Imperial Brewery (across from Margaritas)

[FangKC]

Aren't the active railroad tracks a major issue here that would impede any reuse?

You can access from Cambridge Drive and driving under the interstate viaduct without having to cross railroad tracks. The gravel road starting by Carvana would have to be paved.

I've always hoped another brewery company would resurrect the building, or Boulevard would expand there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0759003 ... a=!3m1!1e3

[bones.25]

It's too bad they turned that area up on the cliff into a boring office park. A Baby Doe's version 2 taking advantage of one of that best views in town and somehow connect that to a restored Imperial Brewery with good access to SW blvd would have been amazing. definitely a pipe dream I get that but that whole area really could have been something.... anything

[FangKC]

There is an old road leading down that hillside from Cambridge Business Park to the railroad tracks. It would be pretty easy to reopen that road and have it lead down to an access bridge to the top of a new building. The roof could serve as a parking deck. The bridge wouldn't have to be long since you could build up against that rock ledge.

[FangKC]

Copaken Brooks’ Cambridge Crest site could support 41-acre mixed-use overlooking Downtown

Of the handful of land sites Copaken Brooks has on the market in and around downtown Kansas City, its largest may prove the most versatile in its eventual redevelopment.

The commercial real estate firm has continued to seek buyers for Cambridge Crest, a 41.33-acre property located off Interstate 35's Cambridge Circle interchange, just east of the Missouri-Kansas line. The site hit the market in August 2021 after a yearslong preparation effort, owing to its location above the abandoned Greystone Mine.
...
Cambridge Crest sports 270-degree skyline views of Downtown, spanning the West Bottoms, Crossroads Arts District and Crown Center, as well as an 18.8-acre buildable pad. Its marketing materials have outlined its potential to support three build-to-suit office buildings, totaling 255,000 square feet; three industrial-warehouse buildings, between 48,000 and 97,000 square feet; and a mixed-use development with a corporate headquarters, office, retail and residential uses.
...
The 41.33-acre property is about 50 feet above the historic former Imperial Brewing Co. building, which Copaken Brooks concurrently has marketed as a candidate for future light industrial development, or perhaps incorporation into a multifamily complex. Both sites sit in the city's Central City Opportunity Zone, through which qualified investors could be eligible for multiple federal tax benefits.
...

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... k81ZHmdAcU

[Anthony_Hugo98]

Copaken Brooks’ Cambridge Crest site could support 41-acre mixed-use overlooking Downtown

Of the handful of land sites Copaken Brooks has on the market in and around downtown Kansas City, its largest may prove the most versatile in its eventual redevelopment.

The commercial real estate firm has continued to seek buyers for Cambridge Crest, a 41.33-acre property located off Interstate 35's Cambridge Circle interchange, just east of the Missouri-Kansas line. The site hit the market in August 2021 after a yearslong preparation effort, owing to its location above the abandoned Greystone Mine.
...
Cambridge Crest sports 270-degree skyline views of Downtown, spanning the West Bottoms, Crossroads Arts District and Crown Center, as well as an 18.8-acre buildable pad. Its marketing materials have outlined its potential to support three build-to-suit office buildings, totaling 255,000 square feet; three industrial-warehouse buildings, between 48,000 and 97,000 square feet; and a mixed-use development with a corporate headquarters, office, retail and residential uses.
...
The 41.33-acre property is about 50 feet above the historic former Imperial Brewing Co. building, which Copaken Brooks concurrently has marketed as a candidate for future light industrial development, or perhaps incorporation into a multifamily complex. Both sites sit in the city's Central City Opportunity Zone, through which qualified investors could be eligible for multiple federal tax benefits.
...

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... k81ZHmdAcU

I couldn’t tell from the article if the stabilizing work HAS been done, is planned to be done, or needs to be done by the buyer. It was kinda mixed in the messaging there.

[dukuboy1]

I was wondering that myself, as they don't make it clear. But I think they need to do the work to stabilize. Maybe they did some but not the whole thing. They are in process of doing that now in order to put up the entire parcel. So they are testing the waters now to see if people would be interested and looking at Briarcliff area as a blueprint. Since the site was an area that had natural lime stone caves and such and they filled them with potash to create stability. In fact you can still see things every once in a while where they are filling things up.

[GRID]

Drove around this area a lot trying to think of ways to re-purpose the area. It's really sad that DST has vacated the roundhouse, but that could be a really cool entertainment/nightlife venue or something like that.

I don't think the huge building north of the roundhouse is being used anymore. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0810526 ... a=!3m1!1e3

If not, it could be a great place for a new Sporting KC stadium that was tied to the Round House. The Round House could be part of the stadium and then all of that tied to the Imperial Brewery with a walkway over the tracks.

Then you have a soccer stadium on the west side which would be perfect and would have awesome views of downtown KCMO.

