By Paul Thompson
Northeast News
May 3, 2017
KANSAS CITY, Missouri – During it’s Friday, April 28 meeting, the KCMO Historic Preservation Commission recommended against a Kansas City University plan to remove eight KCU-owned parcels from the Pendleton Heights Historic District.
The proposal would pave the way for KCU to proceed with expansion plans that include construction of a $30 million Center for Medical and Surgical Simulation, the demolition of the Colonial Court apartments, and the donation of two homes to the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association.
Though the Commission voted 4-1 in favor of the request, the plan needed five votes to earn the recommendation of the body. KCU will now proceed to the City Plan Commission without the Historic Preservation Commission’s recommendation, ahead of a scheduled date with the City Council’s Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday, May 17.
KCU attorney Jim Bowers said after the meeting that he’d hoped to get the recommendation of all relevant bodies before moving forward, but that KCU will not be deterred by the Historic Preservation ruling.
“It will go before the City Council,” said Bowers. “You’ve got a staff recommendation, you’ve got a Historic Preservation Commission recommendation, and we’ll have a City Plan Commission recommendation.”
According to Brad Wolf of KCMO’s Historic Preservation department, this is only the second occasion the city has seen where an entity has sought to remove parcels from a historic district. Wolf noted that the previous instance involved vacant land in the Union Hill neighborhood.
Part of the challenge for KCU was explaining why the Colonial Court Apartments needed to be demolished. To make the case, KCU brought in Ryan M. Huffman to conduct a feasibility study on the property. Huffman testified during the lengthy Commission meeting, estimating that the cost to renovate the 33-unit Colonial Court apartment complex would be $75,000 per unit. The total cost of hard construction was estimated at $2.7 million, and the total cost to redevelop the property entirely was estimated at $4.87 million.
“The damage unfortunately to the building is fairly severe,” said Huffman.
Even if the apartments were then rented out for $792 per month, Huffman stated, the investment would represent a negative return for investors. Huffman added that he ran another scenario to consider if the complex could command a steep $1,000 per month rent. He found that the complex would net a 5% return after 10 years, but noted that the typical expected rate of return on a real estate project would be 10%-15%.
Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association Vice President Eric Bellamaganya testified in favor of removing the parcels from the Historic District, as requested. Bellamaganya cited KCU’s willingness to work with the neighborhood on a compromise that could save two historic single-family homes.
“Pendleton Heights is in support of KCU’s plan,” said Bellamaganya.
The University’s redevelopment plan had initially included the demolition of a handful of the recently-purchased structures located within the Pendleton Heights Historic District. KCU worked closely with the neighboring Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association to develop a compromise, ultimately agreeing to donate a Queen Anne at 1812 Brownell built in 1886 and a craftsman bungalow at 1800 Brownell built in 1909 to PHNA. For their part, the neighborhood association has agreed to identify someone willing to buy the structures for $1 and physically relocate them to KCU-owned plots located on the west side of Maple Boulevard. The University has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with Pendleton Heights stating their intent to re-purpose the six-plex at 1810 Brownell for a future campus-related use.
Bellamaganya estimated during his testimony that the structures could be moved to the new plots for roughly $30,000-$35,000. If an investor for the two single-family homes is not identified, however, ownership of the properties will stay with KCU.
Others in the audience questioned the more than $1 million purchase price of the Colonial Court apartments, suggesting that a dedicated rehabber may have been able to buy the complex for less.
“I have a problem with the economic assumptions that are being made,” said Virginia Bettencourt, who added that she is currently rehabbing a home on Gladstone Boulevard.
Betancourt pointed out that the purchase price served as the biggest hindrance in the potential development of the property.
Neighbor Eric Solberg, who owns adjoining property on the north side of the KCU parcels, told the Historic Preservation Commission that the Pendleton Heights Historic District played a big role in his decision to purchase his property.
“I definitely am there due to the historic nature of the neighborhood,” said Solberg.
At several points during the proceedings, Commissioners expressed their discomfort with revoking the historic district designation of the eight parcels. Ultimately, however, only Patrick Bustos voted against recommending revocation. Commissioner David Matthews summed up his ‘yes’ vote by noting that KCU’s Master Planned Development district still serves as a planning tool for the parcels that would be removed.
“There’s a planning tool in place,” said Matthews. “We may not agree with it, but there’s a planning tool.”