Freight district may get bit of Italian flair
Kansas City Business Journal - by Jim Davis Staff Writer
A critically acclaimed, cutting-edge New York restaurant operator is leading a group that's aiming to rehabilitate the now-vacant Freight House Building on 22nd Street in Kansas City, continuing the district's renaissance into a trendy spot for artists and urban enthusiasts.
"We're committed to providing the spark that makes redevelopment of the whole neighborhood possible," said Dave Wagner, the group's Overland Park-based managing partner. "But it all comes back to the TIF."
The group wants to present its proposal to the Tax Increment Financing Commission of Kansas City in January, said its attorney, Michael T. White, with Polsinelli White Vardeman & Shalton.
The group expects to seek $3.5 million in tax increment financing to support its project, whose total cost is estimated at $7 million. The development is projected to generate annual revenues of $15 million to $16 million and employ about 300 people when completed in three to five years.
TIF earmarks some taxes generated by a development to help finance its construction. In this case, it would pay for parking lots, improvements to the district's narrow streets and other infrastructure upgrades in the area immediately north of Union Station, which looks much as it did around the turn of the century, when its looming, brick-clad structures were built.
Also planned is a pedestrian bridge that would transverse the railroad tracks and connect the building with Union Station, whose Science City is to open in about two years.
Italian flavor
This work would prepare the 22,000-square-foot Freight House to accommodate several restaurants. The first, to open in September 1998, would feature northern Italian cuisine prepared by Lidia Bastianich, whose family runs three restaurants in New York. Their fans include critics at The New York Times and Wine Spectator magazine.
Bastianich and her husband, Felice, in 1981 opened Felidia, which features northern Italian cuisine, in an old brownstone building on the east side of midtown Manhattan. Since then, she and her son Joseph have added two more innovative Italian restaurants, Becco and Frico. Lidia and Joseph plan to run the restaurant in Kansas City.
Wagner, a 31-year-old Overland Park native, became acquainted with the Bastianich family while he was working in New York. He convinced them that Kansas City was ripe for their concept. When the Bastianiches first came to Kansas City, Wagner said, they were drawn to the booming 119th Street corridor in Johnson County.
"But after further defining our market, it became evident the suburban markets were not where we needed to be," Wagner said.
After surveying the Plaza and other parts of the urban core, Wagner got a call to look at the Freight House Building.
"It was a revelation," he said. "There is so much potential."
The surrounding area, whose industrial buildings are filling with art galleries and other artistic ventures, is on the verge of becoming a destination for people from throughout the metropolitan area, Wagner said.
"Lidia is not just a restaurateur," he said. "She's looking to use her craft to build and strengthen a community. That's exactly the opportunity that the Freight House offered."
Second go-around
The anticipated TIF application would be the second requested for the district. Last year, a group led by Wichita developer Rich Vliet dropped its pursuit after running afoul of neighboring property owners who claimed the redevelopment would destroy the area's historic character.
This time, the plan has solid support.
"It's a sensational idea," said Tom Levitt, whose family has owned property in the district for almost a half century.
"Kansas City is fortunate to have such an innovative and acclaimed restaurateur pick Kansas City as its first commitment outside New York City," Levitt said. "I think it will create one more unique regional destination in the Freight House District."
Scott Francis, who owns the Marietta Chair Building, across the street from the Freight House, said the proposed restaurant would provide an attraction to complement the surrounding art district.
Francis also is seeking a separate property tax abatement to redevelop his building, which has housed occasional art shows. If the pursuit succeeds, Francis said, he wants to put a cafe and art gallery on the building's ground floor and commercial office space on the upper floors. Architects, designers and other creative types are likely tenants.
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