Downtown housing boom marches on with East Crossroads apartment plan

Steve Foutch, one of Kansas City’s busiest developers, has another project on his slate: housing planned in the East Crossroads.

Foutch is due before the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday to present plans for a $23 million apartment project at 18th and Holmes streets.

The proposal would renovate and expand the two-story Holtman Building at 708 E. 18th St. while adding four stories on top. Another phase of the project calls for building a six-story structure across the street, which is currently an unpaved surface parking lot.

In all, the finished project would add 104 apartments — 80 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units — to the growing inventory of downtown-area apartments.

The Holtman project would include about 4,500 square feet of ground-level retail and a basement parking garage.

LCRA staff has recommended a property tax abatement: 100 percent abatement for five years, followed by a 50 percent abatement for the next five years.

Foutch has the land under contract to purchase for $2 million. The developer has $7.4 million in equity in the project and plans to borrow $15.5 million from a lender.

Foutch’s company, Foutch Brothers, is planning a major repurposing of Kemper Arena in the West Bottoms and is involved in the conversion of the former West/Switzer school buildings into apartments.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Downtown housing boom marches on with East Crossroads apartment plan."