Hendrickson and Klinkenberg to develop townhouses

Brian Hendrickson and Kevin Klinkenberg are planning to develop 12 townhouses, two duplexes, and two single-family detached houses on a one-acre site in the Longfellow neighborhood just south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Hendrickson and Klinkenberg, principals in 180 Degree Design Studio, conducted a charrette to help the land owner, the Longfellow Community Association, agree on a plan for the vacant parcel, where dilapidated apartment buildings were razed several years ago. “We’ve got an opportunity to build real quality in the neighborhood,” said Association President Paul Scott. The 18 for-sale dwellings would achieve a density approximately double that of the surrounding blocks, but would be designed to complement the historical housing stock, much of it three-story dwellings built from the 1890s to the 1920s. Some neighbors initially hoped to see just four or five large detached houses built on the site. Hendrickson and Klinkenberg persuaded them that townhouses, along with a small number of one- and two-family dwellings, would be much more economically feasible. Prices are expected to range from about $150,000 for the least expensive townhouse to $270,000 for a single-family dwelling. The neighborhood has experienced problems with crime and spotty maintenance over the years, but recently has been on the upswing. Because a publisher’s warehouse was built next to part of the property about 10 years ago, some of the townhouses are to be clustered around a courtyard, for a more pleasant view. The architects consulted with the neighborhood group over a three-year period. “Howls of ‘when can you start?’ were heard at the final presentations,” Klinkenberg says. The project is Hendrickson and Klinkenberg’s first foray as developers. Approvals are yet to be obtained from the city.