Owner of the Historic Cosby Hotel Building Proposes Office/Retail Redevelopment Plan

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

The Cosby Hotel building has a chance to dodge the wrecking ball as Sunflower Development Group plans to present a redevelopment plan for the historic construction, The Kansas City Business Journal reports.

The 15,000-square-foot building was built in 1881 and was initially an office building for doctors before becoming a 60-room hotel early in the 20th century. In 1964 the upper floors were closed and in 1995 the hotel was completely empty. The empty building was put on the city’s “dangerous buildings” list and demolition seemed imminent. In the summer of 2011, Sunflower bought the property from owner Rick Powell and now Jason Swords, managing member of the group, plans to present the redevelopment plan for the property before the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority.

The proposed $2.88 million redevelopment would include state and federal historic tax credits in the amount of $493,025 and $335,498 respectively, along with $150,000 in developer equity and a $1.9 million loan. The cleanup costs are estimated at $130,000.

Letters of intent to lease office and retail space on the ground floor have already been received according to Swords.

In other news, The Kansas City Star reports American Performance Technologies is planning a $26 million expansion of its motor scooters manufacturing facility. The company, founded only two years ago, has been leasing space in a former Montgomery Ward building at the old Bannister Mall site. The firm currently has 32 employees but the expansion would mean the addition of another 250 people in the next few years.

American Performance Technologies will receive $4.1 million in incentives from the state of Missouri and incentives from the federal New Market Tax Credit program for the expansion.

Photo Courtesy of sunflowerkc.com