Kansas City Business Journal – September 24, 2020
By Thomas Friestad Staff Writer, Kansas City Business Journal
After previous fits and starts, a block owned by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority at Third Street and Grand Boulevard in Kansas City soon could change hands and see the start of work on a $65 million transit-oriented development.
The authority’s board of commissioners on Wednesday approved a development agreement for the $2.43 million sale of the 1.88-acre property to 3G Development, which seeks to build more than 200 apartments, a two-level parking garage and a multimodal transit station.
3G Development is planning between 215 and 285 multifamily units, including micro-, one- and two-bedroom units, plus amenities that could include a salon, club room, pool and fitness area.
The garage’s spaces will be at a 0.95 ratio to the final multifamily unit count, with four spaces reserved for KCATA park-and-ride users and the general public. The current property houses a 193-space surface lot that the city leases from KCATA.
The authority will lease the development’s transportation hub to accommodate transit customers, including those using the streetcar, local MAX bus service and bike share stations as well as a potential commuter rail facility. KCATA also will support formation of a community improvement district with a 1% sales tax to help fund the project.
RideKC Development Corp., KCATA’s development arm, and 3G Development have been in talks for the past 10 months, after the developer was selected last year through a request for proposals for the Third and Grand site.
“The site has key challenges to overcome, which are being worked on by all parties with the goal of the developer to bring mixed-use to the project including 10% of the (multifamily) residential units being classified by (city) standards as affordable housing,” wrote Brien Starner, president of RideKC Development Corp., in a staff memo for the project.
Project stakeholders continue to discuss development details, including precise numbers for the apartment units and parking garage spaces, as well as alternative offsite parking arrangements.
KCATA expects to close on the sale to 3G Development after finalizing those details, terminating its lease to the city and ensuring the developer secures the necessary city approvals and permits.
Though not specifically mentioned in the development agreement, 3G Development indicated in a mid-May submission to city staff that its project could include a 90-room boutique hotel, a few thousand square feet of retail and up to 24,000 square feet of office space.
Because of Covid-19’s impact on the hotel industry, however, 3G Development cannot commit to that component within its proposed timeline, which targets a construction start in the first half of 2021, said Michael McKeen, president of EPC Real Estate Group.
3G Development is made up of the Overland Park-based developer as well as Kansas City-based CBC Real Estate Group.
