Waldo Astoria – Unique New Event & Guest House Venue in Waldo

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The Waldo Astoria…does that name sound familiar? Longtime Waldo residents may remember the dinner playhouse at 73rd and Washington, which originally opened around 1924 as the Waldo Theater. That building is long gone…but the name, Waldo Astoria, now refers to a new event space in Waldo.

The newly opened Waldo Astoria is different: it’s an event space, it’s an overnight guest house; it can be a live music venue; it can be a special private retreat space; there are so many possibilities! So let’s dive in and learn about this new spot you may be visiting sometime soon.

Owners Traci and George Ismert, along with partner Joe Hendrickson, have operated businesses along the short block of W. 80th Terrace for several years. The Ismerts renovate and build homes through their company Old Glory Neighborhood Improvement Company, Inc, and Joe operates Hendrickson Tree Care Company. Formerly a airplane parts business, the building across the street from them came up for sale and the Ismerts decided to purchase it. After a full renovation with Joe’s help, they decided to operate it as a multipurpose venue. Honoring part of Waldo’s history, they named their new venture the Waldo Astoria.

Traci and Joe Ismert, left and Joe Hendrickson

The renovated building is divided into two distinct areas. The front part is similar to a house, with a living room, dining room, full kitchen and sleeping accommodations for up to 16 people. Head downstairs to the back of the property and find a large, open space featuring a long bar, high ceilings, and a double garage door that opens to a fenced yard with a concrete pad for a live band. This space can host up to 100 guests, depending on the room set up. And if you book this space for a private event, you can choose your own licensed caterer and bring in alcohol for serving. There is plenty of free parking outside. You can rent just the guest house or the event area; they will not book two different parties at the same time in the different spaces.

Waldo Astoria would be a perfect spot for a wedding, graduation party, family reunion, corporate retreat, holiday party, seminar — so many possibilities! The Ismerts and and Joe are also hosting events open to the public-the next one is a live music event on June 30, a benefit for the Veterans Community Project.

Be sure to follow their Instagram page for updates. If you would like a tour of Waldo Astoria, contact them through their website.

Armour Hills Home Sales Report-April 2024

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Although when I check Armour Hills sales stats, it is a smaller group of homes than Brookside as a whole; about 900 homes in the subdivision. But it is a highly desirable area for many reasons, and sometimes buyers go way, way over list price to live here. And that affects all of Brookside. You’ll see in this report:

APRIL 2024APRIL 2023
Median list price:$445,000$427,000
Median sales price:$515,000$430,000
Days on market:24
No. of homes sold:76

Compared to last April, prices rose almost 20%! And buyers were paying well over asking price, median was 15.7%. Just seven homes closed, but note: one home sold $50K over asking price; a second sale was $70K over asking price and the 3rd was $40K over asking price. When buyers drive up prices so drastically, it really skewers the comparable homes for pricing and in turn, drive prices much higher than normal. The lowest closed price was $660,000 and the lowest was $430.

Here are the year-to-date numbers:

JAN-APRIL 2024JAN-APRIL 2023
Median list price:$445,000$385,000
Median sales price:$475,000$405,000
Days on market:36
No. of homes sold:1917

Home values are running 17% higher than last year in Armour Hills; about the same number of homes are changing ownership and homes still sell in under a week. Currently there are three homes listed in Armour Hills, with a median price of $489,000 and 12 days on market.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Waldo Home Sales Report-April 2024

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One more quick blog before the long holiday weekend..the unofficial start of summer! The busy home buying season is here–new listings are selling fast. Here are the single family home sales stats for Waldo, using the boundaries of State Line to Holmes and Gregory to 85th St:

APRIL 2024APRIL 2023
Median list price:$299,900$267,500
Median sales price:$310,000$278,750
No. of homes sold:1922
Days on market:34

Buyers still paying over the list price; and values are up 13% compared to April 2023. The lowest closed price was $260,000 and the highest was $315,000. Below are the year-to-date numbers:

JAN-APRIL 2024JAN-APRIL 2023
Median list price:$295,000$275,000
Median sales price:$299,000$275,000
No. of homes sold:7169
Days on market:39

The number of homes changing owners is pretty steady; homes are going under contract within a couple of days being listed. Prices are up 8.7% for the year.

