REVERBerating in the KC Crossroads

Opening a multifamily community and a cocktail lounge during a pandemic presents a unique set of challenges, as told by panelists during last week’s CREW KC event.

The virtual presentation featured REVERB, a 14-story, 132-unit multifamily complex and The Mercury Room, a 800-SF cocktail lounge atop of REVERB, located at 18th and Walnut in the Crossroads Arts District.

Bri Swanson, REVERB community manager; Kyle Bennett, The Mercury Room general manager; Charles Rotter, staff architect at Burns & McDonnell; and Trevor Hoiland, design manager at Burns & McDonnell; joined moderator Andrea McClain, portfolio analyst at CrossFirst Bank, to discuss how the team was able to rise above the challenges of the project during a pandemic.

Developed by Copaken Brooks and managed by Asset Living, REVERB opened mid-August 2020; The Mercury Room soon followed, opening in mid-November 2020.

Swanson explained that REVERB is unique from other recent multifamily projects in that it only offers studio and one-bedroom units and provides its residents with no amenities, like a pool or a gym. Instead, residents have access to a mixed-use space on the 14th floor with conference and meeting rooms and the Mercury Room — all of which Swanson called “an extension to our residents’ homes.”

Hoiland said that in selecting the site, the developers wanted the project to be part of the Crossroads neighborhood.

“So many downtown apartment buildings have everything you need inside them so why move downtown and then just stay in your building?  We really wanted people to not have a gym and not have a pool and not have some of these amenities you typically see because we want people out on the streets, to be part of the neighborhood and connecting with other tenants up the street.  That was very, very intentional,”  Hoiland said.

Swanson said that to supplement the community’s lack of amenities, Asset Living focused on providing residents with ways to get residents into the neighborhood, including providing residents with metal cards to present at nearby businesses for insider perks and discounts.

Swanson said the challenges of developing and delivering a high-end multifamily community with only studio and one bedroom units, no on-site amenities and a cocktail lounge open to the public during a pandemic were met through an innovative marketing plan, custom-built website and COVID-friendly seamless leasing and a virtual marketing outreach.

“When COVID interrupted previously established marketing plans, the Asset team quickly pivoted to creative practices such as partnerships with social media influencers to promote REVERB through what we call the ‘unboxing experience..’ We partnered with several local Kansas City influencers and invited these influencers to unbox promotional items and branded apparel on Instagram as well as attend private tours and share the REVERB experience with followers,” said Swanson.

Swanson said that the project was nearly 10 percent pre-leased without offering concessions prior to delivery.  To date, REVERB is 20.77 percent occupied and 26.15 percent leased.  Rents range from $1,149/mos for a studio unit to $3,325/mos for the largest one bedroom unit, which offers 1393 SF.

Construction of the project was well underway when the pandemic hit and there were not many delays.  Holland said that when smaller job sites in the city were shut down, the REVERB project was able to pull from them to keep construction going. 

Hoiland said that the project got its name from the energy on the streetcar, which also impacted the design of the building. 

“As the building gets taller, those apartment units stretch out further towards the streetcar, towards Main Street - then it pulls back at the very top.  So we really wanted to almost create a diagram of the soundwave that maybe you get from the energy on Main Street,”  Hoiland said. 

The Mercury Room currently accommodates approximately 20 guests to comply with COVID restrictions, but Bennett said it can sit approximately 32 guests when operating at full capacity.  

Entry to The Mercury Room is by reservation only for two-hour periods. Guests are checked in by a host downstairs and notified by text when their table is ready. Reservations are being taken on a month-to-month basis and Bennett said The Mercury Room is booked through the end of the month. Bennett expects to retain the reservation system post-pandemic.

“We are a high-end cocktail bar, really focusing on the craft of making delicious cocktails and really offering a high-touch, elevated-style service not seen in the cocktail world,”  said Bennett.

The Mercury Room has partnered with Michael Corvino from Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room and is seeking other chefs to offer small bites to pair with the cocktails.

$60 million 'The Residences at Galleria' to open in 2022

The Residences at Galleria, a $60 million multifamily complex located adjacent to the former Sprint World Headquarters in the Galleria 115 development in Overland Park, Kan., is set to begin construction this summer and slated to open in 2022.

The four-story, luxury apartment complex is included in the first phase of the 5-plus acre development by Block Real Estate Services, LLC (BRES). The $350 million Galleria mixed-use development master plan includes two apartment buildings, office space, retail and entertainment.

JLL Capital Markets (JLL) arranged $21 million in joint venture equity partnership with Hartford Investment Management Company (“HIMCO”) on behalf of BRES for the development of the 322-unit, Class-A, podium multi-housing community.

"We are excited to partner with HIMCO on this project, and, from the beginning of discussions with them, it was clear that we had a shared vision for the quality of this project and its high-demographics location within Overland Park” said Ken Block, BRES managing principal.

The Residences include 322 one-, two- and three-bedroom units and will average 927 SF. Features include high ceilings, large walk-in closets with custom shelving, high-end appliances and finishes, European-style cabinetry, outdoor terraces, in-unit laundry rooms with full-size washers and dryers, double-paned windows and more.

