Before long, East Village’s largest private landowner could swing a wrecking ball at the vacant buildings it owns within the eight-block area, perhaps opening the door for sluggers to swing at balls and strikes years from now.
VanTrust Real Estate LLC seeks to adjust how Kansas City will reimburse it for tearing down four empty structures in East Village, bounded north to south by Eighth and 12th streets and west to east by Cherry and Charlotte streets. For years, the area has been widely discussed as the likely front-runner for a new downtown ballpark for the Kansas City Royals, who announced in September that they were evaluating options about where the team will play when its Kauffman Stadium lease expires in 2031.
Under a 2017 master development agreement with Swope Community Builders — transferred to and renegotiated with VanTrust later that year — the city agreed to kick in $1.2 million for East Village development expenses such as remediating blight and demolishing dangerous buildings.
Kansas City originally planned to provide that amount from surplus bond funds for previous East Village redevelopment activities, but officials later learned that money was restricted and that they might need to issue new debt, according to new city documents.
As such, the city and VanTrust now propose a deal amendment. If approved, the city’s $1.2 million contribution would come as an offset to VanTrust’s purchase price for city-owned East Village properties it has the option to acquire.
With the revision, the developer would pay $4.2 million, rather than $5.4 million, if it buys the city’s remaining parking lots and undeveloped parcels, which total about 5.7 acres.
Through the amendment, VanTrust would agree to demolish buildings that formerly housed the Della C. Lamb charter school, the Wiltshire Apartments, the Blackstone Hotel and a northern parking garage by Dec. 31, 2023. The scope of work would include assessing, removing and disposing of hazardous materials, including those with asbestos, and backfilling and capping the former building sites.
After the teardowns, all of VanTrust’s approximately 6.5 acres in East Village would be vacant land.
“By removing blight on these properties, which must occur before any redevelopment can take place, VanTrust continues to take tangible steps forward to improve the chances of success for East Village,” Executive Vice President Rich Muller said in an email.
East Village has seen developers pitch multiple mixed-use village concepts for the better part of two decades, with as many as 1,200 apartments and 213,000 square feet of offices.
A different downtown baseball stadium prospect that recently has drawn attention is in the East Crossroads, on several blocks east of The Kansas City Star’s former printing facility. A third spot near the 18th & Vine Jazz District also has been part of the ballpark conversation.
Should VanTrust exercise its purchase option for the city’s East Village properties, its master development agreement lets the city buy the sites back if the developer has not first started design or construction on a project, begun negotiations with or made a commitment to a third-party user. The city also could reacquire the properties if VanTrust, albeit not a third-party entity, has not started construction by April 2027.
The city’s Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee is scheduled Wednesday to review the proposed agreement amendment.
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