Two Major Projects, Some Trouble in Kansas City

Both projects are designed by Moshe Safdie, but one, a mixed use office project has been sold off before completion due to the troubled economy.

"On August 28, the half-completed project sold at auction for $10 million. That bid, as has been the history of this project, fell apart on October 12, and the second bid from the previous owner and original proponent of a mixed-use development secured the property for $9.5 million.

A casualty of the recession, the West Edge development has been hampered by delays, cost overruns, and the bankruptcy filing of its initial developer. Its new owner, Cecil Van Tuyl, has yet to confirm if the hotel, office, and retail complex will be completed with the same composition or the same architect. 'This was a custom-designed office building like a made-to-measure suit. It is unfortunate that those who the building was designed for are not going to be benefiting from the fruits of their labor,' Safdie told AN."