The Apartments at Westport Commons, a 138-unit mixed-use development in Kansas City, Missouri, has closed its construction financing and is commencing construction.
The project is a substantial rehabilitation of the once prominent Westport High School at the northern edge of the historic Southmoreland neighborhood in Kansas City. The site was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
The development is the latest phase of the Westport Commons redevelopment plan, consisting of 15+ acres within the Midtown Kansas City area. The current project is situated on 4.86 acres and consists of a four-story mid-rise school building that has been vacant since 2010.
The project is being co-developed by Andrew Brain of Brain Group and E.F. Chip Walsh of Mercier Street for the benefit of a local ownership group. Other members of the developer group include David and Catherine Brain of Kansas City, Missouri.
Upon completion, the Apartments at Westport Commons will be a Class-A mixed-use apartment community with a clubhouse, leasing office, business center, fitness center, dog park, cinema, community rooms and concierge services.
The site was acquired in 2016 as part of the Kansas City Public Schools Repurposing Initiative, which takes an innovative and comprehensive approach to promoting the reuse of closed school sites. The school was built in three phases and the planned renovation of the original 1908 and 1964 buildings will transform the existing classroom spaces into 138 apartment units across 100,555 square feet. The 1992 annex will be repurposed to 24,000 square feet of commercial space.
The renovations are being performed in accordance with LEED standards and the project is expected to obtain a LEED Silver rating at completion. Dwight Capital is providing a $27.1 million HUD 221(d)(4) construction loan for the project as part of the overall capital stack, which is also utilizing state and federal historic tax credits. The National Trust Community Investment Trust is participating as the tax credit investor.