There are currently 14 homes for sale in Waldo, including three newly built properties. The lowest asking price is $230,000 and the highest is $679,000. Enjoy the holiday!

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Brookside Home Sales Report-April 2024

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Smell the fresh cut grass, admire the colorful flowers, sleep with the windows open and a cool breeze at night…Spring is here in Brookside! For Sale signs are stuck in front yards, advertising homes on the market. Let’s take a look at the April sales stats for single family homes in Brookside:

APRIL 2024APRIL 2023
Median list price:$497.250$519,000
Median sales price:$523,000$516,000
Days on market:23
No. of homes sold:2217

Most buyers paid over the list price by about 5%; a few more contracts closed and prices were up a modest 1.3% compared to April 2023. The lowest closed price was $300K and the highest was $1,050,000. Here are the year-to-date numbers:

JAN-APRIL 2024JAN-APRIL 2023
Median list price:$499,950$550,000
Median sales price:$517,500$537,250
Days on market:37
No. of homes sold:6662

Here we see something unusual; prices were down 3.6% YTD over 2023; yet most buyers paying over list price. A few more homes changed owners this year. Currently there are 19 homes listings in Brookside with a median asking price of…..$920,000!! Most homes are priced over $500K, including 7 homes over a million. The lowest priced home is $450,000 and the highest is $8.5 million.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

New Arts Center for Kids Opens in Brookside

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Encouraging children to discover and explore their interest in arts and music is a priority for many parents. Here in Brookside, there is a new locally owned business that can help–HeartBeat Studio.

Christi Coffey

Founder Christi Coffey offers year round classes at her central Brookside space, including special summer camps. There’s a music room for guitar, piano and voice lessons; a large space for dance and theater classes and an art room for working with clay, fiber and print making. All of the summer camps are themed–including one on Taylor Swift, of course! Year round classes are offered for ages 1-18; the six week summer camps are geared toward ages 4-13. In addition, Christi hosts the “Kid’s ARTventure Night” on the first Friday of each month. For $35, you can drop off your youngster at 5:30pm and come back at 9:30 for pick up…and enjoy an evening to yourself! HeartBeat Studio hosts birthday parties too.

Christi has a BFA in musical theater from SE Missouri State and has been teaching in the arts for twelve years. She worked at the Coterie Theater, the Jewish Community Center and KCYA. During the pandemic, she purchased a Tippi Toes franchise which she still owns. “I love teaching” says Christi, ” and childhood is the most important time in life to explore the arts. I love to see a shy kid blossom and gain confidence through classes–art can help a child grow emotionally”. Brookside was her preferred location for the new business as she saw a real need. “There are so many families in the area, wanting this type of service”. I think this is especially true for summer camps as most families have two working parents. Christi doesn’t have much free time but when she can relax, she enjoys her backyard ducks and tending her large vegetable/fruit garden in Hyde Park.

Heartbeat Studio dance room

HeartBeat Studio is located at 6314 Brookside Plaza, next to Jalapeno’s.

Bryant School Proposed for Teacher Housing

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Last month I attending a public meeting at Hale Cook Elementary, hosted by the Kansas City Public Schools.  KCPS is proposing turning the former Bryant School into housing for teachers. Bryant was built 1915-1938 on just over four acres of land at 319 Westover, and has been vacant since 2009.  Whatever happens to this property, it will affect home values and the immediate neighborhood.  As a Realtor, I wanted to find out more about the plans….and share them with you!

Jesse Lang and Shannon Jaxx, who both work in “repurposing” closed schools for the district, moderated the event; Superintendent Dr Jennifer Collier kicked it off by talking about increased enrollment in the district schools and the recent hike in teacher salaries.  When KCPS conducted a survey of first year teachers, one of the questions was about housing. The survey indicated teachers are having trouble finding affordable housing and would prefer rents of $800-$1000 per month close to the schools they work in.  KCPS feels converting Bryant to teacher housing would help some of these staff people. Several school districts around the country have built apartments specifically for teachers; California is “leading the way”, also Chicago and Newark.  Locally, the Guadeloupe Center recently broke ground on a 50 unit apartment complex near their elementary school.

Bryant Elementary School, 319 Westover

In addition to the proposed renovation of Bryant, Dr Collier talked in detail about the $650 million in deferred maintenance of the district’s current schools, which they hope to address via COP Bonds and a spring 2025 General Obligation (GO) Bond, which would require voter approval. These measures would not fund the Bryant project.

