Another building could be saved

[ShowMeKC]

Another building, that has long been vacant is possibly going to be saved from demolition.

The owners of Wallstreet Tower, the former US Bank Tower have bought a nearby building at 1115 Walnut (despite the typo by the Business Journal).

Wallstreet Tower is a 23 floor tower that was recently converted from office to 140 residential units.

This much smaller building could be converted to about 30 units...

The building is just to the right of Wallstreet Tower in this photo:

Wallstreet Tower owner buys building next door

The Wallstreet Tower's owner has bought the neighboring building and said he'll decide by the end of the year what to do with the long-vacant structure that had been targeted for demolition by Kansas City.

 

Jason Townsend, principal of Wallstreet Towers LLC, bought the building at 1115 Grand Blvd. in September from Stanley Ho, its owner since 1995. Terms of the purchase weren't available.

Ho and his wife, Evelyn, had battled with Kansas City for years to fend off demands to clean up the building. In July, the city designated the building for demolition, pending an appropriation of $164,050 to pay for wrecking.

The Hos earlier had contracted to sell the building to a group led by George Birt, one of downtown Kansas City's leading loft developers. But Birt let the contract expire in late 2003 after seeing the building's disrepair. A structural inspection of the building's interior revealed a debris-strewn basement with puddles of water and a dislodged electrical service panel.

Despite its condition, Birt said the building could be renovated into 25 to 30 lofts. They would complement about 140 residential units Townsend plans in the former U.S. Bank Tower at 1101 Walnut St.

The five-story structure at 1115 Walnut St. was the headquarters of Myron Green Corp., a cafeteria and restaurant operator, from 1909 to 1983. The building borders on Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park, once inhabited by vagrants, which has been renovated by the Downtown Community Improvement District.

[wolfdawg54]

Great news! that small building will be a nice complement to the modern structures next door, I think. It is too difficult to tell from this angle but I like the facade of that building.

[popstar]

I just want to add that I walked Walnut at lunch Friday (4 March 2005), and noticed that they have started to demolish this building. The top floor and front facade have been removed. Doesn't look at though it will take long to take down this building. Too bad....

[thewack]

Any idea of what will take its place? It's sad that it wasn't saved. It looked like an appealing building. That behemoth next to it probably didn't help its case for redevelopment.

[popstar]

I have no idea what may go there. From the original article KCDevin posted, it sounds as though the building's days have been numbered for a while. The most interesting part of the building next to it is the platform base structure. That building was recently converted to living arrangements after its former life as an office tower.

[thewack]

I agree, but it still looks drab to me.