Slew of 6-unit apartment buildings coming to Midtown KC near streetcar tracks
With the opening of the streetcar Main Street extension just months away, a proposed new apartment complex would add dozens of new units just down the road.
VanTrust Real Estate has filed plans for 10 three-story, “colonnade-inspired” apartment buildings with six units each at 20 West Linwood Boulevard, near Home Depot. The buildings would replace what is now a parking lot that used to serve a funeral home that was demolished in 2023.
The project will include affordable housing and units aimed at local workers. Each unit will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The affordable units, nine in total, would be available to those making up to 60% of the area median income, which is about $60,200 a year for a family of three in the Kansas City area, according to federal data. That would mean rent of about $1,400 a month.
The remaining units would be designated workforce housing for those making between 60% and 100% of the area median income. The new apartments will be geared toward workers in the community like teachers or staff at nearby health care facilities.
“These 60 units really represent our pursuit to provide workforce and affordable housing in this area,” David Rezac, vice president of real estate for VanTrust, told the city’s plan commission on Wednesday. The commission voted to recommend the plans.
The complex will also include 82 parking spaces and new landscaping.
The project will need further city approvals, including by the Board of Zoning Adjustment later this month.
Construction could begin this summer and will take about a year.
The site will be owned and managed by a new nonprofit tied to VanTrust with a goal to create more affordable and workforce housing in the city, including both single-family homes to own and multi-family units for rent.
The nonprofit is officially known as the Greater Kansas City Homeownership Initiative, but it’s expected to settle on a different name as it expands its focus to all housing types.
This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM.