Redevelopment, including 300 apartments, planned for Troost and Armour

The intersection of Armour Boulevard and Troost Avenue is one of the more prominent, and troubled, locations in midtown Kansas City.

Crime, loitering and blight elicit concern from neighborhood leaders in nearby Squier Park and Hyde Park.

“That corner and that intersection is a huge issue for the community,” said Angie Splittgerber, president of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, on Thursday.

Now a Chicago developer has an opportunity to reshape the intersection.

The Planned Industrial Expansion Authority on Thursday voted to award Antheus Acquisitions redevelopment rights at the four corners of the Troost and Armour intersection.

Antheus is affiliated with MAC Properties, a prolific developer of 30 buildings and 15,000 apartment units along Armour Boulevard between Broadway and Troost.

“We’ve had numerous requests over the years to push east,” said Peter Cassel, director of community development for MAC Properties.

The developer now plans to construct ground-level commercial space on the four corners of the intersection, along with a total of 300 apartment units atop each of the four commercial developments.

Cassel told PIEA commissioners that the multifamily housing, a safe bet in midtown, would dilute the risk for the commercial ventures.

Cassel and city officials await the outcome of eminent domain proceedings to take control of property around the intersection. The PIEA in August filed condemnation proceedings in Jackson County Circuit Court in an effort to acquire several parcels near the intersection. Once that’s completed, possibly by December, the proposal could reappear before the PIEA for further details.

The project contemplates about 250 parking spaces to accompany the 300 residential units. Cassel said the developers did not want to overwhelm the development site with parking spaces. Both corridors are reasonably well served by public transportation.

“This is absolutely an urban proposal,” Cassel said.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Redevelopment, including 300 apartments, planned for Troost and Armour."