Catholic diocese acquires historic New York Life building in KC

Kansas City’s oldest skyscraper is about to become the headquarters of one of the city’s more enduring institutions, the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

The New York Life building opened in 1890, just 10 years after the Kansas City diocese was established. Now it has been bought by the church for $11.7 million.

It will become the new home of the church region’s administrative offices, called the chancery, and Catholic Charities — about 180 employees in all.

“We’re in it for the long duration,” said Bishop Robert Finn, head of the diocese, which has 135,000 Catholics living in 27 counties in west and northwest Missouri. “We see it as a substantive building with significant space to grow and a great value.”

The property sold Friday to the diocese by Kansas City Power & Light Co. includes the historic building at 20 W. Ninth St., an adjoining smaller office building at 850 Main St. and a 565-space garage. 

It cost $35 million in 1996 to completely renovate the structure to be the headquarters for UtiliCorp United, later renamed Aquila.

That utility fell on hard times when the Enron scandal brought down the wholesale energy trading sector, and Aquila was bought in 2007 by Great Plains Energy, KCP&L’s parent company.

The old building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, had been empty since then.

For downtown advocates, having a landmark building purchased by a prestigious institution is a marriage made in heaven.

“The New York Life building is one of the iconic office buildings in the city,” said Bill Dietrich, president and CEO of the Downtown Council.

“To have it filled with the new people and the life the diocese will bring will be a real plus for our community.”

Designed by McKim, Mead and White in the Italianate Renaissance Revival style, the New York Life building was the city’s tallest building when it opened and was the first to have elevators.

A monumental bronze eagle sculpted by Louis St. Gaudens stands watch above the main entrance.

Finn said his predecessor, Bishop Raymond Boland, endorsed the purchase, noting that its architectural style reflected the Catholic Church’s roots in Rome.

“He described the building as Italianate, and it fit the church very well,” Finn said. “He felt it was a wonderful building for an institution like ours.”

KCP&L officials also were pleased with the building’s new owner.

“It was important to us that we identified a buyer who would maintain the historical integrity and beauty of the building, and we are confident the diocese will do this,” officials said in a statement released after the sale.

Finn said the church began reviewing its real estate options about two years ago. The chancery staff had outgrown its quarters, a former mansion at 300 E. 36th St. bought in 1953, and was leasing additional space at the Gillham Plaza office building next door.

“We had a number of discussions about how it would be nice to be in one place,” he said.

About six months ago, Catholic Charities joined the discussion. The social service organization has its main office in a former school on the campus of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 1112 Broadway.

Church officials hired developer Ron Jury to aid them in their search for a new home. 

Their goals were to find a building near the cathedral with plenty of space for future growth that also would offer a strong identity for the diocese. That all but ruled out leasing space in an existing downtown building, Finn said.

“We looked at several properties, and then we became aware of the New York Life building,” he said.

 Jury said the property had been under contract to be sold by KCP&L to a janitorial firm owned by Brenda Wood. But when that deal fell through in July, it became available to the church.

“Everybody was really excited,” Jury said. “It’s a wonderful, historic building and lends itself to exactly what it will be used for.”

The church will use its own assets and a loan from U.S. Bank to buy the property.

Over time, Finn thinks the new downtown quarters should save the church money because of the efficiencies it will bring.

The 45,000-square-foot building at 850 Main St. is not needed by the church and probably will be offered for sale for $3.25 million, Jury said. The bishop said another Catholic organization had already expressed interest in buying the current chancery building.

The diocese expects to occupy about 75 percent of the New York Life building when it moves its offices next spring, Finn said. The church may rent space in the rest of the building to other tenants.

“If we found the right match, people who understand our purpose, we could be open to that,” he said.

The bulk of the property is likely to become tax exempt because it will be owned by the church, but any part leased to for-profit tenants would remain on the tax rolls.

Besides the chancery and Catholic Charities offices, the New York Life property will provide ample space and parking for adult-education classes and other gatherings. One room on the main level is large enough to accommodate 200 people, and another area will be converted to a chapel.

“This will be an opportunity to create what we’re calling a diocesan center,” Finn said.

“We’re not just creating a new chancery. Now we’ll work side by side with Catholic Charities. They do so much for the community.”

Mike Halterman, the chief executive of Catholic Charities, said the new space would allow his organization to expand its Caritas Center, “a one-stop shop to provide services to our clients.”

The bishop also is considering having part of the building renovated as his personal living quarters and creating guest rooms for out-of-town visitors.

The terra cotta and brick exterior of the building will remain unaltered, although the church does expect to have some discreet signs installed to identify its new home.

Finn also said some consideration was being made to replace the flagpole atop the structure with a cross.

“We know there are certain historic elements that need to be respected,” he said. “There is a classic quality to this building that we’re not going to outgrow.”

Kevin Harden of Gastinger Walker Harden Architects is the architect for the internal renovation work. Jury acted as the broker for the buyer. 

KCP&L was represented by Rod Jones and Bryan Johnson of Grubb & Ellis/The Winbury Group.

SIC: KCS/USA