DowntownKC.net

Looks like The Crossroads district is about to get two new condo projects, adding 223 new units to the neighborhood. Pricing and Floor plans should be available within 2-3 weeks.

First tractors, jeans, now condos

The Piper Lofts will have 118 condos ranging in size from 800 square feet to more than 2,000 square feet. Prices will range from $175,000 to $650,000, and monthly homeowner fees will be in the range of 25 cents to 30 cents per square foot.

The Windows Lofts will have 105 condos ranging from 800 square feet to 1,700 square feet with prices from $175,000 to $375,000 and similar homeowner fees.

This may be old news, but a few months ago I read that the World Leadership Forum selected Kansas City as a finalist for their annual Urban Renewal award, with the competition being Manchester (England), Calcutta (India), and St. Louis. Well, I never did follow up to see who won the award, but it looks like last December it was awarded to the city of St. Louis.

But don’t worry, there won’t be much of a St. Louis lovefest going on in here. So to remind everyone not to be envious, here are 10 Reasons Why St. Louis Sucks

1. They totally ripped off their major landmark from the McDonalds corporation.

2. Self proclaimed “Gateway to the west”. Pretty pompous if you ask me.

3. First settled by the French.

4. Home of the worst World Series championship team of all time (hey, if we have to put up with that “06 Steelers were worst Super Bowl team” crap, why should they get off so lightly?)

5. St. Louis style ribs stink. The sauce is runny and they pale in comparison to Texas style.

6. Ever had a Budweiser hangover?

7. Gretzky played there.

8. Tony Twist doesn’t play there anymore.

9. They stole their NFL franchise from those poor die hard football fans in Los Angeles. (wow… that was even hard for me to type)

10. It stinks so bad that I can’t even come up with a tenth good reason.

Don’t forget to join the “St. Louis Sucks” facebook group

About a month ago, I spent a weekend looking at EVERYTHING available for sale, from Union Hill, to Crown Center, to the Crossroads, to Downtown, and finally the Rivermarket. I posted my summary on the KCRag.com forum, but figured it’s worth a report here. Hope the information is useful.

I’m currently renting downtown and am finally read to buy a place. So after going around with my real estate agent all day yesterday, looking at everything available (and I emphasize everything) in the $175k-$225k range, here’s my report essentially on the state of what’s available out there downtown in that price range. Half of these were resales, half were developer sales.

21Ten - Super cool building, the rooftop patio is amazing. Even the small units look big because the layouts were pretty intelligently designed. Great location across the street from the library. Only problem is the building isn’t tax abated and the parking is rented in a garage catty-corner to the building.

523 Grand - Huge spaces at a great price, and it seems like the developer knows what he’s doing. Deeded underground parking is a big bonus here. Hardwood flooring options, really cool appliance package. If you have a little bit of vision on how to design your space. Resale should be good too as it’s a unique building and “unique” in a good way means “features” when selling.

The Liberty - Still early on in this project, and I don’t think they’ve taken more than one or two reservations. The only units that were affordable were facing south, meaning I stare right into the IRS building (which I think is ugly as hell). The open layouts give someone with the creativity a good canvas to work with, but I just think it’s a bit too pricey for what you get.

Riverbend Lofts - Reminds me of a Library Lofts type project in that it is community-centric. Large party room, large fitness center. Decent price for the size, and the interior design (layout, cabinetry, granite countertops) look great. There’s only a few units left, so in a few weeks it will probably be resales only. This strikes me as a great place for mid to late-20s who like to be social and entertain. Bad part is that while the parking is deeded, it is uncovered. The model is really cool looking, so pop in there and look sometime.

Santa Fe Place - Probably great for someone looking for more of the apartment style look. Good prices for the size, but it’s not my taste at all. Just kinda reminds me of a grandma’s apartment. There is one unit there that won some design awards and is super cool. But all the others as I said, look like grandma’s place.

