Houston-based fund leads effort to restore KC’s iconic Garment House with $3.2M already invested
January 14, 2025 | Startland News Staff
A strategic investment in Kansas City history is expected to bring new purpose to a downtown building known locally as The Garment House — creating what developers envision as an eclectic, but contemporary experience.
Revitalization Unlimited — a fund dedicated to preserving historically significant U.S. real estate and legacy industrial businesses in local communities — recently announced its latest investment effort in Kansas City: a multimillion-dollar deal with 10 Broadway, LLC, the property owner of The Garment House, which shuttered during the pandemic.
A historic Garment House as seen in a photo dated 1950 within the Robert Askren Photograph Collection at the Kansas City Public Library
The Houston-based fund already has committed $3.2 million to the restoration with an additional $3 to $4 million allocated for renovations. The iconic building at 1000 Broadway was once a thriving hub of clothing-related businesses and key piece of Kansas City’s famed Garment District, which made KC the epicenter of fashion in the early to mid-20th Century.
(The Garment House’s most recent incarnation was billed as a “multi-level entertainment district with a speakeasy, made-from-scratch restaurant, arcade, and live music venue all under one roof.” It closed in 2020.)
Plans for the building include modern upgrades and the creation of a diverse tenant mix featuring restaurants, bars, catering services and entertainment venues. Targeted rents are projected at $20 per square foot (full service), with $1 million in tenant improvement allowances available for qualifying tenants.
Revitalization Unlimited — in collaboration with 10 Broadway, LLC and Haith & Company, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage in Overland Park — remains committed to investing in properties with strong growth potential and high returns on investment, said Dustin Webber, COO of the fund.
“This partnership demonstrates our ability to bring the capital, expertise and determination required to make timely and transformative investments,” he added.
Kansas City’s commercial real estate market presents strong growth opportunities, Webber said, noting the partners on the project are positioning The Garment House to capitalize on that upward trajectory — while adhering to Revitalization Unlimited’s steadfast commitment to safeguarding America’s historic assets and creating lasting value for investors and local neighborhoods alike.
“This project will help preserve Kansas City’s heritage while providing a vibrant, modern experience for the community,” added Josh Haith, managing principal of Haith & Company.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Frustrated by the fit, this traveler-turned-swimwear founder crafted 10 pairs himself; now his trunk show is going global
Opening a popup swimwear store in one of Atlanta’s most upscale malls represented a surge of momentum for Tristan Davis’ high-end brand that began not on a beach or a runway, but in Kansas City’s tight-knit startup community. “We’ve gone from an idea in a handmade bathing suit to a high fashion mall in less…
Harvesting opportunity: How a KC chicken chain turned a strip of parking lot into its latest ingredient
Months before snow blanketed Kansas City this week, Todd Johnson transformed a weed-filled, unusable portion of parking lot at his Lenexa restaurant into a flourishing garden that serves up fresh produce used in kitchens at all three of his Strips Chicken and Brewing locations in Johnson County. In its first season, Moonglow Gardens — as…
AI evolved faster than rules to protect people; this founder wants to code ethics back into the tech
Amber Stewart sees what many overlook in artificial intelligence, she said: the human cost of unregulated technology that can manifest as anything from sexist and racist outcomes to outright theft from willing and unwilling members of the public. “I’m not afraid of the tech,” said Stewart, founder and CEO of GuardianSync. “I’m afraid of unfettered…
A romantic hideaway (for you and a book): Entrepreneur’s heart for reading opens store on Independence Square
America Fontenot didn’t plan to launch her new Independence bookstore on national Small Business Saturday — the busiest shopping weekend of the year — but renovation delays just kept pushing back the opening, she said. So while many small shops were offering Black Friday-adjacent deals to get customers in the front door, Fontenot’s The Littlest…