SDA 2022 Entries

• Commercial Building - Buildings that are used for commercial purposes, and include retail, hospitality, workplaces, factories and warehouses and buildings where commercial services are provided. At least 50 percent of the buildings’ floor space will be used for commercial activities. 

In the heart of an original American City sits an entirely original mixed-use project: City Club Apartments Crossroads in Kansas City, Missouri. Located at the corner of Main and 20th in Kansas City’s iconic Crossroads neighborhood, this remarkable property incorporates a historic 7-story hotel conversion along with complementary retail and restaurant amenities.

The project seamlessly blends an international design aesthetic combined with local artwork and photography, resort-class amenities and a staggering array of lifestyle elements, premium services, and unique environments to create a residential and mixed-use destination unlike anything else in the region.

Located along the Kansas City Streetcar mass transit route, Crossroads includes 283 apartments, duplexes, townhouses, penthouses, and furnished apartments, available through a unique Apartment Hotel, Experiential Living model. Fully customizable units come with 50 distinct floor plans and unique details like balconies, terraces, bay windows, and soaring 9 to 20-foot ceilings. Construction began on the $76 million project in 2018, and Crossroads formally opened its doors to new residents in October 2020.

Those residents have access to a breathtaking suite of high-end amenities. In addition to familiar extras like a business center, conference room, and fiber-wired connectivity with Wifi hotspots, Crossroads offers a long list of premium services and amenities, headlined by true 24/7 concierge service. Residents can also enjoy underground garage parking with space for 300 vehicles, indoor bicycle storage, a gourmet kitchen, an indoor/outdoor entertainment club space, landscaped terraces in the Terrace Club—complete with hammocks, loungers, dining and communal seating options—separate indoor and outdoor theater and events spaces, a wellness room, a rooftop SkyPark with a heated outdoor pool, a sauna and hot tub, a “beach” area with sun loungers and cabanas, a gaming area and fire pit alley, an outdoor kitchen, yoga space, a Zen Garden, and a pet-friendly “Bark Park.” Crossroads’ second floor entertainment clubroom includes the aforementioned theater and gourmet kitchen and opens out onto the elevated outdoor courtyard area of the Terrace Club.

Crossroads’ boutique hotel style-lobby library includes an engaging and comfortable lounge space, the business and conference center, and access to a DGX Market: a space designed to provide residents and members of the surrounding community with an affordable retail option in a compact modern retail format. The store offers a curated assortment of grab-and-go salads and sandwiches, fresh fruits and vegetables, home cleaning supplies, an expanded selection of health and beauty products, home décor, electronics, seasonal products, pet supplies, candies and snacks, paper products and a coffee station. An attached 6,000-square-foot space includes an approximately 2,000-square-foot wine bar and 4,000 square feet for a classic diner-concept 50-seat restaurant with a hearth-style kitchen and a private dining room that can accommodate 15-20 guests. Outdoor seating is available on a 2,400-square-foot outdoor patio.

For all of its amenities, what elevates Crossroads from quality project to an eye-catching icon is its extraordinary design features and one-of-a-kind visual and experiential identity. The finished project retains signature historic features from the building’s Midwest Hotel origins while incorporating subtle Art Deco elements and modern design touches that infuse the property with a unique aesthetic: a throwback vibe animated with eclectic contemporary flair. The result is a project that simultaneously fits in and stands out in the Crossroads arts district: a neighborhood that has long been Kansas City’s cultural and artistic hub. It is a testament to the vibrant artistry and unique design of the project that Crossroads, even while surrounded by dynamic new and historic architecture, art galleries, boutique retailers, and James Beard Award-winning restaurants, has immediately become a signature property.

There is no better symbol of Crossroads’ status in the community than the spectacular one-of-a-kind mural spanning the project’s exterior: a 60’x70’ piece by Chicago muralist Mauricio Ramirez that animates a highly visible span of one of the most prominent spaces in this iconic Kansas City neighborhood. City Club Apartments has long prioritized public art and community engagement, and this mural is not just a local landmark, but a source of civic pride.

Walkability. Artistry. Technology. Sustainability. Community. Along with a breathtakingly bold design palette and immersive lifestyle elements. It’s not surprising that Crossroads has turned heads and made headlines, and it is clear that the project is richly deserving of recognition as an ambitious and skillfully executed example of a standout modern residential and mixed-use environment. Here in Kansas City, a city with a rich and storied cultural tradition and a longstanding commitment to the arts and architecture, Crossroads represents a new archetype: a model for future downtown residential development.

Crossroads diverse construction materials were strategically selected to create the appearance of multiple buildings. Given the eclectic and historic character and scale of the neighborhood, the decision was made to break the elevation into three distinct architectural elements that get repeated and rotated along the project. The first consists of metal paneling in an abstract chessboard pattern with a yellow color gradation. The second uses aluminum siding with a simulated pine finish. The third is a composition of fiber cement panels in white and dark shades of gray. Connecting all three elements is a masonry base, composed of dark and light gray brick. Additionally, to highlight the main entry point of the structure located on the existing terracotta frontage of the historic hotel building, City Club developed a dynamic entrance sequence using an undulating channel glass system. The central elliptical column is rotated at 45 degrees for dramatic effect and clad in colorful patchwork tile. This, in turn, anchors the asymmetrically-supported entry canopy.

City Club Apartments is committed to building green and creating environments that promote and facilitate a sustainable lifestyle—both as part of a broader social responsibility mindset and also as a way to reduce utilities costs for residents. Crossroads has achieved NAHB Green Building Standard Bronze certification through the Home Innovations Lab.

The inclusion of a wellness room, yoga space, and a Zen Garden will enable residents to seek out and realize opportunities to achieve mindfulness and meditation. To that end, Crossroads is currently pursuing Fitwel certification, in keeping with its commitment to promoting environments and lifestyle elements that promote holistic health and wellness: spaces, places and activities that enrich both the mind and body.

Finally, the building is also Clean Rated, which includes a regular 114-point checklist on social distancing, intensive cleaning methods and medical health reporting.

City Club Apartments has five guiding principles that shape its development philosophy: customer centric; design driven; unparalleled amenities; green and social responsibility; and leading technology. Needless to say, ticking all of those boxes, while simultaneously creating signature residential and mixed-use environments, is not always an easy task.

There are always conflicting priorities and logistical, civic, and structural obstacles that must be overcome. In the case of Crossroads, the mission was to create a high-end residential environment, while also honoring City Club Apartments foundational commitment to social responsibility. With that in mind, Crossroads set aside 10% of its residential spaces includes (29 apartments) as affordable housing at 80% AMI.

Additionally, Crossroads overcame a number of aesthetic, functional and design challenges to seamlessly integrate the character and structure of a historic hotel property into a dynamic new space: layering both old and new with international design elements to create a one-of-a-kind mixed-use destination where residents can live, work and play.

The urban American Midwest has traditionally been a place of steel-and-stone: cities founded on or around warehouses, stockyards, and ironworks. It’s a region that celebrates its working-class traditions and embraces its gritty industrial identity, while also taking pride in the Jazz notes that have symbolized some of the world’s most innovative and inspiring musical and cultural movements.

Crossroads is a residential and mixed-use environment that honors those roots while delivering a thrilling updated vision for the future. Crossroads both integrates and elevates those unique characteristics of culture and community, infusing arts and artistry in new and exciting ways.