For the last 13 years, nobody could live at the stately and historic Hawthorn Plaza building at 39th and Main streets in Midtown Kansas City.

A $50 million redevelopment project figures to change that.

A proposal by developers Caleb Buland and Ilan Salzberg would turn the Hawthorn building, as well as the Monarch building immediately to the north, into 144 apartments, some renting for as low as $577 a month.

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Buland, an architect for Exact Architects, is renaming the Hawthorn into the Netherland, a reference to the Netherland Hotel that originally opened the building.

The plan got a boost on Thursday when the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, an agency that grants tax breaks for developments, approved a 25-year property tax abatement for Buland's project. The PIEA agreed to abate 75 percent of the project area's property taxes for 10 years and then 37.5 percent for the following 15 years, which is less than the full abatement that the PIEA can award.

Buland's plan is a promising prospect for a prominent but underdeveloped street corner in Midtown. The Hawthorn's vacancy is a key reason for the mixed fortunes near the intersection of 39th and Main streets.

"You kind of forget without looking at it what an eyesore it is," said David Macoubrie, executive director of the PIEA. "The city has tried literally for a decade to do something for this crucial intersection."

The Hawthorn was last in use as a Section 8 housing project.

Various plans to redevelop the historic property have some and gone without much progress.

In the new incarnation, rents range from $577 for a studio unit to $1,350 for two-bedroom apartment.

Bob Mayer, a consultant with MR Capital Advisors who is working with Buland, said the lower-end rent rates would be affordable.

"This is truly a worker bee area, and the rents reflect that," Mayer said.

The initial $34 million phase of the redevelopment will turn the Netherland and Monarch buildings into apartments with some ground-level retail. Buland said he hopes to start construction in the second quarter of this year and the project has a 14 month construction timeline.

A second $15 million phase would build tiered parking and either a hotel or senior housing at what is now a surface lot adjacent to the Monarch and Netherland. The surface lot is the former site of the Naughty But Nice adult bookstore.





Mayer said the planned extension of the streetcar, which would have a stop near Buland's project, to the University of Missouri-Kansas City was a reason Buland jumped at the opportunity.

"We think the rents make a lot of sense and the streetcar will move people up and down," Mayer said.