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.

Smash-N-Nash ghost kitchen enters KC market

Smash-N-Nash, a new ghost kitchen, is shaking up the culinary scene in the Kansas City metro.

The creative, to-go food option is now available and delivering to the Kansas City metro through DoorDash with hand-made smash burgers, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, fries, tater tots and freshly baked cookies.

The local culinary team behind the new concept - an established group of local restaurateurs - recognized the demand for carryout options during the COVID-19 pandemic. They saw an opportunity to utilize their current venues and resources with a third-party delivery app to give customers what they crave – delicious grub available at their fingertips.

Smash-N-Nash is operating out of the kitchens of Lee's Summit's (Mo.) Third Street Social and Summit Grill in Lee’s Summit, Waldo and Gladstone locations; and is open for delivery Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

The menu includes:

Smash Burger: Angus Ground Chuck, Grilled Onions, Pickles, Mash Sauce, Martin’s Potato Roll

Nashville Chicken Sandwich: Crispy Chicken Breast, Hot Pepper Oil, Nash Sauce, Pickles, Martin’s Potato Roll

Chicken Tenders: Hand Breaded Chicken Tenderloins

Fries: Crispy Coated Steak Fries, Mash Sauce

Tater Tots: Classic Tots, Mash Sauce

Freshly Baked Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie

For more information, visit https://smash-n-nash.webflow.io.

Greenwood aspires to build sustainable as 'next normal'

In a world struggling with a devastating pandemic and the burgeoning climate crisis, Kansas Citian Sara Greenwood sees an opportunity to adapt to the “next normal” by creating buildings that offer a more sustainable, healthy, resource-efficient and prosperous environment that improves quality of life.

“Now more than ever, the benefit of investing in high-quality, healthy buildings is critical to the community at-large. People want to feel safe returning to work, going to restaurants and moving into a new home,” Greenwood said.

The Kansas City businesswoman's passion and skill were recognized internationally as she was recently named a ‘2020 LEED Fellow’ by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). Greenwood is among 25 professionals who represent exceptional practitioners and leaders within the green building community who have demonstrated mastery of the technical application of LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating system.

As the principal and founder of Kansas City-based Greenwood Consulting Group, Greenwood is one of only three professionals earning this designation in the Midwest; and is the only professional who specializes in green building consulting services in the Kansas City metro area.

“I can’t imagine a better time to be a LEED Fellow,” said Greenwood, a 16-year veteran in the green building industry. “In a time where we’ve been forced to imagine the next normal, standards like LEED and WELL reinforce that designing and building healthy buildings matter –for the planet and for people.”

Greenwood has contributed to dozens of highly-recognizable projects in KC, including the new KCI Airport Terminal, Grand Place (the former Kansas City Star building), Lenexa Civic Center, Two Light, 1900 Building, Johnson County Library, the new Aquarium at the Kansas City Zoo, the Johnson County Medical Examiner building and seven new school buildings.

Greenwood’s work extends beyond the Kansas City metro with the REACH Building at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, MGM CityCenter in Las Vegas, an expansion at the Georgia Aquarium, assorted FBI Buildings, Port of Los Angeles, and several higher education facilities nationwide.

To date, Greenwood has managed the certification of more than 100 LEED projects totaling more than 8 million square feet.

“Our work with the Lenexa Civic Center, which includes a Recreation Center, City Hall and public market, and the Johnson County Library, are iconic examples of taking a campus approach to achieve sustainable performance,” Greenwood said.

“The Lenexa Civic Center attracts thousands of people every year. It demonstrates optimal energy and water efficiency, daylighting design, and provides our community with a healthier, inviting experience. There are so many ways we can apply LEED concepts to improve not only how our city looks, but also to make it more efficient, healthy, and sustainable.”

The Greenwood Consulting Group is a certified women-owned business (WBE) that is one of the most sought-after sustainable building consulting firms, having managed projects from coast to coast.

