Sale pending for Westport Square; Peachwave Yogurt closes

A local redevelopment company is in final negotiations to purchase Westport Square — a group of buildings in the heart of the midtown entertainment district.

Carlos Lepe, Adam Tholen and Drew Hood have formed CAD Management to manage and redevelop the 36,000 square feet of commercial property, mostly along Westport Road between Broadway and Pennsylvania Avenue. It includes the buildings housing Broadway Cafe, the former Peachwave Yogurt, Papa Keno’s Pizzeria, The Union of Westport basement bar, Westport Cafe and Bar, Jerusalem Cafe, Volume 1ne boutique, and Beer Kitchen, as well as the Harry’s Bar & Tables building at 501 Westport Road.

“It is such an iconic area in Kansas City and we want to bring it back to its original glory and make it more of destination point, as it’s already starting to be,” Hood said. “We want to expand on what has already happened there. And we are sensitive to Westport wanting locally owned businesses and that’s what we want to stick with.”

The spaces are mostly leased, but CAD (after the partners’ first names) also wants to put a restaurant tenant with a rooftop deck in the corner spot that formerly housed Peachwave Yogurt, which recently closed at 401 Westport Road after more than four years. A sign on the window says “due to various reasons we are no longer in business.” The franchisee couldn’t be reached and the corporate office declined to comment. Starbucks had previously occupied the space.

Sandra Irving, vice president, sales and marketing, for Chartwell Realty LLC, is handling negotiations for the seller, Brent Lambi. Lambi purchased the property in 2007.

Irving said the deal is expected to close this week. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“They have really ambitious plans for Westport and trying to do them in the right order starting with infrastructure — we have old storm sewers so drainage is a problem — and landscaping,” said Sara Honan, a partner in Broadway Cafe, which has operated for more than two decades at 4106 Broadway. “I’m pretty excited.”

Offices above Beer Kitchen, on the corner of Westport Road and Pennsylvania, would be converted into six high-end apartments with “New Orleans-style balconies.”

Hood said he has been in residential redevelopment for about two decades, including working on such projects as the Bella Condominiums, the Villas on Plaza West, and a three-story apartment building at 708 W. 48th St. Lepe and Tholen also have worked with him on several projects.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Sale pending for Westport Square; Peachwave Yogurt closes."