Starting today, visitors to the West Bottoms will witness the transformation of the neighborhood from a quiet, post-industrial landscape into one of Kansas City’s most vibrant neighborhoods.

The City of Kansas City and SomeraRoad broke ground on the massive mixed-use development that’s expected to yield:

• 1023 apartments in a mix of redeveloped buildings and new construction buildings
• 40 hotel rooms in the Avery Building
• 400 space parking garage
• 263,188sf of office and retail space

The groundbreaking today focuses on the enhancements to public infrastructure in the area. The West Bottoms lacks sidewalks, so this phase of the project will build them along with overhauling the neighborhood’s water and sewer lines, burying power lines, and constructing a new park at 11th and Santa Fe (called “The Depot)”.

The first phase of the West Bottoms redevelopment project will see the Moline Plow Building redeveloped into 121 loft apartments, the former site of the Weld Wheel Building (which was imploded in May) replaced with a 290-unit apartment building named “The Henning”. The Perfection Stove and Crooks Terminal buildings at Union and Santa Fe will be redeveloped into a combined 179,406sf of office and retail space. The Crooks Terminal building will include a “pass through” space lined with shops, restaurants and a public market connecting Union Avenue to “The Depot” park.

Later phases will include the other mixture of usages previously discussed, but the first phase + infrastructure enhancements will single-handedly change the face of the West Bottoms. Preserving the gritty feel of the neighborhood, but making it better to explore on foot. The enhancements will also make First Friday weekends a little bit more enjoyable for everyone.

HOK, SK Design Group, and BKV Group are leading design and planning for the mixed-use redevelopment. The entire development is expected to take around a decade to be fully realized. Those interested in following along with the project can visit the West Bottoms website for more information.

Elsewhere in the West Bottoms, activity has been steady. DRAW Architects is set to move into their new office at 13th and Hickory. Office space on the second floor of that building is available for lease. According to LoopNet, the first floor will be home to a “world class” spa and teahouse (two tenants likely representing the direction the neighborhood will go in the coming years). Near HyVee Arena, and on State Line Road, Flaherty and Collins’ “The Helm”, a 224-unit apartment complex should open to residents in the Fall. Also near HyVee Arena, the long-awaited “Rock Island Bridge” project is expected to open in 2025 and be the nations first “entertainment district” on a bridge.