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Developer proposes twin condo towers on Grand
By MATT CAMPBELLThe Kansas City Star
Proposed twin condo towers with ultra-plush units and a 12th-floor restaurant sky bridge could flank Grand Boulevard and become an iconic gateway to the city, a developer says.
Bruce Roberts said he will file plans with the city this week for an urban redevelopment district. On Tuesday the city park board, which has a say-so over Grand Boulevard, endorsed the project between Seventh and Eighth streets.
Roberts said he typically builds homes in Mission Hills and has never attempted a project of this scale but was excited about the prospect. He described the concept as creating an old-world design to evoke the feeling of mansions in New York and London.
Roberts said he already has acquired the property and has financing in place for the approximately $90 million project. The developer hopes to have city approval by September and to follow an 18-month construction schedule.
A rendering of the project, to be called Wellington Place, prepared by architect Rick Woodbridge, depicts symmetrical towers 15 stories tall with copper roofs.
They would be connected at the 12th floor with a bridge that would be a seating area for a high-profile restaurant.
Woodbridge said he knew city planners last year had rejected a proposed skywalk on Baltimore Avenue that critics said would have blocked street-level views and discouraged pedestrian activity. But he said he believed this proposed bridge on Grand would be high enough to avoid such concerns.
“This could be an architectural icon for the city,” Woodbridge said. “A triumphal arch look.”
The bridge also could serve as a platform for the city to hang banners during parades or special occasions, Woodbridge said.
Roberts said the buildings would offer spectacular views in all directions for high-dollar tenants in balconied units. The condos could sell for $250 to $400 a square foot. The top three floors would contain penthouses, with a single unit on the top floor of each building.
Lower floors would contain offices and the ground floor would have 5,000 to 7,000 square feet of retail space facing Eighth Street.
Grand Boulevard would be landscaped to reflect a new streetscape plan being phased in elsewhere downtown.
Plans call for attached parking garages with spaces for more than 600 vehicles.
The project calls for removal of the limestone bluff near Anthony’s Restaurant & Lounge. He said textured concrete with possibly a limestone facade would be installed to preserve the reminder of Kansas City’s bluffs heritage.
Tenants of the 110 units would be allowed to configure their own space and would have access to a fitness center with pool, a wine cellar, a cigar lounge, party rooms, a cinema and a pet walk.
