The view from the roof of the Ambassador Apartments stretches north up Broadway to the Kauffman Performing Arts Center.
The view from the top of the historic Ambassador Apartments will soon be available again, and not just for a Caribbean dictator.
Time will tell if it attracts people like the movie stars who came before him.
Tenants next month start moving into the renovated building at 3560 Broadway designed by famed architect Nelle Peters. The view from the rooftop will once again be available, like it was when the building opened in 1925.
Back then, a rooftop garden with its view was a key feature of the eight-story building. On that day, people stood in a line three blocks long to see what was then the largest family hotel in Kansas City.
The garden area in the Spanish revival building for a time was a party place for movie stars like Kim Novak, according to historic designation documents.
But in the 1960s, the garden area was converted to a private residence for a Dominican Republican dictator who was taking military classes, according to the documents.
Glamour faded in other ways.
The Ambassador evolved into 189 small, frayed, cheap apartments and hotel rooms, said Peter Cassel, a director of the Silliman Group and of MAC Properties. The companies that have renovated and manage 26 historic buildings on Armour are almost finished converting the Ambassador into 112 modern apartments.
Large studio apartments will rent for from $587 to $799, two-bedroom units from $1,083 to $1,477 and the two penthouse apartments for about $1,700 each.
On Thursday, Cassel stood on atop the building, where three decks feature panoramic views. One north penthouse deck faces the downtown skyline.
The view looking south from the Ambassador Apartments.
Another penthouse deck looks south to the Uptown Theater and surrounding business district.
There is also a large shared deck looking north for all residents and a top-floor community party room.
Of course, there are views to the east and west, Cassel said. “Sunrise, sunset, take your pick.”
He also showed a two-bedroom apartment, with two bathrooms and large walk-in closets.
There is subway tile in the kitchen, which has an island with a sink and flows into the dining room.
Amenities include central air, parking, bike storage, dishwashers, hardwood floors, microwaves, USB outlets and quartz countertops, he said, “A very contemporary way to live.”
Where will his development company go next? There is talk of renovation along Armour Boulevard moving east of Troost, and the company owns the lot at the southwest corner of Troost and Armour.
Cassel said only that they have been intrigued by city planning efforts for Troost.
Thank you Peter Cassel and MAC Properties. When, over a 4 year period of 2004 to 2008, my partners and I purchased 3 1925-26 historic buildings on the eastside of the 3600 block of Broadway, we did so in spite of the conditions in the Ambassador Apartments, the vacant Chatham Hotel Apartments which had been declared by KCMO a dangerous building, and the the long neglected Valentine Apartments. Now, with the near at hand completion of the beautiful restoration of the Ambassador, all of the large apartment hotels have been wonderfully restored to the standards of the U.S. Department of Interior, National Historic Registry. The Hyde Park Apartments which had been renovated in the early 80’s also was completely restored recently. Not only are the buildings beautifully renovated with many modern amenities but also they provide a range of housing from market rate at the Ambassador to subsidized for the elderly and disabled at the Hyde Park and Chatham. The Valentine houses low and moderate income residents. For instance there 1 person in a one bedroom could get and apartment of $690 or less but can’t have income above $30,800. From my view it is important that there are choices that include quality housing for almost everyone.
The Uptown District on Broadway is really seeing a renaissance. With exciting new tenants like Bikram Yoga and Comedy City moving into the Uptown Shoppes next door to the south of the
Ambassador and the Broadway Jazz Club, the Uptown Arts Bar and I Pho Tower across the street, we can take pride. Note for the world, the urban core revialization is not just in Downtown and Crossroads.