Battery Lofts - Nice area, good size at the price. Not really any amenities at all. Uncovered parking. It didn’t quite wow me, cause the layout is similar to a downtown rectangle loft. Just didn’t have the urban feel I was looking for.

Union Hill - Looked at two houses. One at $130k, decent size (~900 sq. feet) but the interior is so outdated it would have to be gutted. If someone has a spare $30 grand lying around and wants a super cool flip project, this would be it. If you could buy this at $110k (which is possible), invest $30-$40 into it with a modern look, someone like me would pay in the (160-170 range). Everything else in that area (larger units though) sell in the $200s. Another unit I looked at was a super cool two bedroom. Hardwood floors throughout, a little backyard, cool tile kitchen & tile shower. It’s a really cool two level two bed place, but just not quite my style. It would be perfect for a young couple.

Freighthouse Lofts - Another Embassy Properties (Soho, Library, Atriums, etc…) rental to condo conversion. I’m sick of their projects. They all look exactly the same, and all use the exact same cheap crap. Price-wise (low-200s), this would be a pretty bad deal in my opinion.

Western Auto - This was my first time seeing the inside, and I love it. Only problem was the one unit available just didn’t do it for me size & price-wise. Interior & common areas look great. Love the hardwood and the balconies. The fireplaces (they come standard) are a great touch. If anything does become available in my range, I’ll be there in a second to view it.

Freighthouse Flats - Way out of my price-range (300-500), but the developer wanted my input on them anyway. Because it’s out of my price range, I can’t comment on how good of a deal they are since I hadn’t seen anything to compare it too. So… price-aside, these are insanely cool units. Most are two level traditional “lofts”. The kitchens, bathrooms, and lighting are all amazing, which shows they paid attention to the small details. Even if these are in your price-point, just go see them to get some inspiration on how to design your own space. With whatever I end up with, I’d love to steal some of their ideas design-wise.

Soho Lofts - Embassy Properties, bleh. You know what they look like. Good price for the size though. Getting to the Gaslight expansion building was like a maze though

Coffeehouse Lofts - IMO, way better than Soho, same price-point too. Same Embassy Properties look though. The thing that really scares me about buying an EP unit is the noise levels between units. I live in one now and there is zero sound proofing between units, so I can hear phone conversations in the unit next to me. It’s fine renting, because well… I’m renting, but would hate to buy a place with those kind of problems.

Cherry Hill Rowhomes - Prices are $155 for 1 bed, and $255 for a two bed. It’s still under construction, so maybe it will turn out different than what I have in my mind. But I wasn’t impressed at all. I just don’t think the Gilham Row area is quite for me. I like the area, but I just haven’t seen any units that I really like.

Well, that’s it for round 1. It was pretty much just a day to get a feel for what is available out there, and find out what is my taste and what isn’t. I’ve pretty much scratched anything Embassy Properties off my list.

The Good:
Riverbend Lofts
523 Grand
21Ten
Union Hill townhomes
Western Auto
Battery Lofts

Amazingly, I went into this adventure thinking the place I’d want to live most was Union Hill, and the least place would be the River Market, but it turned out to be completely opposite. I pretty much scratched Union Hill off my list based on what is available and am now looking at the River Market as the likely winner.

If you want any further details on specific buildings, feel free to ask. Also, I’d love input from anyone who lives in one of my “keepers.”

See the Downtown KC Projects page for links to many of the places mentioned above.

Oh, and since tomorrow is signing day for the contract on my new loft, if anyone can guess correctly which building I ended up picking, I’ll give you a 1996 Chiefs Media guide signed by Elvis Grbac. (I’m sure I’ll throw away during the move anyways)

It’s an exciting time to be a downtown resident as we’re all going to be mere blocks from the entertainment hub of KC. Here’s a list of rumored and official tenants that will be continually updated as more news becomes available.

Kansas City Power & Light District Tenant List

Feel like undertaking your own condo redevelopment project? Look no further, Nicholson Group Properties.

