Historic Kansas City Workhouse Castle Up for Sale
A 126-year-old limestone castle located near the 18th & Vine Jazz District in Kansas City is now up for sale, offering an exciting opportunity for redevelopment. The Kansas City Workhouse Castle, which once served as a city jail, is part of a package of property listed for sale by UrbanAmerica, a minority-owned development firm. This property package includes the historic castle and approximately 17.4 acres of surrounding land.
A Rich History
Built in 1897, the Workhouse Castle was a city jail until 1924. Since then, it has been repurposed more than a dozen times, serving as city storage, Marine training, and even dog euthanasia before being abandoned in 1972. The castle was listed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places in 2007, and its current state reflects years of deterioration.
Surrounding Area and Redevelopment Potential
The castle is situated across from Vine Street Brewing Co., which opened in June as Missouri’s first Black-owned brewery in a limestone former public works building. In early 2022, UrbanAmerica sought to advance a rehabilitation of the Workhouse Castle, envisioning event and retail space attached to a new-build 60-room boutique hotel. This project, along with 60 for-sale net-zero homes along Woodland Avenue, formed the first phase of the Enterprise Village Ecosystem (EVE), a roughly 21.5-acre master planned development.
New Listing Details
The same land that was part of the EVE development is now included in the new Clemons Real Estate listing. The listing spans seven blocks in the Wendell Phillips neighborhood, with blocks ranging in size from 0.72 acres to 9.4 acres. Together with the castle, the total land area is 21.2 acres, mostly comprised of vacant residential-platted lots.
For more information about this exciting redevelopment opportunity, read the full story in the Kansas City Business Journal.
Orginal article: Link To Article – provided by Kansas City Realtors
Each Office Independently Owned and Operated 
