News
Release – April 5, 2007
Monarch Building and Jazz District Apartments Grand Opening
Missouri
Housing Development Commission officials joined McCormack Baron
Salazar (MBS), The Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation (JDRC)
and Kansas City elected officials to celebrate the grand opening
of three new apartment buildings in the Historic 18th
& Vine Jazz District on Thursday, April 5, 2007.
The
celebration marks the opening of the Monarch Building and two
other small apartment buildings that will bring 72 affordable
housing apartments and 32,000 square feet of storefront
commercial space. The $11.3 million development brings a total
of 78 new apartment units to the area.
The
buildings that comprise this second phase of Jazz District
Apartments are “beautiful additions toward the rebuilding of the
18th & Vine Historic Jazz District,” said Kansas City
Mayor Kay Barnes. “This is a major step toward creating a
district that operates on a 24-hour basis. “This is a great
asset to our community, providing additional residential housing
options in the urban core near museums, restaurants and
wonderful amenities.”
Missouri
Housing Development Commission provided construction financing
of almost $2.7 million and an additional $1.27 million federal
HOME loan. MHDC also approved $631,278 federal and state
Housing Tax Credits and a donation credit from the Affordable
Housing Assistance Program.
Officials attending the opening ceremonies included Pete Ramsel,
acting MHDC Executive Director; Mary Helen Murphy, MHDC Deputy
Director for Operations; and Jacob Bean, MHDC Senior
Underwriter. They joined local officials that included Mayor
Barnes, City Manager Wayne Cauthan, Councilman Troy Nash,
members of the Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation and the
Kansas City Monarchs Association.
The
Monarch Building is named in honor of the Kansas City Monarchs.
A charter member of the Negro National League in 1920, the
Kansas City Monarchs was the longest running franchise in the
Negro Leagues’ history.
The
Monarch apartments include a community room, off-street and
underground garage parking, washer and driver in each unit with
laundry facilities on-site, fully-equipped kitchens, ample
parking and some great views of the Kansas City skyline.
McCormack Baron Salazar, based in St. Louis, was the developer
while local firms completed the development team including
Straub Construction and Greenleaf Construction as general
contractors. Rosemann Associates and Moody Nolan (formerly
Group One) served as the design team for the buildings.
MBS
broke ground for this project in August 2005. The first
residents moved into the townhouses in August 2006. The first
residents began moving into the Monarch in January 2007.
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MHDC is the
state's housing finance agency. The Commission is dedicated to
strengthening communities and the lives of Missourians through
the financing, development and preservation of affordable
housing. Since 1969, MHDC has encouraged and assisted in the
production of affordable rental housing and provided
homeownership opportunities for thousands of families while
investing almost $4 billion in Missouri housing for rental
housing developments, home mortgages, home improvement loans,
loans to landlords for renovations, grants to neighborhood
housing groups and other programs. MHDC does not build or
renovate housing itself; rather, it functions as a bank,
providing financing directly to borrowers or through a network
of private lending institutions. Most of MHDC's programs operate
as a public-private partnership.