Mostly it’s just interesting to see how much many of the building drive by on a daily basis are worth. Example… 1712 Main is a 43,000 sq. ft 7 floor building… $2.5 mill.

Dammit, where did I put my powerball ticket?

The semi-annual Kansas City Crawl for Cancer is coming up, and let me tell you, it is one of the funnest times you won’t remember that you can have in your life! It is essentially about 50 teams of ~10 people who meet up in westport on a Saturday at about noon, the you hit up 5 bars, getting 4 pitchers at each until your team is done with all 20 pitchers, they you go to the Beaumont club for all-you-can-drink beer, and there’s not one sober person in sight.

So do yourselves a favor, get some friends together, have a blast, and raise some money for charity! This event fills up pretty quickly every spring & fall, so sign up early!

For more information or to register, visit the Crawl for Cancer website.

Charities this event benefits:
- American Cancer Society
- Hope on the Hill
- FLHW Foundation
- Ozanam
- Safe Home
- Sheffield Place
- Positive Changes

Hmm…. might be time to start planning a MAX pubcrawl.

The KC Star has a nice write-up about the fire that happened in Waldo a few days back. Still no word on what exactly caused the blaze, but they suspect it started at Kennedy’s, and spread from there.

It’s a sad loss for KC, but the lost businesses are already relocating as Frankly Basic hopes to be opening at a new, unknown location in a couple weeks. (KC Star)

Koenig already is shopping for a new location with the goal of reopening in the next two weeks. His next stop was to buy a computer with the same software he had in the store. He asked investigators whether they could recover the hard drive on the store’s computer. They said they would try.

Get out, stretch your legs, raise some money for charity!

AIDS Walk Kansas City, presented by the AIDS Service Foundation of Greater Kansas City, is a 3.5 mile walk to benefit those living with HIV/AIDS in Kansas City. With each step, our walkers, their supporters, donors and sponsors help local AIDS service organizations to provide nutrition, shelter, medical care and emergency services to those living and at risk for HIV/AIDS.

AIDS WALK 2007 marks the 19th year in which individuals, family and friends have come together to go the distance in the fight against HIV/AIDS in our home town. We hope you will join us with heart and sole!

For more information, visit our website at aidswalkkansascity.org or call 816-931-0959.

Website

There is also homes tour a few weeks before and a friend of mine has generously offered to show her house on the tour. So if you’d like to see an awesome Union Hill loft style townhome along with a bunch of other homes in the Union Hill area, please shoot Lisa an email at lmpku@hotmail.com. Lisa’s home was shown on HGTV a few years back, you can see the clip here

Union Hill Homes Tour
April 13th, 2007 6PM-10PM

8PM-12AM-after party celebration at the Home of Mike Enis
Specials at Martini Corner to follow

$35 Minimum donation is your admission for all 11 homes, beverages and food.
Silent Auction at the Greenlease Cadillac Building 6PM-8PM

Here’s a video clip from a couple years ago on a Union Hill townhome that oddly enough, is owned by one of my friends now.

Update: If you have fallen in love with that unit, I just found out a friend’s mom is selling her identical unit further down the row towards Main, meaning you get a stunning view of downtown! It is For Sale by Owner, so look for the sign.

One of the biggest frustrations when I was searching for a condo downtown was not knowing of any site out there that listed all the projects that I could check out. So, here one is.

Downtown KC Project Page

It’ll start out pretty basic, but I hope to slowly get an extensive list built. You can email updates to me (drgath at gmail.com) or leave them in the comments section.

And here’s a random rant… When are developers going to understand the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) with their official project sites? Being able to find official project websites through a search engine is pretty rare, but your all know it would be very useful. So you know what Mr. (developer I’m not going to name), go ahead and keep buying traffic through pay per click ads instead of spending less money by having someone who knows what they are doing drive free traffic to your site. It’s easy, effective, and the right way to get traffic. Relying on pay-per-click is just lazy.

No, I didn’t “just sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night”, I’m a web developer, and this poorly coded websites annoy me to no end.

End rant.