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Julia Williams
Editor-in-Chief
On Dec. 19, an application for a Kansas City Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), which was submitted by Arnold Development Group for its acquired property — Hardesty Self-Storage at 5505 Independence Ave. — went before the City Council of Kansas City for its unanimous approval.
Arnold Development Group — a local real estate development agency dedicated toward creating sustainable, walkable communities, according to its website — headed by founder Jonathan Arnold, acquired what is formerly known as Hardesty Self Storage at the corner of Hardesty and Independence Avenues.
Arnold Development Group submitted an RLF request for this property, which was adopted for a resolution in March 2024 by the Kansas City Brownfields Commission to aid in completion of phase one for its project of what will become “Historic Northeast Lofts” in early 2028 — weather permitting — at this location.
The Brownfields Commission, which supports the RLF, is a Kansas City City Commission composed of 15 members who strive to promote the cleanup and reuse of Brownfields properties, a Brownfields team member shared with Northeast News.
Brownfields RLF operates with grant funding, which is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the City to support both public and private redevelopment of Brownfields locations. This funding additionally allows loans, including sub grants or financial awards, for environmental cleanup of said properties, according to the Brownfields team.
Ordinance 241051, which went before City Council and was unanimously approved Thursday, Dec. 19, will be applied toward the removal of asbestos containing materials, lead-based paint and additional hazardous materials from the current property — a crucial first step in the first phase of Historic Northeast Lofts construction.
This redevelopment, which has a projected cost of $180 million within phase one, will receive no more than $7.575 million, according to the Brownfields team and the City Council Docket Memo, for contamination removal and cleanup of the property within its phase one construction, which was sponsored and authorized by the Kansas City Director of Planning and Development Department.
“This is a large undertaking; To change the use of a historic building is very expensive: to add on lead paint and the amount of asbestos clean up without adding costly financial obligations makes it financially viable,” Jonathan Arnold said in an interview, Monday. “Without this loan, it would be very difficult to move forward; It’s a critical piece of the capital stack.”
For a development, whether a private or public entity, that has obtained a contaminated property but is not liable for its contamination, may be subject to qualify for an RLF to cleanup said property. Additional RLF qualifications include — but are not limited to — a property non-subject to federal government control, ownership or jurisdiction and uninvolved with additional federal environment regulatory programing, according to the Brownfields team.
For approval, an RLF applicant must additionally enroll its property into the Missouri Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program, which will ensure the location will be protective of human health and the environment, according to the Brownfields team.
Arnold shared that this funding was already allocated within Historic Northeast Lofts initial phase one funding and will allow Arnold Development Group to execute phase one projections according to plan — clarifying the RLF was already implemented within the development team’s original budget for the property.
Within phase one for Historic Northeast Lofts, Arnold Development Group has plans to turn this former self-storage space into a 392 unit, 12-story apartment complex with affordable housing for the Northeast community along with a children’s daycare, workout facility and additional on-site amenities.
“I think this project will be a catalyst to continue to develop and create places that are vibrant communities for people of all ages and walks of life,” Arnold said in an interview, Monday. “People won’t have to leave the neighborhood and their social network of friends. They can stay in the neighborhood but have a zero-maintenance, low scale housing option for all stages of life.”
The Brownfields team said it expects the RLF for Historic Northeast Lofts to close in July 2025 if construction proceeds as planned. However, this deadline is subjected to change if required.
For those with questions or inquiries regarding the cleanup of this structure, Kansas City Public Library’s North-East branch (6000 Wilson Ave.) has an administrative record on file, which includes environmental reports and project planning. An online version of these files is additionally available through the following link, courtesy of the Brownfields team: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SQWVvxLETizF1TNz75t-br3pZUdCAsnt?usp=sharing.
For previous coverage on Historic Northeast Lofts, visit: Northeastnews.net.
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