Run a streetcar line down SW Blvd from Main Street and up Rainbow to tie it to KU Med area and the 39th Street Streetcar.

Just ideas lol.

[Cratedigger]

Walking distance to the Soccer Lot too. That would be a cool spot

[GRID]

Walking distance to the Soccer Lot too. That would be a cool spot

And Boulevard Brewing and many great Mexican and bbq restaurants and the Roasterie. It would be a really neat area for a soccer stadium.

[FangKC]

Wrecking ball brings last call for historic former Imperial Brewing Co. building

It's time to raise a glass to Kansas City's former Imperial Brewing Co. building: Demolition has started for the 121-year-old historic structure, which for some time has been described by its local owners as too far gone for restoration.

A joint venture of Copaken Brooks and Dean Realty Co. on Monday began tearing down the former brewery at 2825 Southwest Blvd. and a nearby stables building, after the city issued a $375,000 demolition permit for the brick structures south of the Westside neighborhood that same day.
...
An associated hauling permit indicates that as much as 3,500 cubic yards of debris could be taken to a Kansas City, Kansas, disposal site through mid-February.
...

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... _source=st

[TheLastGentleman]

Of course copaken is involved

[FangKC]

An associated hauling permit indicates that as much as 3,500 cubic yards of debris could be taken to a Kansas City, Kansas, disposal site through mid-February.

At the same time this is happening, there is public pushback to a new landfill being created in South Kansas City.

A significant percentage of landfill is building demolition and construction debris.

[FangKC]

Of course copaken is involved

The teardown is not taking place to make way for a specific project, though Brooks said he thinks the cleared site will draw greater interest from prospective buyers, perhaps for light industrial, multifamily or entertainment redevelopment. Copaken has marketed the 6.23-acre property, which straddles Interstate 35, for sale as Imperial Crossing, with a concept for two single-user light industrial buildings sized at 62,000 and 51,000 square feet.

This is such a line of bullshit. LOL. Nothing is going to be built here. Multifamily? Please!

[FangKC]

But more recently, Jackson County and Kansas City officials had "prodded" the building's current owners to demolish it and free up a new development opportunity, Kansas City Magazine reported in 2022.

When reporting claims like this, please identify or back up the claims with actual quotes by city or county officials, or make the Copaken/Dean identify who asked them to do this.

I call bullshit on this too. Unless the property owner is willing to tell us who was pressuring them to demolish, I believe they are making it up.

I also blame the Kansas City Magazine reporter for not investigating this original claim. The Business Journal also failed to follow up on it and repeated it. No attempt was made to get someone at the city or county level on the record about this.

https://kansascitymag.com/news/only-in ... king-ball/

The reason I find it such utter bullshit is that there are hundreds of vacant structures in the city and county sitting underutilized and I seriously doubt that city and county officials are contacting the owners and pressuring them to demolish or improve the structures.

Look how long the former Federal Reserve Bank has sat empty and I don't see anyone breathing down that property owner's neck.

Copaken and Dean are just using these reporters to do their work for them.

[Metro]

This sucks I realize the building was falling apart but it was such a cool looking building would have been well worth the $$$.

[GRID]

So stupid. Especially now that the former DST railway turntable has been abandoned and has sat vacant for years. Between repurposing the turntable and restoring the Imperial Brewery, you could create a very interesting mixed use entertainment district in that area.

It seems like the biggest obstacle to restoring the Imperial Brewery is the active rail line separating it from SW Blvd. But that's not going to change after its demolition. It will just sit an empty lot forever. What will be the point to developing that land into another bland 5 over one?

Restoring the Imperial Brewery is the only way that land will ever develop.

[Metro]

So stupid. Especially now that the former DST railway turntable has been abandoned and has sat vacant for years. Between repurposing the turntable and restoring the Imperial Brewery, you could create a very interesting mixed use entertainment district in that area.

It seems like the biggest obstacle to restoring the Imperial Brewery is the active rail line separating it from SW Blvd. But that's not going to change after its demolition. It will just sit an empty lot forever. What will be the point to developing that land into another bland 5 over one?

Restoring the Imperial Brewery is the only way that land will ever develop.

While not ideal apartments could work there no?

[mjbauer95]

Welp, looks like any chance of saving the building is gone - crews have started demo of the top floor:

https://www.tiktok.com/@redvixensadvent ... 3380602143

[herrfrank]

How sad that the Imperial Brewery, which is over 100 years old, is being demolished. It managed to last this long, and it's sad to see it go.

My father remembered going there -- in the _1930s_ with his grade school class (Bancroft) -- and doing an "archaelogical dig." It was already an abandoned site then. LOL. Anyhow, they dug around in the dirt and found bottle caps and the like. The teacher presumably wanted to get them interested in archaeology or maybe just city history.

[bones.25]

It is a shame, was a beautiful building. It would have been the perfect candidate to do something like this

https://www.curbed.com/2023/09/architec ... s-pau.html