On June 10th, the Port Authority of Kansas City announced a new agreement with Indianapolis-based mixed-use developer Flaherty & Collins Properties, to lease 5 acres of a 45-acre parcel of riverfront land on the southern bank of the Missouri River. Flaherty & Collins plans to spend around $65 million on the project, which will develop 12,000 square feet of new commercial space, 398 luxury apartments, and over 500 structured parking spaces on the site.
The Port Authority had previously tried to find a single developer for all 45 acres of the land, which is nestled against the Berkley Riverfront Park, near the Heart of America Bridge and the Isle of Capri casino. However, earlier this year the Port Authority announced that the 45 acres would instead be marketed in several parcels, ranging from 1.5 to 14.5 acres, allowing the area to be developed incrementally, rather than all at once. The Port Authority entertained competing offers for the parcel that Flaherty & Collins will be developing, and now that this deal is done, active talks with other developers about the remaining riverfront parcels have already begun.
When asked what drew Flaherty & Collins to the property, the lead developer on the project said it was the river, Berkley Riverfront Park, and the 15-mile Riverfront Heritage Trail that runs through it. Once a landfill for construction debris, the Riverfront Park was dedicated in 1998 and opened to the public in 1999, serving as a connection between Kansas City and one of our greatest natural attractions we have, the Missouri River. The park, which spans most of the land between the Kit Bond Bridge and the Heart of America Bridge, has more than 300 trees, a small natural amphitheater, and an esplanade—complete with period lighting—that is almost a mile long.
Over the years, Berkley Riverfront Park has hosted a variety of events, including RiverFest and Kansas City’s annual Independence Day Celebration. In addition to the Riverfront Heritage Trail, the 650-foot Town of Kansas Bridge, developed and built by the Port Authority in 2004, provides a link for pedestrians and bicyclists between the riverfront itself and Kansas City’s famous River Market. With all these attractions on its doorstep, many developers, including Flaherty & Collins, see the Port Authority’s riverfront property as “an untapped amenity with big potential.”
Flaherty & Collins hope to have the first of their riverfront apartments—which they see as catering to people who want an outdoor lifestyle with a downtown address—open by spring of 2016. And they’re only the first. According to a broker from Cassidy Turley, the real estate firm marketing the land for the Port Authority, talks are already underway with several other developers about the remaining riverfront sites. The riverfront property may be an untapped amenity for now, but there are big things in its future.
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Sources:
KC Port Authority – Riverfront Park and Town Of Kansas Bridge
Kansas City Business Journal