By Kevin Collison
Construction of a $72 million East Crossroads apartment development in the works for 16 months is scheduled to begin today with the first residents expected to begin occupancy by Fall 2020.
John McGurk, an official with the Indianapolis developer, Milhaus, said the 341-unit project, which will be called “Artistry KC,” received its final building permits last week from the city.
“We’re going full bore now,” he said.
The apartment development is a pioneering endeavor for the East Crossroads, which until now has been the domain of smaller businesses such as microbreweries, shops and food places located in renovated buildings. New housing has not been part of the mix.
The Artistry KC development covers a 6.25-acre site east of the Oak Street viaduct between 19th and 20th streets.
It will include the construction of four, four- to five-story residential buildings, a 340-space garage next the viaduct and the renovation of the decrepit former “Motor Freight” building.
The site has been used as a surface parking lot for many years and was sold to Milhaus by two Hallmark subsidiaries Crown Center Redevelopment and Kissel Properties in January 2018.
The developer received a 25-year property tax abatement from the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority last October to help finance the deal.
McGurk told the PIEA board then that many of the apartments will fit the city’s guideline for affordable rents, which the City Council has set at $1,100 per month or less.
Monthly rents for a micro unit are expected to be $900 and studios will be $1,100. A one-bedroom apartment will go for $1,280.
The Artistry KC project will include 12,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor of the building facing 19th Street. The older building will be renovated as the resident amenity center and leasing office. A dog park and fitness center also are planned.
The first residents are expected to begin moving into Artistry KC in 18 months, the entire development is expected to be completed in two years.
In a related matter, the first residents in another Milhaus project, the Gallerie apartments near Crown Center, have moved into one of the development’s buildings at 27th and McGee streets.
The entire 400-unit Gallerie development is expected to be completed by late summer, McGurk said.
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Must every new apartment building be an atrocious looking box that looks liked it was designed by a person with a Masters Degree in Lego construction ? Great a new ugly building being built in the U.S. how unsurprising!!!
The short answer is on a tight budget, with affordable (though we could argue about $1100 being affordable) rental requirements, and likely low design fees, you have to maximize efficiency, which is almost always a 4 story wood framed box on a concrete plinthe.
doug is absolutely right. building booms/renaissances are rare in the scope we are experiencing here in KC. AND, given that, IGNORING requirements for aesthetically appealing or stimulating structures, whether res or commersh, will bring us a drab and uninspiring community to look upon for decades to come that ALL will regret.
You can have a voice. Consider following the City Plan Commission docket online and attend the Commission meetings to articulate your opinions during the project application and review stage.
http://kcmo.gov/planning/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/02/CPCSchedule2019.pdf
Modern Architecture is designed to blend in with the landscape, and not take away from the historic structures surrounding it. Take a look at the Milhaus project just south of Hallmark on 27th street. If materials similar to those used in historic KC structures, the price construction would double or triple. The structures are created for budget conscious living.
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