 "It's interesting and inspiring to me to see how my clients across a wide range of industries genuinely care about achieving high-performance building standards," said Greenwood. “For my clients, LEED certification sets a high bar for ensuring that a building is actually designed and constructed to set criteria. My clients look to me to help projects achieve their performance goals.”

Other projects in Greenwood’s portfolio include:

·      Zappos Headquarters- Las Vegas, Nevada

·      Whole Foods stores in the South Pacific Region

·      Port of Long Beach- Long Beach, CA

·      University of Missouri NEXTGen Healthcare Building in Columbia, MO

LEED Fellows are nominated by their peers and must have made at least 10 years of exceptional impact on LEED and hold an active LEED AP with specialty credential, among other requirements. The evaluation process includes extensive portfolio review and is carried out by the LEED Fellow Evaluation Committee and supported by GBCI.

The LEED Fellow program was established in 2011 to recognize outstanding LEED APs who have demonstrated exceptional impacts with LEED in key mastery elements related to technical knowledge and skill; a history of exemplary leadership in LEED; significant contributions in teaching, mentoring, or research with proven outcomes; and a history of highly impactful commitment, service, and advocacy for LEED.

“The green building industry plays a critical role as we look toward rebuilding our economy and our communities in the months and years ahead,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of GBCI and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Kuehl forecasts partly sunny, partly cloudy recovery for US economy

CCIM Kansas City kicked off its 2021 monthly breakfast series last week with the annual economic forecast by Dr. Chris Kuehl, managing director and co-founder of Armada Corporate Intelligence. Chris Williams, CCIM, of Highlands Development Group and CCIM Kansas City president, moderated the virtual event.

Kuehl anticipates that 2021 will see five positive changes which will affect the economy and five negative changes.  

The first positive change is the vaccine rollout.  Kuehl acknowledged that the vaccine rollout is slow, complicated and bureaucratic.  However, he said he’s “pretty confident” that by March, the vulnerable population will be vaccinated.  He expects that by mid-summer, the United States will have achieved herd immunity, or something close to it. 

Kuehl believes the second positive change is that lockdowns will start to lift by the second quarter.  The lifting of lockdown restrictions will improve job numbers, particularly in the service sector, and spur spending.  Service jobs will come back very quickly, because there’s no barrier to entry.

“When the service sector starts to come back, our spending will go back to what it used to be. Rather than spending as much money on things as we are now, there will be more interest in spending on services, something that’s been cut off for the last year,” Kuehl said.

The third positive change is the improvement of trade relations with certain key partners in Europe, Japan and Canada, but not China.

Kuehl anticipates permanent changes in work patterns as the fourth positive change. For example, many employees will see a 3/2 week - three days in the office and two days working from home.  However, those who work in collaborative environments and sales people likely will not have that option. 

The fifth positive change, which could benefit some sectors but could damage others, is the recent political shift.  Kuehl said there will be a big emphasis on green, more stability in the medical sector and an emphasis on infrastructure.

Kuehl said the first negative change to anticipate is that the retreat from pandemic protocols will be slow and there will be setbacks, such as mutations of the virus and bureaucratic barriers.

The second negative change is that the business and investment community will be cautious in making moves until they can better assess the new administration.  Kuehl said there are estimates that $2.5 to $4 trillion are waiting to be invested.

The third negative change, according to Kuehl, is that confrontations with China will accelerate and affect trade patterns; followed by the his fourth adverse change: consumers will have to decide when (or even if) they want to go back to their old habits.

Kuehl identified the lingering political divisions as the fifth and final change, complicating policy development on several issues; including economic stimulus, immigration and cultural conflicts.

Kuehl predicts that the United States will see a lot of progress toward economic recovery in 2021, but full recovery will not occur until the end of the year or early 2022, and recovery is volatile. 

“There are lots of factors that are going to have to be worked through in the next several years and we’re going to have periods where there is substantial recovery and then a decline and then a substantial recovery, partly because it is still global,” said Kuehl. 

