Kansas City plans apartment complex with low energy use

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A 276-unit apartment complex planned for the Missouri riverfront north of Kansas City's downtown will offer large reductions in energy use while being able to withstand all types of severe weather, proponents said.

The $60 million complex, called Second and Delaware, will be the largest U.S. multifamily apartment complex using construction certified by the Passive House Institute.

That includes 16-inch-thick walls that sandwich insulation between concrete panels, a well-insulated building "envelope" and an energy-recovery ventilation system that reduces heating and cooling needs by about 90 percent from comparable-sized apartments.

Excavation is scheduled to begin next month. If all goes as planned, tenants could begin moving in by February 2017.

Jonathan Arnold, lead developer, said he's committed to "build one project to embrace all the best practices of sustainable development, urban design and cost-effective construction." He was appointed in 2011 to be part of a United Nations effort that scouted the world to find housing solutions "that can be implemented, are ready to scale and are financially feasible."

Similar projects exist in Europe. Ashok Gupta with the Natural Resources Defense Council predicts the complex will bring national attention to Kansas City, "much like Google Fiber did when it came to Kansas City first. People will talk about it, show it off. It will be the first of a kind in the country in terms of bringing this passive technology to large apartment building."

Planners say the concrete walls are so durable, the project could last for 200 years.

Arnold said his main goal is to build a "walkable neighborhood" that embraces "all the best practices of sustainable development, urban design and cost-effective construction."

The development also uses an unusual process called "target value design," which requires the development team to be in planning meetings from the beginning.

Arnold said the complex will be built by a team that "started with the last step -- the finish of an apartment unit -- then worked backward to ensure that the people who are going to be building the building are developing the schedule, then staffing the project so work never stops to wait for a subcontractor."

Arnold said he would like to eventually introduce a financing plan that will allow renters an option to build equity, instead of just paying rent, by purchasing shares in a real estate investment trust.

Another aspect of the complex is that one-fifth of the apartments will be allocated for qualified renters who earn half of the average median income in the Kansas City area.