Lux Living Proposes 30-Story Skyscraper Next to Power & Light Building

Lux Living has submitted a proposal for a 30-story residential and hotel tower at the northeast corner of Wyandotte and 14th streets adjacent to the historic Power & Light Building.

The plan submitted by the St. Louis developer calls for a building that would include 300 apartments and 200 hotel rooms along with a small amount of retail space. It would include a 421-space, four-level garage.

“Lux Living is evaluating a potential high-rise development at 14th and Wyandotte,” a company spokesperson said.

“We hope to partner with the local community to activate this corner of the convention district. In the meantime, our team has submitted a preliminary design package to the city.”

The development application lists the DLR Group as the architect. The tower would devote five levels to the hotel and 15 levels to apartments.

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.

It also would remove a rubble-strewn lot at 1319 Wyandotte that was a dangerous hazard to passersby three years ago. The property drops 10-15 feet from the adjoining sidewalk and was not fenced for a month until the city acted on complaints.

The property at 1319 Wyandotte has been a blighted mess since an old garage located there was razed more than seven years ago. The adjoining parcel is currently a surface parking lot.

Lux has been active in the Kanas City urban core market for the past couple of years.

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

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.

The two properties where the new project is proposed were put on the market two years ago with a list price of $7.1 million after a previous development concept fell through.

Three years ago, an entity called Bravicci LLC floated a proposal that called for a tower on the site with 160,000 square feet of office space, 225 apartments and a 200-room hotel atop a 500-space above-grade garage.

That deal never progressed, however, and the properties are now owned by an entity called Red Oak Capital Fund II LLC that lists its offices as being in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Flatland contributor Kevin Collison is the founder of CityScene KC, an online source for downtown news and issues.