May 4, 2011

The North End (Columbus Park to the trendy newbies) is a neighborhood rich with the city’s history and was originally settled by Irish immigrants in the late 1800s. The area became a strong Italian enclave during the early years of the 20th Century when political factions made the second ward a highly coveted voting bloc among politicos of the day.

One stroll down any of its cozy Brooklyn-like streets and you’ll see why some of Kansas City’s oldest families still call the North End home. Surrounded by three major highways, the area is within minutes of almost anywhere in Kansas City by car and a short walk to City Market, the Power & Light entertainment district downtown or the new riverfront trail system that connects with the new bike path across the Heart of America Bridge.

This week we feature a landmark North End building that originally housed the Vaccaro Soda Water Manufacturing Company, located at 813-817 E. Fifth St. and built in 1921. Much like its newer sister structure across the street (the Soda Lofts, c. 1923), the first floor is mostly warehouse space with a small walk-in cooler that is still fully operational, recently used by the LaRocca Grocery Company for storing imported Italian meats and cheeses. There is also a large, overhead, drive-in door that fronts Fifth Street with a small loading dock for deliveries.

Upstairs, there is the large reception hall that figured prominently in Joe Vaccaro’s business. Rented by neighborhood residents to celebrate everything from birthdays to confirmations, the roughly 3,900-square-foot ballroom is perfect for conversion to a loft apartment or business. As a side note, if you rented the hall from Vaccaro, it was mandatory you only served Vaccaro’s soda water at the event.

Heating is accomplished via overhead, natural gas furnaces. There’s also 15,000 square feet of parking available across the street just west of the legendary La Sala’s Deli. The owner has just reduced the price to $495,000, making the building even more attractive to anyone interested in getting into the lucrative downtown loft market. The property is listed by Victor Ross & Company and can be seen by appointment only. Call Victor Cascio today at (816) 483-0500 if you’d like to have an exclusive showing of this historic, North End property.

– Michael Bushnell