Grand Center Inc., moving offices; hotel in the works - Kansas City Business Journal:

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A partnership led by Grand Center Chairman Ken Kranzberv and Greenberg Van Doren Gallery owner Ron Greenberg closed March 3 on the purchase of the Contemporary Arts Building at 3526Washington Ave. They bought the building and an adjacent parking lotfor $850,000 from musi c distributor MMB Music, which relocated its offices to south St. Loui County in 2008. The 14,000-square-foot, two-storyu building will serve as the new home for Grand Center’s 15 employees. Renovation and moving costs willtotakl $400,000, according to Ken Christian, directoe of real estate development for Grand and the nonprofit will ultimately buy its spaced from the Kranzberg and Greenberyg partnership.
A general contractor has not yetbeen “We are going to be occupying the seconcd floor, and the firsty floor will be renovated into retail space,” Christiajn said. Grand Center is in talks with St. Louis-baser commercial real estate firm to serve as leasing agenr forthe 7,000 square feet of first-floor space, but a deal has not yet been Grand Center will move in June from a city-ownede building at 634 N. Grand Ave. that will be converted to a 120-room hotel, as well as 20 to 30 apartmentssand ground-floor retail. Christian said a deal is in the worksx with a developer and a hotel operator but financing has not yetbeen finalized.
In February, several developers responded to a request for qualificationas to buy and rehavbthe 12-story, 150,000-square-foot Old Missourui Theater Building at 634 N. Grand Ave. in a projec that’s estimated to cost $35 million. The buildintg is located on the east sideof Grand, a blocki south of Powell Symphonh Hall. The city’s health and social services department are headquartered there and are in the process of The developer of the634 N. Granxd building and the hotel flag that will fly there have not yet been but Hyatt Place could resum plans to open a hote inGrand Center. A 125-room Hyatt Place was slated to open this year at the Metropolitanb Building at500 N. Grand Ave.
, but thosee plans stalled whenthe developer, , shut down operationw last April. A Hyatt Placee spokesperson said no informationj was available bypress time. Hotel analystr Gary Andreas of St. Louis-basexd H&H Consulting said demand for hotep space would be driven bythe 4,500-seat one block away and nearbyh . “SLU draws good demancd despite the downturn in the as parents visitthe campus,” Andreass said. “I wouldn’t put 500 roomse there, but 100 to 150 rooms at the righty price, there’s significant demand for a four-star hotel.
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