46 Penn project

[chrizow]

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/20/29 ... tment.html

Rezoning is needed to approve the proposed 4-story buildings.  Current zoning only permits 3-story.  Right now half of the site is a parking lot.

"The north side of the development would border the home of Erik Heitman, president of the Plaza-Westport Neighborhood Association.

?I?m still wrestling with the idea of a four-story apartment building directly next door to me, one story taller than zoning allows,? Heitman said. ?This is coming on the heels of the Highwoods proposal for the Neptune site.

?We?re always concerned about the impact of projects on the character of our neighborhood and the residential nature of our neighborhood.?

wtf?  you live in one of the most densely-populated areas of the entire metro, youre surrounded by high-rises, and you oppose an ugly parking lot being developed into upscale apartments b/c they are 4 stories? 

[KCMax]

Ugh, let's not create a bunch of "Save the Plaza" wannabe copycats. This seems like an utterly sensible development that KC needs to build density.

?We?re always concerned about the impact of projects on the character of our neighborhood and the residential nature of our neighborhood.?

Are these not residential? What the heck is the problem?

[KC-wildcat]

"The developer also plans to build the project without the help of tax incentives, which means it would immediately generate an estimated $250,000 annually in additional property tax revenues."

I'll lose my f'n mind if this project isn't approved. 

[ignatius]

this sounds like a great project on first glance and it replaces a surface lot.  the plaza needs more leased units as nearly all were wiped out and went condo.  

is good to see a spark of development returning back to the core after the dark ages of funk.

upper left lot here..

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=pennsylva ... s&t=h&z=18

[mean]

?We?re always concerned about the impact of projects on the character of our neighborhood and the residential suburban nature of our neighborhood.?

I think that's more like it.

[chrizow]

i bet the city council approves the rezoning anyway.  the council approved (too late) the highwoods plan, and it was far more controversial and "problematic" than this.  Glover's quote is non-committal, but i bet he will advocate for it.  

every project or proposed re-zoning has its detractors.  there is no political traction with this sort of NIMBY approach.  my money is on its passage.

[moderne]

That surface lot has been a surface lot since the 1980's.  The apartments would be one story taller than the apartments on the block west and the condos on the block east, and much shorter than the Dunleith towers diagonally to the southwest.,

[Midtownkid]

initial rendering is boring...but more housing is a plus

[zonk]

yep....I'm all in favor of more density, but the initial rendering is crap. Hopefully as the project moves forward it'll look better.  

BTW...it looks like rents will range $1.46 to $1.83/ft....not sure if the market can handle that.  I sure hope so!

[chrizow]

what should the apartments look like?  they look like every other apartment building i've seen built in the last few years in urban areas like KC.

[zonk]

I'm just curious on the exterior materials.  Knowing the Price Bros....and what they've developed in JOCO, i'm sure it will have lots of tan/beige stucco.  That appears to the the early indication on the rendering in the paper today.

http://www.pricebrotherskc.com/Index.asp

[KCMax]

There should be a macro on this forum that any time a project is listed, a post automatically comes up that says "this rendering looks like crap."

[rxlexi]

  great news for the area, I've always wondered why the north plaza neighborhood hasn't totally taken off over the last 10 years or so.  It's a fantastic location.

  This plan isn't perfect, however.  The article mentions 13 bungalows being torn down, which means this project will demolish and extend deep into the neighborhood, looking at the sat image. 

  Second, this is the Price brothers, who do indeed seem to favor schlocky design.  The same guys that want to tear down 8 midsize apartment buildings along 46/47th in Southmoreland.  So I can see a bit of neighborhood hesitance in this case. 

  I would rather see an 8 story building on the parking lot footprint, bungalows left intact (budget doubling or tripling, probably).  But I won't complain either way, this needs to happen, as does additional housing all over the Plaza (and downtown) area.

Is urban KC starting to thaw out, just a little...

[chrizow]

i think the building in the rendering looks more urban than their joco apartment complexes.  it's not great, but it seems okay. 

i didn't realize this was the group who wanted to demolish the buildings in southmoreland though.  that should never be permitted. 

[mean]

If those go in exactly as they appear in the rendering, they will be far from the ugliest thing on the plaza.

[zonk]

"tear down 8 midsize apartment buildings along 46/47th in Southmoreland"...???

Are you sure this is Price Bros? 

[kcjak]

Does this proposal come before the council before their 39th/Stateline proposal? Just wondering.

[rxlexi]

Are you sure this is Price Bros?

No, not 100% sure, I should have clarified, as it's been some time since that plan has come up.  I was fairly certain they are/were one of the parties involved, but at this point take that with a grain of salt.  We shall see...

[taxi]

No, not 100% sure, I should have clarified, as it's been some time since that plan has come up.  I was fairly certain they are/were one of the parties involved, but at this point take that with a grain of salt.  We shall see...

I think that's the Wilson Group, not Price Bros.

[NDTeve]

There should be a macro on this forum that any time a project is listed, a post automatically comes up that says "this rendering looks like crap."

great call. Hard pressed to find one on here where someone hasn't chimed in with that or something similar.