A Cleveland-based developer has secured $52 million in financing for its West Bottoms Flats multifamily project, clearing another hurdle in its effort to redevelop five historic warehouse buildings into so-called micro apartments.
The $66 million redevelopment includes 265 one-room apartments plus structured parking and more than 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC and Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. LLC facilitated the finance package on behalf of MCM Co. Inc.
With an average footprint of about 600 square feet, micro apartments-or microflats- are considered the next frontier in multifamily housing. Designed to appeal to Millennials, the units are self-contained living spaces that include a kitchenette, sitting space, sleeping space, and bathroom. With completion targeted for 2020, West Bottoms Flats apartments are expected to rent for between $1,000 and $1,200 a month.
“The target market is young professionals who desire smaller units at a lower price point in a heavily dense, urban community with strong neighborhood amenities and connectivity,” said Doug Bates, Grandbridge vice president for the Kansas City market. “The concept is relatively new to Kansas City, but other Midwestern cities have a seen a great deal of deliveries and success with this concept.”
Situated on 2.4 acres between Ninth Street and St. Louis Avenue, Hickory and Wyoming streets, West Bottoms Flats is the first historic multifamily project in the West Bottoms neighborhood just west of Downtown Kansas City and the first metro-area project for MCM Co. Inc.
“Given its linkages to and the strong demand drivers in the neighboring River Market, Downtown, and Crossroads markets, the West Bottoms is well positioned to be the up and coming urban lifestyle community in Kansas City,” Bates added.
The financing package includes more than $24 million in federal and state historic tax credits equity secured through partners Enhanced Capital and Historic Equity Inc., as well as a $31.85 million senior construction loan and $20 million historic tax credit bridge loan. Project lenders include Kansas City-based Blue Ridge Bank & Trust, Jefferson City-based Hawthorn Bank, and Ohio-based Huntington National Bank.
A variety of incentives and abatements were secured through programs administered by the City of Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri.