The West Bottoms, one of Kansas City’s oldest neighborhoods, is a lot bigger than many Kansas Citians might realize, observes Bruce Holloway while sipping coffee at the motorcycle-themed Blip Roasters in the heart of the industrial district.
Just a few hours earlier, Holloway, chairman of the Historic West Bottoms Association, was at a groundbreaking ceremony held by Mayor Quinton Lucas and the New York city-based developer SomeraRoad for a $527 million mixed-use project.
Holloway says that though the new development is sizable, at 21 acres and more than 1,200 apartment units, it won’t absorb the entire neighborhood that lies underneath the bluffs propping up downtown KCMO’s western edge.
But the whole West Bottoms area—which stretches about two miles from Hy-Vee Arena straight north to the Missouri River—could arguably benefit from the infrastructure improvements, including upgraded streets, sewers and water mains, funded through Tax Increment Financing.
SomeraRoad’s planned apartments, along with offices and a grocery store, are slated for historic buildings in what’s referred to as the “Warehouse District”—a gritty, urban-looking area that’s ubiquitous in graduation and engagement photo shoots. Near Hy-Vee Arena, in an area known as the “Stockyards District,” is the only other sizable residential development. Located there is the West Bottoms Lofts, a 355-unit multi-use building.
“We don’t have a population to be displaced,” Holloway says, pointing out that the Bottoms is a rare KC area under redevelopment that’s not experiencing gentrification.
Long known for its warehouse-sized haunted houses, such as Edge of Hell and The Beast, the area has now become popular year-round, with people from all over the metro descending on the area during the weekend to visit antique stores, pop-ups and other boutiques.
Full Moon Productions, which owns the haunted houses in the Bottoms, brought SomeraRoad into the neighborhood years ago, believing it would be a good development partner for the area. Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, Full Moon’s vice president, didn’t want the neighborhood’s unique character to be wiped away.
Arnett-Bequeaith’s family sold several of its buildings to SomeraRoad. This project will be SomeraRoad’s largest KC project, but it won’t be its first. The company renovated the former City Center Square and a River Market building at 300 Wyandotte St. into office spaces. The developer has carried out large-scale renovations similar to the one planned in the West Bottoms in Nashville and Indianapolis.
Work is beginning on new water mains along Santa Fe Street from Ninth to 12th streets. New sidewalks and greenspace, among other improvements, are also coming to an area that has been characterized by gravel and free-for-all parking lots scattered randomly about.
“Hopefully, the work will continue on the basic elements, like our roads, levy, sewer improvements, sidewalks and street signs,” says Arnett-Bequeaith, who has stressed the area’s lack of city services. “Maybe we will even see a street sweeper. I don’t think I have seen one of those since 2008.”
But despite the current, almost apocalypse-looking state of the district, Arnett-Bequeaith, who is also president of the Historic West Bottoms Business District, sees past the clouds of concrete dust.
“SomeraRoad is joining a thriving neighborhood,” she says. “Their investment will carry it further and also move our city forward in getting the infrastructure completed.”
