Developer in $33-Mil Plan for Historic Freight House District

KANSAS CITY, MO-Once again, a developer with a plan for the Freight House District has gained approval for Tax Increment Financing, and yet another old warehouse will take on new life in the heart of the city.

Mike Rainen, owner of Rainen Cos., Inc., is converting the huge H.D. Lee building at 117 W. 20th St. Plans call for the nine-story, 220,000-sf structure to become a mixed-use building, with offices and stores on the lower floors and loft apartments on floors four through nine. Estimated costs for the renovation are about $33 million.

“We feel that this is the best building between Downtown and Crown Center,” says Rainen, who has owned the building for five years. “It has historic significance and will be revitalized with current, high-tech amenities.”

The 75 residential lofts will average 1,450 sf in size. Rental rates will be determined when the project is complete. Rainen says he has already signed two leases for office space. He plans to use much of the $7.1 million TIF money to construct a 330-space parking lot to the south.

ASAI Architects are working on the design, but a construction firm has not yet been selected. Work should begin this spring and be completed in two years.