Neptune Apartments Sold to Price Brothers

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Highwoods Properties has sold Neptune Apartments to Overland Park developer Price Brothers for $11 million, The Kansas City Star reports. The Country Club Plaza has been at the center of public attention for some time, with the Neptune Apartments at the epicenter of an ensuing battle.

The North Carolina owner of the Plaza initially wanted to tear down Neptune Apartments in order to make way for a new eight-story office building, which was to serve as the new headquarters for the Polsinelli Shughart law firm. The plan was frowned upon by the local community, and soon a 9,000-member “Save the Plaza” movement was formed.

The group claimed the 1989 Plaza Urban Design and Development Plan protected Neptune and its residential zoning and height. In August, Polsinelli Shughart chose to step away from the conflict and picked the West Edge development as its new home. Highwoods Properties earlier this week announced it plans to dispose of “non-core” assets.

In a surprising turn of events, Highwoods has demanded the new owner to leave the apartment building unchanged, while Monte Wendler of Price Brothers has said the company plans to renovate and upgrade the apartments. In anticipation of the new project, Highwoods vacated the building a year ago, but the new owners plan to lease the units again by August.

Ed Fritsch, president and CEO of Highwoods, said in a press release that the company is “pleased to transfer ownership of this residential property to a firm that specializes in multifamily development and operations in the greater Kansas City area. Kansas City is an important market for our Company. Our 2.3 million square feet of office and retail properties are exclusively located in and around Country Club Plaza.”

Photo Courtesy of: www.pricebrotherskc.com