A dilapidated building on the National Register of Historic Places will be torn down as part of a wider $500 million redevelopment project planned for Kansas City’s West Bottoms.
Last week, a city board signed off on plans to demolish the Ridenour-Baker Grocery Co. Building at 933 Mulberry St. That will kick off the first phase of New York-based developer SomeraRoad’s plans to revamp more than 20 acres in the area.
The developer aims to bring more than 1,200 new apartments, plus offices, restaurants, retail space and hotel to the area. SomeraRoad plans to renovate some existing buildings and build new ones in phases over more than a decade as it works on the more than 40 properties it owns and controls in the neighborhood.
SomeraRoad has filed plans for the 933 Mulberry St. site, which will house a five-story apartment building and ground-level retail and restaurants.
Grant Hromas, a vice president of development with the company, said plans on other buildings in the first phase of the project will be filed in the coming days.
In a December letter to Mayor Quinton Lucas, the organization said the plans will bring new activity, investment and people to “a long-underserved” area of the city.
“The thoughtful combination of historic preservation, investment in long overdue infrastructure improvements, new residences and public gathering spaces will transform an important piece of Kansas City’s history and downtown into a vibrant mixed-use district,” Historic Kansas City wrote.
