A bump in the road toward new development across from UMKC

Officials with VanTrust Real Estate, developer of a multi-use complex under construction at 51st and Oak streets, said the opening now is projected for fall 2017, a small setback from the previously announced summer 2017.

Construction continues on the block-long project, which includes a Whole Foods grocery, a 170-unit apartment building, a parking garage and a student health center for the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The plan, announced in 2012 and approved by the Kansas City Council in summer 2015, has involved road interruptions on 51st and Oak streets and Brookside Boulevard. To keep neighbors aware of lane closings, VanTrust has circulated regular emails. The most recent said there has been a delay in work planned for Brookside.

“Despite our best efforts to control steel production, the factory has hit a snag and delivery of the material necessary for the traffic signals (at 51st and Brookside) will be delayed,” a recent note said.

Work that had been scheduled to begin Monday on Brookside has been moved to Nov. 28-Dec. 2 and will involved temporary lane closures.

“Once installation of the signal is complete, the lights will be ‘flashed in’ over a period of a few weeks before they are made fully operational,” the email said.

In answer to questions, VanTrust also noted that the apartments won’t be student housing. They will be market-rate units that will carry a higher price tag than traditionally is sought by students, but “there are no restrictions if students choose to live there.”

The development took a long time to get underway, partly because the former Young Matrons clubhouse had to be moved from the site to a nearby location on the south side of the UMKC campus.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 12:12 PM with the headline "A bump in the road toward new development across from UMKC."