‘It needs to go.’ Demo begins on historic tower for $500M West Bottoms redevelopment
A dilapidated building on the National Register of Historic Places will be torn down as part of a wider $500 million redevelopment project planned for Kansas City’s West Bottoms.
Last week, a city board signed off on plans to demolish the Ridenour-Baker Grocery Co. Building at 933 Mulberry St. That will kick off the first phase of New York-based developer SomeraRoad’s plans to revamp more than 20 acres in the area.
The developer aims to bring more than 1,200 new apartments, plus offices, restaurants, retail space and hotel to the area. SomeraRoad plans to renovate some existing buildings and build new ones in phases over more than a decade as it works on the more than 40 properties it owns and controls in the neighborhood.
Late last year, Kansas City approved a predevelopment plan endorsing the company’s broad vision for the area, but no final plans have been approved yet.
SomeraRoad has filed plans for the 933 Mulberry St. site, which will house a five-story apartment building and ground-level retail and restaurants.
Grant Hromas, a vice president of development with the company, said plans on other buildings in the first phase of the project will be filed in the coming days.
The Ridenour-Baker Grocery Co. Building was the first wholesale grocery building west of the Mississippi located on a railroad line. It’s also known as the Weld Wheel building because of the last company that occupied the structure. The 1910-era building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
At that time, Hromas said a separate developer planned to restore the building, but it has deteriorated beyond repair since.
Historic Kansas City has endorsed the developer’s plans, including the destruction of the building.
In a December letter to Mayor Quinton Lucas, the organization said the plans will bring new activity, investment and people to “a long-underserved” area of the city.
“The thoughtful combination of historic preservation, investment in long overdue infrastructure improvements, new residences and public gathering spaces will transform an important piece of Kansas City’s history and downtown into a vibrant mixed-use district,” Historic Kansas City wrote.
SomeraRoad will seek incentives from the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, one of the city’s economic development agencies, though the agency has so far not considered a specific request.
Last week, the PIEA board did sign off on plans to demolish the Ridenour-Baker building.
The city will spend $2 million to partially offset the cost of the demolition, said Assistant City Manager Mario Vasquez.
“This would not be an out-of-step or an unusual situation. We’ve done it before,” he said.
During the board’s meeting, officials showed images of the massive structure, which is wrapped in a tall chain link fence, covered in graffiti and missing most of its windows.
“Yeah, that looks like it needs to go,” said Tom Porto, chairman of the board. “I’m happy to be participating in this to remove that.”
No demolition permit has been filed, according to city records, but the developer says the building could come down as early as this summer. Construction on the new building is expected to begin next year.
“It’s going to be transformative for the area,” said Tom Esselman, president of the Historic West Bottoms Association.
The SomeraRoad project on its own would be noteworthy, he said. But it’s also getting started as work begins on a major redevelopment of the old Rock Island Bridge near Hy-Vee Arena. Flying Truss LLC plans to turn the old railroad bridge into an over-the-water entertainment venue complete with coffee shops, bars and event space.
“We look at the two things happening together as an indication that the whole West Bottoms area is kind of like the next Crossroads,” Esselman said. “It’s not just a single project that we’re talking about.”
The Historic West Bottoms Association has endorsed SomeraRoad’s plans because the developer will eliminate blight and revamp several historic buildings. Esselman said the company has been especially proactive communicating with neighbors and has made a commitment to providing affordable housing options in its new apartments.
He runs the nonprofit PCs for People, which refurbishes donated computers for low-income communities at its facility on Santa Fe Street in the West Bottoms. He said the area’s identity, which has long centered on the city’s industrial past, is quickly changing.
“A lot of the vestiges of the Old West Bottoms as a kind of purely industrial area have given way to a much more balanced group of business-minded people who recognize that it’s a great place to have a business and to do work, but it can equally be a good place to live and to have entertainment and recreation,” he said. “We really can achieve a balance.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
