KCRag Forum

Cratedigger wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 10:11 am 2 porta pottys outside and a couple ladders inside on the 10th floor now. I hope to hear something about this soon

But who knows. I just really want this project to go live

They claim this month they're going live so that may be the first trickle of them coming in

I guess light interior work has started on this? No word on when that ceremony is ever gonna happen

TheUrbanRoo wrote: ↑Thu Jun 15, 2023 2:56 pm I guess light interior work has started on this? No word on when that ceremony is ever gonna happen

I wouldn’t use my observances walking by on the street as a verified source. It looks to me like there’s some preconstruction work in there before the real stuff gets going

But I don’t really know anything

There’s a trash chute and workers. Obviously just interior demo

Listings for this building have appeared on Zillow and Trulia. Rents start at $735 for a 334sf studio and go up to $2011 for a 998sf bi-level one-bedroom unit on the 5th floor. says units become available on May 1st 2024.

The link includes floor plans.
https://www.zillow.co/apartments/kansas ... ts/9JRKGs/

Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/MidlandLoftsKC

Studios and 1BR aren’t selling as fast as larger units. Is this because even singles and couples without kids want extra space for WFH? Shouldn’t developers be adjusting to demand?

Just wish this had ground floor activation! But other than that it looks great in the pics.

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 4:06 pm Studios and 1BR aren’t selling as fast as larger units. Is this because even singles and couples without kids want extra space for WFH? Shouldn’t developers be adjusting to demand?

I could be wrong but I think does the amount of one bedroom studios has something to do with the contract the cordiah has with the city and they're affordable housing guidelines.

The most likely scenario for no larger units here is probably that since they’re required to do “affordable” units (although 80% AMI is more like workforce housing in my view), they needed to maximize the number of units they could put into this building to make their numbers work. So instead of doing two and three bedroom apartments, they could do studios and one-bedrooms and get 2-3 more units for each one that doesn’t exist. 135 apartments in this building is a lot, but that’s probably what they needed to get this to work and fulfill their agreement with the city.

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2023 2:19 pm The most likely scenario for no larger units here is probably that since they’re required to do “affordable” units (although 80% AMI is more like workforce housing in my view), they needed to maximize the number of units they could put into this building to make their numbers work. So instead of doing two and three bedroom apartments, they could do studios and one-bedrooms and get 2-3 more units for each one that doesn’t exist. 135 apartments in this building is a lot, but that’s probably what they needed to get this to work and fulfill their agreement with the city.

But it's not just this building. The Block buildings are the same with the larger units selling out first. I'm worried that developers are misunderstanding the market here a bit thinking that "downtown is for young, single people who don't mind smaller spaces" when, so far, it seems like a fairly broad mix of demographics. It seems developers could make more money selling/renting 1- 2BR or 3BR unit vs 2-1BR units or 3-studios in the same space. The cost per square foot is cheaper because you'd have less kitchens and bathrooms (the more expensive square feet) vs more smaller units and demand seems higher. For rentals, you'd also have less wear and tear on infrastructure.

This is about the maximum number of legal affordable units and that's all it is. Cordish needs to say they provided the most number of units possible to avoid having to give up premium space in each of their new luxury towers. The Midland Lofts is a throwaway development. Cordish doesn't intend to make a lot of money on Midland Lofts. They just don't want to give away cheap apartments where they could be getting high rents.

KCBJ article about the Midland today says Cordish has 3 towers planned on the heels of the Midland project.

TheUrbanRoo wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:42 pm KCBJ article about the Midland today says Cordish has 3 towers planned on the heels of the Midland project.

1. 4 Light behind Main Street theater
2. Strata
3. Truman & Main?

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 6:29 pm

TheUrbanRoo wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:42 pm KCBJ article about the Midland today says Cordish has 3 towers planned on the heels of the Midland project.

1. 4 Light behind Main Street theater
2. Strata
3. Truman & Main?

1. 4 Light
2. Southwest corner of Truman and Main
3. Southeast corner of Truman and Main

I think the idea of building on the Strata site has just recently been tossed around, so that's probably very long term.

Any plans for leasing ground floor retail? For many years there was a rare and antique book dealer there on Baltimore, a dusty romantic place you would not expect to find in KC. Certainly something that could not exist nowadays with Cordish rents even though it was there when most of the block was retail and dining.

None. All the retail slots on the street level have been reassigned for a large tenant lounge area. I personally think this is the stupidest use of the space imaginable. The City should have negotiated not only affordable apartments in this building but affordable retail spaces for small local businesses that can't afford to be in the new P&L spaces.

Former office space set to offer affordable downtown workforce housing as historic Midland renovation begins

https://www.startlandnews.com/2023/07/midland-lofts/

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 6:29 pm

TheUrbanRoo wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:42 pm KCBJ article about the Midland today says Cordish has 3 towers planned on the heels of the Midland project.

1. 4 Light behind Main Street theater
2. Strata
3. Truman & Main?

Far more than 3 planned towers, they're just not all in PNL. I'm sure that news will break over the next few weeks.

DColeKC wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 2:29 pm

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 6:29 pm

TheUrbanRoo wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:42 pm KCBJ article about the Midland today says Cordish has 3 towers planned on the heels of the Midland project.

1. 4 Light behind Main Street theater
2. Strata
3. Truman & Main?

Far more than 3 planned towers, they're just not all in PNL. I'm sure that news will break over the next few weeks.

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