New Union Hill lofts open to ravenous leasing demand – Kansas City Business Journal
BY ROB ROBERTS
A new loft-over-retail building in Kansas City’s historic Union Hill neighborhood has revealed just how hot the downtown area apartment market remains.
The 56-unit McGee Building, 2980 Gillham Road, began opening apartments for occupancy less than two weeks ago and 82 percent of its residential portion is already leased, said Judy Swanson, a development services representative of the Union Hill development firm.
Union Hill principal Bob Frye has been working on redevelopment of the 16-block neighborhood since 1987, and the McGee Building is in one of that effort’s final phases: the 181-unit, five-building second phase of The Founders at Union Hill apartments.
Swanson said one reason the McGee Building is leasing up so fast is that it is “first to market” among several downtown-area apartment projects now in the pipeline.
“Another reason is that Union Hill is one of the only neighborhoods close to Downtown that offers new rental living,” Swanson said. “It’s urban living in a traditional neighborhood setting surrounded by lots of green spaces — the (Union) Cemetery, Penn Valley Park, the dog park, Liberty Memorial.”
Originally platted in 1857, the Union Hill neighborhood lies south of Crown Center between Main Street on the west, Gillham Road on the east, 31st Street on the south and 27th Street on the north.
The McGee Building is the first of two “Loft Lifestyle” apartment-over-retail buildings in the new Founders at Union Hill phase. A second, the McCoy Building at 3020 Gillham Road, is under development and scheduled to open next summer.
The Loft Lifestyle units are priced from $850 for studio units to $1,510 for two-bedroom, two-bath units. Included in the rent is one in-building parking space per unit; all appliances, including washers and dryers; loft-style touches like exposed ductwork, open layouts and skyline views from walk-out balconies; and lots of closet space. A one-bedroom-plus-den model unit, for instance, features four closets, including a huge walk-in closet/utility room, plus a walk-in pantry in the kitchen.
The units are also wired to allow a choice of three Internet providers — Google Fiber, AT&T and Time Warner — and provide residents with access to the private Union Hill Athletic Club next door. In addition, the units are within walking distance of trendy Union Hill gathering places, such as the Filling Station, Barrel 31 and Magnolia’s Contemporary Southern Bistro.
Besides the units that remain available in the McGee Building, a few remain in Union Hill’s recently opened Taylor and Ragan buildings at 230 E. 30th St. and 300 E. 30th St. Those “Platinum Lifestyle” buildings offer more contemporary finishes and pricier rents: $1,375 to $1,995. Another Platinum Lifestyle building, the Campbell, is under development at 3000 Gillham Road.
Those interested in touring the McGee Building and Union Hill neighborhood will be able to do so during a special event on Saturday. A reception for the authors of a new book, “Kansas City’s Historic Union Cemetery: Lessons for the Future from the Garden of Time,” will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the McGee Building’s ground-floor retail space.
In addition, visitors can meet at the cemetery’s Sexton Cottage, 227 E. 28th Terrace, for guided cemetery tours starting at 11 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