Approximately 50 persons were present at the meeting and overall, there didn’t seem to be any strong objections to the teacher housing proposal.  I jotted down several notes and have summarized the information in quick bullet points below.  You can also find slides from the presentation here.

*The land Bryant sits on is divided into four tracks, currently zoned for single family or school use.  KCPS would need to have the neighborhood “restrictive covenants” changed to allow the apartments.  KCPS will also apply to have Bryant on the National Register of Historic Places to qualify for tax credits. 

*Approximately 27-40 units would be built, with the possibility of a few single family homes (at market sale rate) on the eastern track.

*No projected cost was mentioned for the project.  Several for profit and nonprofit developers have expressed interest in submitting a proposal.  Philanthropic support will be needed to keep rents below market value. KCPS needs to decide if the land would be a long term lease or sale to the developer.

*Other alternatives for this property are:  demolish the building and KCPS keeps the site as a vacant lot; or sell it to a developer for new, market rate single family homes.

*It was also mentioned that KCPS is “evaluating” the current Southwest High School building for a third middle school location. It is not being considered for teacher housing.

The next steps are this:  over the next several months, KCPS will solicit feedback from the community, make a recommendation to the school board and in the Fall, “proceed with critical actions”. KCPS promises to “participate in good faith negotiations with the property owners” and will “solicit community feedback prior to choosing a developer” if the teacher housing proposal goes through.

KCPS wants your feedback!  You can complete a survey online by May 17.  I’ll plan on attending other public meetings related to this topic and keep you updated via the blog—thanks for reading!!

Brookside AND Waldo Hosting Festivals This Weekend

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This is the weekend to be out and about in the neighborhood! Soak up the warm weather and charming atmosphere of Brookside and Waldo by spending some time at these free events:

Now in it’s 38th year, the Brookside Art Annual kicks off Friday night at 5pm. Recognized nationally as one of the country’s premier art fair events, you will see so many attractive and yes, some unusual pieces here; and at various prices. Local Brookside vendors will have food and beverages for sale; bring the little ones for some kids’ art activities on Saturday. The Brookside Art Annual continues through Sunday at Brookside Road and 63rd St.

Waldo is also hosting it’s Spring Fling on Saturday May 4 from 10am-5pm, at the northeast corner of Gregory and Wornall. Here you will find some vendor booths with services and various items for sale; food available also for purchase.

Please remember to be extra careful when driving around Brookside and Waldo over the weekend; there will be even more pedestrians and strollers walking to these events.

Celebrate Spring and our neighborhood this weekend by getting out and enjoying art, local food and visiting with neighbors at the Art Annual in Brookside and Waldo’s Spring Fling. Events like these are what make our area special!!

Waldo Home Sales Report-March 2024

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Nothing new here…prices for Waldo homes keep increasing! However, I will say that Waldo is still one of those areas where you can buy a house for over $400K or even under $250K–location and condition vary of course! Let’s take a look at the numbers; I’m using stats for single family homes located between State Line and Holmes, Gregory to 85th St.

MARCH 2024MARCH 2023
Median list price:$299,900$245,000
Median sales price:$300,000$248,750
Days on market:310
No. of homes sold:2116

Compared to March 2023, home values in Waldo are up just over 20%! Buyers are paying asking price or a bit over–and more homes have changed hands. The lowest closed price was $133,500 and the highest was $475,000.

Here are the year-to-date numbers:

JAN-MARCH 2024JAN-MARCH 2023
Median list price:$285,000$282,425
Median sales price:$291,000$271,500
Days on market:313
No. of homes sold:4944

For the year, prices are up 7%; the number of homes changing owners remains pretty steady. Currently there are 11 single family homes for sale in Waldo, with a median list price of $310,000. Two of the homes are new builds; lowest list price is $247,500 and the highest is $689,000.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Trolley Run Sunday — Note Street Closures

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The CCVI Trolley Run in Sunday, April 28–this Sunday!

Because of all the construction centered around 75th and Wornall, the starting point for the race is now 73rd Terrace and Wornall at 8am. Expect streets to be blocked for several hours Sunday morning. Here is the updated route for reference: