Multifamily

Bluhawk Apartments prepare for blastoff

Work has blasted off at the Bluhawk Apartments located at 167th Street and Lowell Avenue in south Overland Park, with mass blasting taking place over the past month. 

Haupt Construction has been busy clearing the site of native limestone with the help of three surface drill rigs. A rock crusher then processes large chunks of limestone to be recycled as gravel filler for use throughout the entire project. In October, HarenLaughlin Construction will begin laying footings and foundations in preparation for vertical construction to begin.

“It’s rewarding to see this project move closer to vertical construction. Bluhawk Apartments are a critical component of the overall 300-acre Bluhawk mixed-use development,” said Bart Lowen, vice president of Price Brothers Development.

When completed in early 2020, Bluhawk Apartments will include eight buildings and a total of 201 apartment units ranging from one- to three-bedroom floor plans with higher-end interior features such as granite countertops. Each building will have garages as well as open-space parking.

The community will include a basketball court and convenient location adjacent to the Shawnee Mission Health-Blue Valley full-service hospital, Cosentino’s Market, and Bluhawk’s many shops and restaurants.

Opus kicks off construction of Westport multifamily mixed-use project

The Opus Group (Opus), along with Central Bank of the Midwest and CTK Real Estate, officially began construction on a 256-unit mixed-use apartment community at Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard. Completion is targeted for spring 2020. 

“We’re pleased to be building our presence and business in Kansas City by contributing a modern mixed-use project in the vibrant neighborhood of Westport,” said Joe Downs, vice president/general manager of Opus Development Company, LLC. “Westport has a unique, historical aesthetic, and this project will bring that attitude to life in a contemporary way.”

The six-story project will feature 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail, two suites, and 254 apartment units in a variety of floor plans, ranging from junior studio to two-bedrooms. Standard luxury finishes include nine-foot ceilings, stone countertops, designer backsplash and lighting packages, vinyl plank flooring, stainless steel appliances, oversized windows, and in-unit washers and dryers.

The project features a club room and roof-level terrace with views of Westport and the Country Club Plaza, as well as a larger, lower-level amenity terrace with pool, fire pits, lounge areas, grilling and dining capabilities and an adjacent club room. Additional amenities include fitness equipment with Fitness On Demand™, conference rooms, co-working vestibules, spa, dog wash station, secure bike storage and storage space for residents , as well as two levels of secure underground parking with direct access to residential floors.

Opus Development Company, LLC is the developer, Opus Design Build, LLC is the design-builder and Opus AE Group, LLC is the interior designer, architect and structural engineer of record. 

City Club groundbreaking reinvents Hereford House site

The $76 million City Club Apartments Crossroads mixed-use community broke ground ground Wednesday, signaling new life for the landmark Hereford House site at 20th and Main streets in Downtown Kansas City.

Integrated into the historic Midwest Hotel, the 7-story multifamily building will include 283 apartments and penthouses and feature international design, rooftop dining, an outdoor theater, and 50 floor plans.

"Kansas City is proud to be home to the next exciting development from City Club Apartments," Kansas City Mayor Sly James told attendees at the groundbreaking.

City Club Apartments has retail and restaurant tenants lined up for the project, with announcements pending. City Club has $500 million currently under development in more than a half-dozen U.S. markets.

Summit Square ribbon cutting celebrates record leasing activity

NorthPoint Development and project partners officially cut the ribbon Thursday at Summit Square, a 308-unit luxury apartment complex located within Lee’s Summit’s thriving Summit Tech corridor.

Summit Square includes seven buildings and a clubhouse with outdoor amenities such as outdoor terrace with salt water pool, custom grilling station and covered veranda with a gas fireplace. Indoor clubhouse amenities include a lounge, kitchen/gathering space, fitness center and spinning studio, salon, massage room, media room and conference room.

Neighbors Construction served as general contractor for Summit Square, its 14th project for NorthPoint. NSPJ Architects provided design and architecture services.

"NorthPoint and NSPJ have once again outdone themselves with the design of this property and it shows by the record-breaking lease-up we have witnessed. It's truly amazing,” said Aaron Neighbors of Neighbors Construction.

Summit Square is on track to be the fastest lease-up of any project Neighbors Construction has built for NorthPoint, with five of the seven delivered buildings 90 percent leased. 

“Our residents are raving about the quality of the product, spectacular amenities, the outstanding management team and this amazing location,” Community Manager Pam Lakey said. “In my 27+ years on site in the Kansas City apartment rental market, I have never been a part of something this special.”

You can check out photos of the project’s progression since construction began in December 2016 here by heading to the project page on Neighbors' website. More information at www.summitsquarekc.com.

 

Lenexa's The District mixed-use offers case study on cold-formed steel construction

Construction has hit the midway point for the multifamily portion of The District at City Center, a mixed-use project that adds luxury apartments, retail and office space to the Lenexa City Center development area at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. 

The multifamily portion of The District includes 175 units and serves as the region’s first suburban apartment-over-retail project constructed of cold-formed steel. General Contractor Haren Laughlin Construction (HLC) is touting the benefits of the product, which uses prefabricated steel studs to shorten construction times and eliminate on-site labor while improving fire safety during construction and throughout the life of the building.

“The owners wanted to build something that they could sustain for longer than what a wood structure is going to give you, so they brought us to the table and we put together a proposal and really dove into what it was going to take - the parts and pieces - to get this built,” said Matt Fisher, pre-construction manager for HLC. 

HLC, along with design partner Klover Architects, met with potential subcontractors and chose Dahmer Contracting Group led by Dusty Dahmer because its bid was the most competitive and cost efficient. By using an "off-the-shelf" metal stud system, Dahmer said his team was able to tighten the margins so the project made financial sense for co-developers Copaken Brooks and EPC Real Estate Group. 

“The difference between wood and metal framing used to be a bigger spread, and the market’s gotten so much more efficient, so now the difference is a lot smaller,” Dahmer said. “There was a steep learning curve at the beginning of the project, but now we are cruising." 

Reuben Hamman, HLC project manager, said steel framing makes for a safer and cleaner construction site.

“It’s a lot safer product to install because everything we are building is off of a slab, so we are not three stories in the air in a multifamily area swinging stuff around,” Hamman said. “On the job site, it’s just metal and concrete, so there’s not much to clean up. The waste has been minimized and everything we do throw away is recyclable.”

Because cold-formed steel is still more expensive than wood, it isn’t likely to overtake traditional wood framing, but HLC Vice President Jeff Wasinger believes there’s plenty of potential for growth in higher-end multifamily construction.

“We think for a small premium, apartment developers get a longer lasting, better quality, safer structure,” Wasinger said. “The end result is going to be above everyone’s expectations.”

In additional to luxury residential apartments, The District adds 45,000 square feet of office and 35,000 square feet of retail space to the existing 800,000-square feet of developed space at Lenexa City Center. 

The full project team includes EPC Real Estate Group and Copaken Brooks, co-developers; Klover Architects, architect; Studio A Architecture, residential consultant; BSE, structural engineer; Latimer Sommers & Associates, mechanical design; Phelps Engineering, civil engineer- private; and GBA Architects + Engineers, civil engineering- public. John Coe and Ryan Biery of Copaken Brooks are handling the leasing for the District.