Exclusive: See SomeraRoad's West Bottoms projects from the top floor
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Going up. Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
SomeraRoad's 21-acre West Bottoms master plan is so big, it's hard to wrap your head around — unless you're literally looking at it from the top of the Moline Plow Company building.
Why it matters: The underinvested area is poised to become a hub of activity, with projects set to inject new residents, shops and an outdoor public space into the neighborhood by spring.
Driving the news: Axios Kansas City toured the Moline building at 11th and Mulberry with SomeraRoad's vice president of development, Grant Hromas, as the top three floors near completion.
State of play: The Moline building's 121 apartments are the first batch of more than 1,200 units planned over 10-15 years of mixed-use redevelopment estimated at $527 million.
- Developers punched out the middle of the building for more natural light and kept vintage details, like original pressed metal ceilings, brick and wainscoting.
- Ground-floor retail and resident amenity spaces are still a mess, but local fashion brand Blackbird Collection is already planning a move from Southwest Boulevard.
- Other retailers include a yet-to-be-announced local bagel shop and a new New York-based restaurant called Two Hands.
Catch up quick: Details about the ambitious West Bottoms redevelopment emerged in 2022. Plans were approved in 2023, and the city pledged $46 million in public funding toward infrastructure upgrades in 2024.
- The Weld Wheel building was demolished that year to make way for new apartments.
- Hromas says up to 70% of the construction work so far has been underground as crews install new utilities and dig up history, including undocumented railway lines and buried concrete foundations.
Zoom in: The Moline building is just one piece of Phase 1, which includes a park called The Depot at 11th and Santa Fe. The gathering space will feature an ice cream kiosk run by French Custard, a turf area and landscaping.
- New streets surrounding the area will be a major upgrade from the West Bottoms' typical pockmarked roads. It already felt more walkable, with curbless streets, planters and bollards capable of shutting down traffic.
- The park area is bookended to the north and south by empty buildings that will become office space and a boutique hotel, completing a "live, work, play" trifecta that SomeraRoad is betting will draw people around the clock.
Phase 2 west of the Moline building will include more residential and a parking structure, although the land will become a surface lot in the meantime.
- The phases are more about areas, less about timelines, as projects will finish at different times.
What they're saying: Hromas says they want this area to go from "occasional destination" to "everyday place," bringing in mostly local retail businesses with some national brands.
- "There's always risk involved," Hromas says about filling the office space, but he added there's been serious interest and tours from potential tenants now that "you're seeing the visible progress."
What's next: Hromas expects the streets will be finished by the end of the year, along with most of the work in the Moline building. He aims to have residents moving in by March 1, and the park done by the spring.