KCRag Forum

Here's a site plan and a look at our unit count. Note that the site plan shows the level at Grand, not Walnut. The Walnut level is where parking for the larger building will be (the elevation change allows us to make it mostly underground). We will significantly widen the sidewalks on 31st and Grand. The commercial space totals 2430sf.

I expect, through the community engagement process, the plans will change a bit.

So with the elevation changes between grand and walnut, does that mean there will be a commercial bay on the walnut side at grade with that street?

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:28 pm So with the elevation changes between grand and walnut, does that mean there will be a commercial bay on the walnut side at grade with that street?

Under the current configuration, there is no commercial space at 31st and Walnut. The tight parking garage layout, with the 19 additional spaces that we squeezed in, are not favorable to adding a commercial space there. This is something I imagine will be brought up during neighborhood meetings.

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:36 pm

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:28 pm So with the elevation changes between grand and walnut, does that mean there will be a commercial bay on the walnut side at grade with that street?

Under the current configuration, there is no commercial space at 31st and Walnut. The tight parking garage layout, with the 19 additional spaces that we squeezed in, are not favorable to adding a commercial space there. This is something I imagine will be brought up during neighborhood meetings.

That would be a HUGE waste of potential if you don’t have street front activation, especially considering this’ll be just a block away from the streetcar stop. Could y’all reduce the parking to fit one in? Or is the parking hard set now?

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 2:58 pm

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:36 pm

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:28 pm So with the elevation changes between grand and walnut, does that mean there will be a commercial bay on the walnut side at grade with that street?

Under the current configuration, there is no commercial space at 31st and Walnut. The tight parking garage layout, with the 19 additional spaces that we squeezed in, are not favorable to adding a commercial space there. This is something I imagine will be brought up during neighborhood meetings.

That would be a HUGE waste of potential if you don’t have street front activation, especially considering this’ll be just a block away from the streetcar stop. Could y’all reduce the parking to fit one in? Or is the parking hard set now?

We’ll adjust our plans based on neighborhood feedback. Preferably we’d work to a compromise to add a retail bay and cut back on parking.

Feedback is important with this one. I encourage any Union Hill residents who are on KCRag to show up to the neighborhood meetings and comment on the plans. Love or hate it, please. The more feedback, the better.

My initial reaction:

- Glad to see what you're doing
- Bedrooms with no windows don't interest me, but we have plenty of precedent around town
- The sidewalks are too narrow along 31st
- The blank wall along 31st is a walkability killer.

Contemporary exterior fine as long as the scale and granularity compatible with neighborhood. Anything, literally anything, will be better than that asphalt embankment next to the sidewalk between Walnut and Grand. Irrigated street trees along 31st would be great for pedestrians and cool the buildings. May be some parking conflicts when there are large events at the American Legion(or is it VFW?) hall.

I would raise one point. It seems to me the wiser approach would be to put the commercial space on 31st and Walnut instead of 31st and Grand. It's closer to the streetcar line and other retail. Clustering retail works better for all businesses. Of course, this all depends on what happens with the Price development at 31st and Main.

The other thing is there would likely be more available street parking along Walnut for customers of the business than there would be at 31st and Grand.

Another question is why are Walnut and Grand one-way streets? Seems unnecessary.

Chris, can you show us the garage level so we can see how it's configured?

My free architect assessment:
- Wide raised crosswalk is nice but shouldn't substitute for a traditional crosswalk at grand & 31st.
- Lack of bathtubs in the 2 bedroom seems like a miss. You're cutting out potential tenants, a lot of young families are going to want a bathtub
- Conversely, the W/D location in the 2 bedroom is odd. While you have plumbing efficiency, it's awkward for anybody who isn't living there solely as a couple or solo. It'd be better to have that accessed off the shared space.
- The lightwell (plan south) is weird. Eliminate that eastern-facing unit and squeeze in either (2) 1-bed units or a new 2-bed layout with both beds having windows. Either unit route would offer better views, better street activation, and potentially increased unit count per floor.
- The western stair should be flipped for easier egress discharge to the public ROW

I definitely understand the points being made and appreciate the feedback.

I’m going to hold off on sharing more details until after I meet with the Union Hill board on Tuesday.

I will say that I expect the debate over the design and ground level activation to be quite tense on here. It needs some work done to it, but it’s better than it was and I imagine it’ll be enhanced thanks to neighborhood feedback.

The design is more Mid-Century modern in style.

A few more details...
- The top floor is setback from the west a bit to create a rooftop terrace. Because of the location, the views of Crown Center, Liberty Memorial and Downtown from here are pretty good (especially for a 4th floor). We placed the roof deck on this side since we feel the neighboring houses wouldn't much like a roof deck next to them (despite the views being better from the eastern half of the site).
- An emphasis has been placed on having this building built for WFH. Each unit includes a dedicated workspace when you first walk in. Additionally, each floor will include a remote work lounge.
- Primary facade materials are red brick, dark gray metal, and light gray metal. The renderings produced are pretty poor as-is, so they make these materials look incredibly cartoony.
- The design makes it seem as though there are three (or four) buildings despite there only being two.

I always thought it would be interesting to have buildings disclose their parking usage.

As a much, much younger person i worked front desk at a hotel and one thing we'd do is call all the surrounding hotels and ask their occupancy numbers and averaged rate. I'm sure there are better ways of sharing now, but that was the thing I always found interesting. Maybe legally questionable but still interesting lol

A few weeks back, the property went back up on the market. I haven't heard back from my development partner, so maybe the dream of developing these parcels is dead on my end. I'm bummed out by this, but it's not surprising. The guidelines laid out for design were ignored by the architect and my comments trying to push the project in the right direction were ignored. I even presented the project to the neighborhood design board, which wasn't against the density or height, but disliked the design (as most everyone would).

Whether or not I can get a team together to pursue this site once more, and do it right, remains to be seen. I'm pushing for it since the 100-unit, 89-parking space option worked financially. If the buildings were redesigned and reoriented, it's likely we could've increased unit count to 110 units and built this without incentives.

In real estate, deals come and go. Many die before they see the light of day. This one was literally ready to be announced despite personal objections, but the process ran its course.

Does this mean you won't be using that architect (firm) again?

FangKC wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 8:08 pm Does this mean you won't be using that architect (firm) again?

On my end, yes.