|
|
by
dean hughson |
March
29, 2006 |
Soda
water building
| 
The
Vaccaro Soda Water Company building was built in 1923
and converted to business office space and unique loft-style
apartments in 2004. |
Each
of the seven residential units in the Soda Lofts is different
and features very high ceilings. |
The
second floor of the Vaccaro Soda Lofts building was where
Columbus Park families gathered for wedding receptions
like this one, circa 1930s.
Photos: Courtesy of Dan Wayne |
This
week we are interviewing Dan Wayne, owner of the Soda Lofts
on Fifth Street in the Columbus Park area. For many of us who
grew up in the area, we have fond memories of the LaSala Hall
which Dan has transformed into unique living areas.
Dan, tell us a bit about your property and its his historical
significance to Kansas City.
The Soda Lofts building was built by Joe Vaccaro in 1923, to
house his soda water manufacturing business.
Additionally, he built a second floor to serve as a reception
hall for the neighborhood community, which was mainly Italian.
He also built a partial third story, which was to be a penthouse
apartment for himself and his wife, Benita, but they never finished
it out. Instead, they lived in a very nice apartment building
next door, which has since been torn down.
LaSala, of the famous deli next door, owned the building after
Joe Vaccaro died, and put a pistol range on the third floor
and continued to use the second floor for receptions and dances.
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 2003 for its cultural significance. I bought the building
right before that from Bob Brandt, who used it for his fire
and water damage restoration business. I completed a certified
historic rehab of the building in 2004, turning the second and
third stories into lofts. The ground floor is home to two commercial
businesses, and their front offices are very similar to their
original finish.
From the renaissance of the River Market area, what
do you see as changes to the neighborhood surrounding your property?
There has been a major revitalization in Columbus Park, as well
as the River Market. Most of the old buildings are being rehabbed,
and there is quite a bit of in-fill housing being built. Additionally,
there are major plans for developing several large chunks of
land into “urban villages,” which is the current
catch-phrase for virtually all inner-city development. This
is being planned for the area comprising 22 acres adjacent and
to the north of my building, and is already underway closer
to the river front, across from Berkeley Park, where the Port
Authority is working on the infrastructure for a 55-acre development.
These areas are to be built with an emphasis on home ownership,
along with other housing, mixed-use buildings, with a density
to match the surrounding neighborhood. While they are to be
designed for convenient pedestrian use, advocates are hard at
work trying to connect the two areas to each other and the River
Market by some type of convenient mass transit, like a street
car or trolly or something of that sort. There has also been
a lot of talk about developing the area east of the civic mall,
which is directly south of here. That would help connect us
to the rest of downtown and be a nice bridge into the Crossroads
area. I am very excited about these changes, even though they
sometimes seem to be happening very slowly.
What has been your experience as a property owner/manager
in terms of the type of people coming back to downtown Kansas
City?
I’ve seen an amazing variety of people moving downtown.
Most are coming here from other cities, but there are a lot
of folks moving downtown from the suburbs. While you’ll
find a great variety in ages of people moving downtown to live
in lofts, most seem to be about 25 to 35 years old, with some
empty-nesters mixed in. The thing I love about Columbus Park,
though, is that it is not all new development – there
is a greater diversity of folks living here than in other parts
of downtown that rely almost exclusively on redeveloped property
for housing. We still have a lot of Italians living here –
I know several that are in their 90s and have lived within a
three-block radius their whole lives. There is also a big Vietnamese
population in Columbus Park, something you don’t find
in other parts of downtown.
What does the area lack in infrastructure needed to
make it a “complete destination” to live?
Well, as far as actual infrastructure, we’ve got just
about the oldest down here. We have deteriorating combination
sewers, meaning that storm drainage and wastewater are combined.
But, the city is working on that and voters recently passed
a huge bond issue to help cover the expense.
Lots of folks complain about not having a grocery store, too.
While that may be legitimate, nobody walks to the store anyway.
In Columbus Park, we’ve got a great Vietnamese market
where you can get just about anything you need. There are also
a couple more in City Market. Personally, I’d rather see
several small corner markets than a big grocery store, but I
think we’ll be getting one soon. As more folks move downtown,
more amenities will follow. We’re already seeing more
restaurants, gyms, dry cleaners, etc.
What are your thoughts on investments in the Columbus
Park neighborhood? Do you intend to expand?
I’ve been a big fan of the neighborhood for a long time
and, as I was searching for my first investment property, I
looked only in Columbus Park. To me, it was a no-brainer: the
River Market was going gang-busters (and nothing like it is
now), and its proximity to downtown and the highways and the
new Riverfront Park were very attractive. While property values
here, like other parts of downtown, have gone way up, I still
think it’s a great investment. It’s got flavor and
its own identity, something many other downtown neighborhoods
are trying to define for themselves. It’s safe and quiet.
I bought here because it’s somewhere I’d like to
live.
I have recently bought the property next door to me, which is
a very small commercial building and in poor condition. I’ll
be over-investing in it, but I want to save it, and I think
it’ll be good for the neighborhood.
Dean
Hughson is a consultant in the egg industry residing in Fountain
Hills, Ariz. with his wife, Yoly. He can be reached at deanhughson@gmail.com
or through the Northeast High School Class of 1969 Web site
at www.neclassof69.com.
