A location of a former hotel located off Interstate 29 and Tiffany Springs Road will have a new life following the amending the zoning of the KCI Area Plan by the Kansas City councilmen and councilwomen.
During an Aug. 30 meeting, a vote was passed that will turn 6.7 acres located at 7301 NW Tiffany Springs Road from high-density residential to commercial to allow a self-storage development.
The location most recently was Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, but it has sat abandoned for several years.
Now, U-Haul will turn the former 11-story, 130,000 square foot hotel into a self-storage unit. Work has been going on at the property throughout the summer and last month the zoning change request was submitted to the council.
Amerco Real Estate Company and Williams, Spurgeon, Kuhl & Freshnock Architects, Inc. — based in North Kansas City — submitted the application for the rezoning.
The hotel was constructed in 1973 as a Sheraton Inn and later was a Ramada Inn before switching to Howard Johnson.
Documents shows the building has extensive water damage to a deteriorated roof and removal of windows, which resulted in mold.
U-Haul bought the property earlier this year. Construction of the storage of the units will be based on market demands. Customers will unload their property and take elevators to the assigned floor and unit. The windows will remain and interior hallways will be built adjacent to the windows.
There will be a total of 15 garage doors added. The former hotel lobby will be the office for the business.
The facility will be open at 7 a.m., except for Sundays, and will close at the latest at 8 p.m. Customers will enter using a card-swipe system to access the building and their unit.
The existing parking lot will be used for leased vehicles and a display will be on the east portion of the property adjacent to NW Prairie View Road.
A revised landscaping plan for the property was requested by the city.
That isn’t the only self-storage unit that will be under construction.
In July, the council passed a rezoning request of 10.89 acres located in the southwest corner of NW Cookingham Drive and N. Congress from agriculture to business for a self-storage facility.
The seven-building project, which will have 207 storage units in the 65,700 square foot location, was submitted by Sunrise Engineering Inc. and Phil Snowden from CE-SNO-JO, LLC from Parkville.
This project is expected to accommodate a large number of recreational vehicle owners, so a dump station and wash rack will be provided near the entry, according to documents.
Other recent Northland news
Passed an ordinance to transfer property at 8508 N. Amity in Kansas City to Weatherby Lake for construction of a replacement pump station. The project is called ‘Upper Rush Creek and Weatherby Lake No. 2 pump station.’
Approved the plat for Watermark at Tiffany Springs, located at N. Ambassador Drive and west of NW Skyview Avenue for 276 multi-family united on 21.21 acres. Two lots will be used for the residential units and eight for open space and detention. The houses will be in the Park Hill School District.
The Zona Rosa Community Improvement District provided its annual fiscal year report from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018. The paperwork submitted to the council noted the total income from the CID was $124,1720. After spending $122,930.28 on bond repayment and $1,241.72 for a collection to the county, the ending balance was zero.
An amendment was given to Burns-McDonnell Engineering Co. in the amount of $311,061 for hangar apron repairs — improved runways — at KCI Airport, with the maximum expenditure at $342,167. The total contract amount is $6.97,848.43 for an ordinance originally passed in October of 2012.
In another hangar apron repair, Ideker, Inc., from St Joseph was awarded a contract of $4,737,727 with an authorized maximum of $5,211,500.
A final airport related construction project is a contract with Superior Bowen Asphalt Company, LCC for Park Air Express pavement at KCI Airport. A contract for $1,546,605 was authorized with a maximum of $1,701,256. Documents shows pavement repairs and full-depth replacement is needed within its 10 acres.