After multiple delays and silence from the development team, Flaherty and Collins submitted a Development Assistance Team request today for the “Bellwether” project at 5th and Main.

You might recall that this building, born out of an RFP from 2020 to replace the surface parking lot immediately west of the City Market, was approved by both the City of Kansas City (development plan) and PortKC (incentives).

The project was one of a few around town that saw the FAA and then-City Manager Brian Platt spat about restrictions on building heights in, and around, downtown. Opponents to the project demanded additional parking and, as a compromise result, the number of “affordable” housing units was reduced. In addition to those changes and delays, the project’s total number of apartments dropped from the originally proposed 300 units to the present-day 248 units.

At the time of its unveiling, the project’s name was “City Harvest”, but it was later changed to “Bellwether”. Recent renderings, created by KEM Studio, the project’s architect, reveal that the design hasn’t changed much since the initial unveiling.

All the application to the City states is that the project has “restarted” and that a October 2026 start is desired. The development plan was originally approved in March of 2023.

If built, and if the plans haven’t changed further, Bellwether will be the tallest building in the River Market neighborhood at 12-stories.

Additional renderings are featured in the gallery below.