Capstone: Union Hill Founders Phase II – Kansas City Business Journal
BY ROB ROBERTS
Location: New apartment buildings at 2980 Gillham Road, 230 E. 30th St. and 300 E. 30th St.; new single-family homes on McGee Street and DeGroff Way between 30th and 31st streets
Size: Nine single-family homes, 46 apartment units in two new Founders Phase II Platinum buildings, and 56 apartment units plus commercial space in one new Founders Phase II Loft building
Value:$4.8 million for the single-family homes; $19.3 million for the apartment buildings
Players: Union Hill, developer, contractor, architect; R.E. Frye Development Co., single-family construction; CBRE and ReeceNichols, brokers; Bob D. Campbell and Co., structural engineering; Wallace Engineering, civil engineering; LatimerSommers & Associates PA, MEP engineering; ANB Bank and Country Club Bank, financiers
Description: After obtaining Union Hill development rights in 1987, developer Bob Frye has spent nearly three decades reversing decline in the historic 16-block neighborhood though redevelopment. His Founders Phase II efforts added 102 more apartments, nine single-family homes and 5,500 square feet of commercial space last year. More than $200 million now has been invested to restore the 150-year-old neighborhood, most of it by Frye’s Union Hill development company and its backers.
Features: The new John Ragan and John Taylor buildings, which contain 46 Platinum apartments, feature stone masonry and timeless designs to complement historic buildings in the area. Inside, the units contain high-end features such as fireplaces, hardwood floors, granite counters, walk-in pantries, stainless-steel appliances, gas cooktops (a rarity for apartments) and intercom systems. The McGee Building, which includes 56 Loft apartments, combines a loft feel with modern floor plans and energy efficiency not found in older lofts.
Demand:“The 102 new apartment units are 98 percent occupied, and of the nine new houses that have been listed, eight have sold,” Frye said. “The single-family purchases include couples with children ranging from toddlers to teenagers who were deciding between us, Brookside and Prairie Village. That’s a new demographic for us, and I think it says a lot about how the Union Hill neighborhood is now viewed as a safe, stabilized area with lots of green space and walkability.”
Unique feature: A new rainwater cistern captures apartment building runoff for irrigation of nearly $1.2 million in new landscaping improvements in the project.
What’s next: Frye will wrap up his Union Hill efforts this year with construction of two more apartment buildings containing 79 units and four more single-family homes.
