Developer plans $30M urban-style apartment project in Plainfield

A $30 million apartment project near the Shops at Perry Crossing in Plainfield is part of a larger multi-family development push by Cityscape Residential.

The local apartment developer and construction firm plans to break ground in the spring on the 306-unit complex. The site is just south of the shopping center formerly known as Metropolis.

“There has been very limited apartment supply in the Plainfield market,” Cityscape partner Kelli Lawrence said. “We also plan to bring a product that doesn’t exist out there.”

Cityscape Residential plans to break ground on the 306-unit project in the spring. (Image courtesy SGN+A)

The development, a short walk from the Shops at Perry Crossing, will feature enclosed parking and walkways. Cityscape hopes the project will attract millennials who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in a suburban, garden-style apartment community.

The developer is ramping up expansion plans, buoyed by the recent closing on nearly $175 million in financing, led by a long-term institutional equity partner. The funding will allow it to continue expanding across the Midwest.

The financing will support four projects—three in Kansas City, Missouri, and one in Louisville.

In Kansas City, Cityscape has begun work on its 252-unit Summit on Quality Hill and 138-unit Apex on Quality Hill communities. The projects are a few blocks from downtown and overlook the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers.

Also in Kansas City, Cityscape is beginning construction on the 221-unit Crossroads Westside project, which is at the junction of the Crossroads Arts District and downtown’s historic west side.

Cityscape’s leadership has a long history of multi-family development in Kansas City.

The firm’s other partners, Jim Thomas and Brian Cranor, have worked together more than 25 years, since their days with Trammell Crow’s Midwest division. Trammel Crow built about 4,000 units in Kansas City, Lawrence said.

“When we refocused our business, Kansas City was a natural market for us to re-establish those relationships,” she said.

Thomas and Cranor started Hearthview Residential in 2000 to focus on condominium projects. After financing for condos dried up following the housing bust, the two decided to return to their roots and focus on apartments under a different company name. They founded Cityscape in 2012.

Besides Kansas City, the firm is active in Louisville and is set to launch its second project there. The 300-unit Axis Apartments will be built on nine acres in Louisville’s East Market District.

Cityscape also has started to seek zoning approval for a 261-unit apartment project on the northeast side of Louisville and has additional sites under contract in the Kansas City area.

Locally, Cityscape built 82 Flats, one of the newest and swankiest apartment complexes in the Keystone at the Crossing area.

The firm in 2013 completed the $24 million, 232-unit project north of the Clearwater Crossing shopping center at 82nd Street and Dean Road, and within walking distance of the Rivers Edge shopping center.

In 2014, Cityscape put 82 Flats on the market in hopes of taking advantage of the favorable market and to help raise capital for projects in the pipeline.

Cityscape ultimately pulled 82 Flats off the market and has decided to keep it “a little longer,” Lawrence said.

In December 2013, Cityscape sold its 402-unit Prairie Lakes in Noblesville to Chicago-based JVM Realty.