of those buildings, eight are eyed for full preservation with adaptive reuse projects, and two more, at 1220 and 1226 Union Ave., for partial preservation. The remaining four buildings, including the Weld Wheel Building and another housing a boxing gym northwest of Mulberry and 11th streets, are to be demolished, making way for what SomeraRoad representatives described as "contextually appropriate" new projects.

The developer also has secured control of an additional 22 properties, via right-of-first-refusal agreements, if current ownership decides to sell.
...
Monty Summers, who manages multiple entities that sold properties to SomeraRoad, said he will continue to operate the range of entertainment attractions and events he has overseen for years through a 15-year area cooperation agreement with the developer.

"I wouldn't have sold any of my properties to them if I couldn't continue the haunted houses, continue the festivals, continue things like Boulevardia," he said. "There's all kinds of unique businesses (in the West Bottoms). I want to keep them, (SomeraRoad has) said they want to keep them, and if we work together ... we should be able to pull it off and make the neatest area in Kansas City. That's what I'm here for."
...