Lux Living Briefs Neighborhood on 14th & Wyandotte Hotel, Apartment Plan

By Kevin Collison

Lux Living provided fresh details of its planned hotel and apartment project at 14th and Wyandotte along with updated renderings at a briefing to the Downtown Neighborhood Association Thursday.

The project calls for a 10-story, 200-room boutique hotel to be built on a vacant, rubble-strewn lot at 1319 Wyandotte and a 20-story apartment building on a parking lot at the northeast corner of 14th and Wyandotte next to the historic Power & Light Building, according to preliminary plans filed with the city.

An earlier filing with the City Planning Department indicated one, 30-story project was being proposed, but the plan’s scale was reduced at the request of Historic KC. The adjoining landmark Power & Light Building built in 1931 is 36 stories.

“HKC finds this revised design a great improvement over the original and is an example of how the community and developers can work together for the best possible result,” Historic KC posted on its Facebook page.

In a recent interview, City Manager Brian Platt said Lux Living was working to line up community support for the project and its design with an eye toward eventually asking for incentive help.

The height of the proposed tower was reduced to complement the historic Power & Light building. (Render from DLR Group)

Joey Beim, chairman of the Downtown Neighborhood Association planning and development committee, said Lux Living is moving in the right direction as it continues to tweak the proposed development.

“Overall, we agreed the design is much improved compared to earlier renderings,” he said.

“They’re doing a much better job of not clashing with the Power & Light Building, and there’s a clear separation between the buildings and setbacks higher up in the building.”

The first floor hotel lobby would include a couple small food and beverage operations totaling about 3,300 square feet. There would be meeting rooms and a fitness center on floors two- through four; the remaining floors would be guest rooms.

The 10th floor calls for a “sky lobby” with a bar and social club. The roof top would have a pool and lounge area. The hotel also would have an underground garage with 75 spaces designated for valet parking.

The ground level of the proposed Lux tower at 14th and Wyandotte. (Rendering by DLR Group)

The 300-unit apartment building would also feature a couple of small food and beverage outlets on the first floor. Levels two through five would be used for parking with 115 spaces on each level. Access to the garage would be off 14th Street.

The roof top would be the penthouse level with several amenities for the residents. The plan also calls for using the existing alleys on the site as pedestrian walkways closed to traffic.

St. Louis-based Lux Living has been active in the Kanas City urban core market for the past couple years.

Ground floor layout of proposed apartment and hotel.

The firm is building the 215-unit Wonderland project at 19th and Broadway, and the 192-unit Katz project at Westport Road and Main.

The developer also has the rights to redevelop the 250-unit Freight House Village project at 20th and Walnut, and build a 250-unit project on the riverfront.

If the proposal were to move forward, it would rival the number of apartments in the nearby 296-unit Two Light building and the 288-unit Three Light project now under construction.

Comparison in height between proposed project and historic Power & Light Building