Location: Kansas City River Market
Client: KC Commercial Realty Group
Cost: Withheld
A lone vacant lot surround the historical Kansas City City Market exists at the corner of 3rd and Grand in the Kansas City River Market. The vacant lot has seen usage from a fueling station to warehouse over its 140+ year history. The proposal for this site includes a 7-story mixed-use building encompassing 94 market-rate apartments, 100 parking stalls in a concealed garage, a club room with outdoor terrace and two retail spots - one set up for restaurant.
The design of the Ashland at River Market building draws inspiration from the warehouses and office buildings that encircle the greater Kansas City downtown, River Market, and West Bottoms areas. Creating three visible forms allows the building to visually break down its scale so as to not seem overpowering given the quaint scale of the existing River Market district. A contemporary blend of materials including brick and cast stone allows the building to also blend into its surroundings, while helping to mask the 2-story parking garage behind the building.
A dynamic storefront at the retail spaces engages users as they walk past the building in this pedestrian oriented area of the City, while the adjacent streetcar stop aligns with the building entry. Additionally multiple art walls are incorporated around the street level facade of the building including a lit, protected, art wall inside the building puts featured artists on display, promoting the growing Kansas City art scene. A traditional approach and massing coupled with contemporary finishes work in harmony to create a timeless building with classic proportion in a revered part of the City. Ashland's is scheduled to be restart construction in late 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
This work was completed while at NSPJ Architects. Rendering provided courtesy of NSPJ Architects.