A hallmark of the new community, designed by Hoefer Wysocki, is the walkable lifestyle. Adjacent to the site is a thriving commercial corridor, multiple entertainment districts, theaters, and endless restaurant choices. Outdoor patios are linked to The Residences by walking trails that encircle greenspace, sitting areas, a rolling rock waterfall and dog park.

"We are very excited to work with Block Real Estate Services on the Galleria. This community will raise the bar on luxury living in the area,” said Hoefer Wysocki vice president and director of multifamily design, Chris Armer, AIA, NCARB.

The project will feature the best community amenities offered in the submarket and include a large resort-style swimming pool with shallow ledge features; pool deck with cabanas, hot tub, sports courts and water features; fitness center with Peloton bikes, massage therapy and virtual training; outdoor group fitness areas; clubhouse with fireplace, game room and social media room; executive business center; dog park and pet spa; and covered and surface parking.

“Galleria will be BRES’ most exciting project to date, building on our successful experiences with this high-end podium product, which allows for a large, outdoor amenity deck and other amenities that are unique in this market,” Block said. 

The JLL capital markets debt placement team representing the borrower was led by executive managing director Jody Thornton, senior director Mark Erland, director Matt Benson and analyst Kellan Liem.

Other partners on the development team include Titan, Polsinelli and McClure.

CCIM economist navigates road to recovery

K.C. Conway, chief economist of the CCIM Institute and director of research for Alabama Center for Real Estate, delivered an economic update webinar to commercial real estate professionals last week.

As a whole, Conway believes the economy, which spiraled downward with the COVID-19 lockdowns, is far from recovery, a perspective reinforced by recent comments from Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve. 

“If we were recovering and creating 2.5 million jobs a month, do you think the Fed would make the statement that it was not even thinking about making interest rate hikes until 2022? Not even 2021? This tells you how fragile the economy is; how much intervention the Fed is going to have to do,” Conway said.

Conway predicts that there will be a massive oversupply of oil as supply cut production agreements expire at the end of June. 

“I think energy is going to remain very, very volatile. That’s good for the consumer and for transportation, but it’s not a good indicator that things are really recovering from the economy. I don’t think energy is saying we’re there yet either,” Conway said.

The housing market also does not reflect a recovery. With eight percent of mortgages subject to forbearance agreements which won’t expire for six to 12 months, Conway said we’re not going to fully understand the impact of housing until next spring. 

“When you also look at what’s rising in terms of mortgage delinquencies, we’re essentially at 15% of all homeowners delinquent in their mortgages or in forbearance, and that’s record numbers even compared to 2009,” noted Conway.

According to Conway, there are four metrics which are most predictive in determining when we’ve arrived at recovery. The first is the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) daily passenger count, which is currently in the 200,000 to 300,000 range.

“If we don’t see this climb back toward 1.5 million this fall, we are in serious trouble," Conway said. 

The second metric upon which he relies is the number of loans transferred to special servicers. He noted that these loan transfers are reaching record numbers.

The third predictive metric is transaction activity. Conway said that activity currently is locked up because the 500 largest pension and institutional funds are not investing in commercial real estate until they get past their mark to market accounting at the end of June and determine how to reallocate capital. However, Conway is optimistic. 

“Capital is coming back this fall to commercial real estate,” he said.

The fourth and final predictive metric is corporate earnings. He encouraged his audience to follow the earnings of companies that drive their local economies, including those companies that are the major tenants of local retail centers and office buildings.

Conway also predicts major changes to logistics. 

“What we’re going to see is the rest of the world awaken to the fact that it’s a really bad idea to put all of your manufacturing dependence in one place in the world.” 

Consequently, he said some of the manufacturing currently done in China or other parts of Asia will move back to Europe and the United States, but much will go to Mexico, increasing the importance of Kansas City, local intermodal installations and Kansas City rail as trade moves more north and south, rather than from the west coast to the east coast.

Conway noted that casualties of the pandemic will include the failure of one in four businesses and the closure of 40 percent of restaurants nationally. Consequently, a lot of inventory and equipment that was ordered pre-pandemic but not shipped during the shutdown will arrive at businesses that have closed.  

“That’s about 50 million SF of additional warehouse space that we’re going to have to have to store orders that have finally come in. This will provide adaptive reuse opportunities for properties like closed big box retailers and department stores in enclosed malls,” Conway said.

Conway predicts leisure and travel properties will change substantially as well, shifting hotels in the future to be smaller with exterior room entry and contactless features. 

In addition, Conway sees every ratio to which the commercial real estate industry is accustomed, to change.

“Density ratios in office, density ratios in restaurants, expense ratios, occupancy cost ratios . . . parking ratios because we’re going to do more ‘click it and pick up,’ rather than ‘park and drive in,’ which will add a whole new dimension to future site selection,” Conway said. 

“What I think is going to make the difference is what’s called immunity passports,” which currently are being utilized in Europe. 

Immunity passports in the United States will rely upon technology that is already available, although HIPAA laws will need to be amended. 

Conway predicts that within two years, we are going to have mouth swab kits to test for antibodies.