Massive changes are coming to the West Bottoms as coastal real estate investment groups reshape an area that has faced decades of neglect.
Why it matters: New investments could boost the area, but the development will likely change the neighborhood’s character for longtime residents and businesses.
The big picture: SomeraRoad, based in New York, is retooling more than 20 acres. The $527 million, five-phase project is projected to add more than 1,200 apartments and bring in new business while improving the surrounding infrastructure over the next 10-15 years.
- Meanwhile, The Borman Group, based in Los Angeles, recently bought up about half a million square feet of building space on the West Bottoms’ north end, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
- Both companies specialize in “adaptive reuse,” which usually means keeping a building’s bones and facade while fixing it up for new purposes.
What we’re watching: While The Borman Group has not yet announced plans, the company converted a similar-sized imprint in downtown LA into offices, townhouses and retail.
- Neither SomeraRoad nor The Borman Group responded to requests for comment in time for publication.
What they’re saying: “West Bottoms is probably one of the last truly undeveloped parts [of the downtown area],” Tom Esselman, president of the Historic West Bottoms Association, tells Axios.
- “What some people like and some people hate about the West Bottoms in its current state is what I like to call its grittiness… that’s going to change.”
Context: Esselman tells Axios that developers have been good partners in working with the community.
- He says the biggest change people will experience outside of building renovations is better roads and navigation.
- A Kansas City ordinance will provide up to $36.3 million over 30 years for infrastructure improvements.
Between the lines: While many West Bottoms business owners have reportedly supported the new development plans, Esselman says there’s a tension between business owners who like doing things their way and building owners who want to see more use and revenue.
- He hasn’t heard concerns about prices increasing — although county property value assessment increases have already begun putting a strain on building owners.
State of play: In May 2024, crews imploded the Weld Wheel building — a nine-story behemoth unfit for reuse across the street from SomeraRoad’s local office. The Kansas City Star reported in July that construction is set to begin in the next few months.
- The Depot, a community plaza at 11th and Santa Fe, is already under construction.
What’s next: Pins Mechanical, a bowling and arcade bar, is slated to be an anchor tenant at The Depot as early as 2026, the Business Journal reports.
New to the West Bottoms
You don’t need to look far to find a recent example of adaptive reuse in the West Bottoms. A 133-year-old carriage manufacturing building at 13th and Hickory now houses four pools and a tea cafe as part of the newly opened Klā Sanctuary…