Developer George Birt, whose company is experienced in the area having recently opened the Richards & Conover Lofts apartment building, has proposed a plan to construct $156 million in properties over the next decade.

Birt's plan covers 23 acres near the Missouri River, includes 361 condominiums and apartments, 256,000 sf of office space, 72,000 sf of store space, a 15-room hotel and parking spaces for 1,400 cars.

Birt is doing well with the loft project. The 83-unit structure at the corner of Fifth and Wyandotte streets is two-thirds rented at monthly rates between $800 and $1,450. Birt is preparing to start another 32-unit condominium project next to the apartment building. Units in the to-be-constructed condo will sell for prices between $200,000 and $600,000.

In his proposed overall construction plan, Birt would build a condo project that includes 16 units with an average price of $200,000, then another phase of 106 condominiums with an average price of $275,000 along with some retail space. Next, an eight-unit condo building with average prices of $250,000 would be built.

Birt's company, BBL Real Estate Services Group and Loft Capital Investors LLC, of Columbia, MO, are expected to invest at least $16 million. The venture investors are working under the name River Market Community Development LLC.

The development plan, which would blend new properties with historic ones, could take up to 10 years to complete. It is now being reviewed by the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority. Birt and his partners are asking for tax abatements and assistance in obtaining land through condemnation.

Boundaries for the development project are roughly between Broadway on the west, Wyandotte on the east, Fifth Street on the south and the Kansas City Terminal Railroad right-of-way, next to the river, on the north.

Birt's plan concurs with Mayor Kay Barnes' plan to create more than 10,000 new residential units between the Missouri River and the Country Club Plaza. Her plan calls for the construction of 1,700 of those units to be built in the next two years.

Instant Insights /

$156-Mil Mixed-Use Project Slated for Blighted River Market

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