See inside historic Kansas City building turned into apartments. Rent starts at $925
Generations of office workers once passed underneath the stone entryway and through the brass-toned doors. Now residents of the newly opened Midland Lofts can take in the Kansas City skyline view from their couches, not cubicles.
Finished in 1927, the 12-story building is located downtown, adjacent to the Midland Theatre and around the corner from the Cosentino’s grocery store.
Residents started moving in August to the 135-unit building, which includes studio and one-bedroom units.
The building is 80% leased, and rents for the remaining units range from $924 a month for a studio to $1,368 for a one-bedroom.
The building contains 5,000 square feet of resident amenity space, including a meditation room, co-working space, and a gym with weights and Peloton bikes.
In addition, the lobby includes couches, an indoor fireplace and a two-island shared kitchen, all positioned under 15-foot ceilings.
Both the studio and one-bedroom units are outfitted with a dishwasher, a combined washer-dryer and range. The exterior rooms feature new windows to let the city views in and keep the Midwest weather out.
Most of the historic preservation work was focused on the exterior and entryway, said Doug Stockman of Helix architecture firm, which worked on the project. The facade of the building is covered with ornate terra cotta, topped with weathered copper.
The graphic black-and-white stone in the lobby and the gold-colored mail chute are part of the historic charm that put the structure on the National Register of Historic Places.
Both the Midland Theatre and what is now Midland Lofts structures were designed by Thomas White Lamb, a prominent theater architect of the 1900s.
From 1927 to the mid-2000s, the office building housed organizations like a gas company, a brokerage firm, the Kansas City Rotary Club and Russell Stover Candies. The structure was vacant for about 20 years before work started on the renovation in July 2023, according to a representative. Power and Light developer Cordish Company spearheaded the project.
Heating and cooling is included in the rent, though residents pay for water and internet separately. Parking is also extra; tenants need to pay between $100 and $150 a month to park at One Light a block away.
Midland Lofts
1221 Baltimore Ave.
Rents from $924 to $1,368 a month
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
