CBKC to develop 64-unit market-rate apartment project in Kansas City

Community Builders of Kansas City will develop The Rochester on Blue Parkway, the first market-rate, multifamily development east of Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, in generations.

The 81,400-square-foot, $12.6 million project, one of the first announced in a Kansas City-area Opportunity Zone, will have 64 residential units across four stories.

“The Rochester brings a residential option to this corridor that does not now exist,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., president and chief executive officer of CBKC.

The Rochester will be the newest addition to CBKC’s Blue Parkway campus that already includes more than 430,000 square feet of office, retail and service providers.

CBKC announced last year that its 69,000-square-foot office building at 4001 Blue Parkway was 100 percent occupied. With tenants such as Legal Aid and the Mid-America Assistance Coalition, the three-story property has become a services resource for the community. CBKC has more than $80 million in real estate assets, from downtown to 63rd Street, under management.

The Rochester on Blue Parkway will feature in-demand finishes and amenities including stainless steel appliances, solid-surface countertops, in-unit washer and dryer, an indoor/outdoor rooftop deck, fitness center, package pick-up room, community meeting space as well as landscaped front and back yard spaces furnished for grilling and gathering around the fire pit. Rates will be in the range of $985 to $1,275 for the one-bedroom/one bath, one-bedroom plus den/one bath and two-bedroom/two-bathroom units. There also will be a penthouse two-bedroom executive suite.

The property was named after R. (Rochester) Charles (Chuck) Gatson, the founder of CBKC who grew up east of Troost and invested his career in service to the education, training and capacity building of individuals and communities in need. Gatson received numerous leadership recognitions including the James A. Johnson Fellowship from the Fannie Mae Foundation, awarded to leaders in affordable housing and community development. He died in 2014.

Straub Construction serves as general contractor. Hufft Projects is providing project design. CBKC is working with several partners to finalize the project’s capital stack.