Kuehl said he did not anticipate that there will be changes to Section 1031 exchanges or REITs in the foreseeable future because both keep money active and moving. 

Kuehl also anticipates that the hotel and airline industries and everything connected to business travel will begin to see a comeback by late May or early summer. 

Kuehl said he predicts that the United States will continue to emphasize reshoring.  But, unlike the prior administration which relied on tariffs and limitations, Kuehl said he believes the Biden administration will push export promotion. 

Moving beyond 2020 with Beyond Brokerage

Meet Jayme Miller, CCIM, commercial realtor at Beyond Brokerage, a NorthPoint Development company providing brokerage services to third-party clients.

Miller shifted into CRE after working a job in corporate supply chain.

“It was a good, comfortable job but it wasn’t fulfilling. I was about to turn 30 and knew I did not want to spend my career there. I did some soul-searching to figure out what I wanted to be when I 'grew up' and after I discovered commercial real estate, it was if a light bulb turned on and everything came together! I knew exactly what I wanted to do and haven’t looked back since,” Miller said.

RT: When considering a lead, what do you look for specifically?

We look for someone who looks for a partnership approach and values win-win transactions just as much as we do. My team works with a variety of users, everyone from the investor who owns one or two buildings to REITs with a big portfolio. We also love working with buyers or tenants. We have transacted on office, retail, land, industrial and multifamily. Really it all comes back to the partnership- If the partnership is right, we make it work.

RT: What are market trends you are experiencing with your clients currently?

JM: One thing Covid taught us is that we never know what the future holds! The pandemic came on fast and strong and drastically impacted dozens of industries, some positively and some negatively. We are seeing many tenants ask for Covid provisions in their leases. Many landlords have been accommodating. We are also seeing some hesitancy to commit to long, seven to 10-year lease terms.

RT: What do you see moving forward, as we move beyond 2020?

JM: The market definitely softened earlier this year but came back with a roar because the fundamentals were still strong. Our Q4 was one of our strongest quarters on record! Overall, property owners are having to think and re-think about futuristic uses for their assets. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

RT: What challenges and opportunities are your main asset classes facing now?

JM: Retail is going through a major shift. Online shopping was already taking away demand for retail space, and the pandemic sped up that adaptation rate. Retail owners are having to figure out what to do with their buildings, particularly big box spaces. There’s opportunity there to create experiences people cannot get online, and to use space to create community. I see that in the Creekside development in Parkville, where they are putting a courtyard with programming between retail spaces. The new owners at Zona Rosa are also working to develop more community spaces. The other big opportunity in retail is to create spaces at affordable rates for local tenants. People like to shop local, and the pandemic highlighted how important that support is.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the office world. When will people come back to work? Will we see a shift back to private office to encourage social distancing? Will companies need a bigger footprint because they will be spreading people out? Or will they need less because a certain percentage of their employees will stay remote? The opportunities for office owners include thinking about health-focused initiatives such as windows that open, increased janitorial/sanitization and upgraded HVAC filtration.

RT: How do you feel about the state of the market in Kansas City and why?

JM: I am very optimistic! Kansas City is a great mid-sized market. We see capital coming here from the coasts because it’s so affordable. Kansas City has really been on an upward trajectory over the last 15 years. Executives move here reluctantly as part of a relocation and end up falling in love with the city. Our fundamentals are strong and there is still a ton of opportunity in underdeveloped areas.

RT: Can you share any other current and future projections if any?

JM: I predict the market continuing to grow, albeit at a slower rate, in 2021. Longer term I see downtown/Crossroads continuing to attract high quality tenants. I see Midtown developing, particularly along the KC Streetcar line and into the Martini Corner area. I am excited about all the activity on Troost; that will be great for that area and there are some fantastic and responsible players involved. I see continued development of “micro communities” like what is being created in downtown Overland Park and downtown Shawnee.

Jayme can be reached at Jayme@Beyondbrokeragekc.com or 816.261.2006.