Developer says new apartments symbolize Midtown rebirth

untitled-(4-of-31)Developer John Hoffman announced the official opening of a new apartment building at 37th and Gillham today, declaring it the first new multi-family housing project in Old Hyde Park in over 40 years.

The new Gillham Park Row apartments at 37th and Gillham Road advance Midtown and move rebirth closer to Troost Avenue and beyond, developer John Hoffman said at a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Developer John Hoffman.

Developer John Hoffman.

He and co-developer Lance Carlton, whose work includes home renovations in Longfellow and Beacon Hill, bought a vacant lot on Gillham and a crumbling house next door.

They built the 23 apartments – 10 of them already rented – and renovated the 1897 house and sold it today, they said.

The Old Hyde Park neighborhood board had expressed concerns about the design of the building. President Marty Phillips told the Kansas City Star last year he wanted the design to more closely resemble other early 20th century apartments in the area.

Councilwoman Jan Marcason praised the developers for working with the neighborhood and with city officials throughout the project, which won an architecture award.

The vacant lot had replaced the Outrigger apartments, demolished in 2011, known for drug dealing.  The lot had more than a $1 million in liens against it, developers said, making for a difficult project.

As for the previous structure, Marcason said, “not only was it a drug house but it was god-awful ugly.”

Councilman Jim Glover praised the developers and called their work “a good example of the vibrancy of Midtown.”

Hoffman said, “This building is just a representation of what the future of Midtown is all about.”

He said he and Carlton are also working on a similar apartment complex at 63rd and Holmes streets and on a new hotel at 24th and Troost.

And the developers want to move east.

“If we can develop Troost,” Hoffman said, “we can develop the whole east side.”

3 Comments

  1. Martha Dunalewicz says:

    Can we clone these guys?

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