Scarritt Building and Arcade

Constructed in 1907, the Scarritt Building and Arcade is considered the finest example of a Chicago School skyscraper in Kansas City. The eleven-story building embodies the main characteristics of the style with a base, shaft, and cornice that all enhance a sense of verticality to the structure. The first two floors comprise the base and feature a grey terra cotta exterior. The shaft, which is H-shaped, features a light brick exterior to differentiate itself from the base. There is also a significant amount of terra cotta ornamentation, particularly in the surrounds of the upper half of each second-story window and in the cornice at the top. The building is attached to a four-story arcade on the west side, which features an ornate terra cotta exterior on the first floor and a skylight.In recent years, the building has held offices and been utilized as a wedding and event space.

The Scarritt Estate Company, which was established in 1903, constructed the Scarritt Building and Arcade in 1907 at a cost of $750,000. It was the city's second skyscraper one of the first buildings erected in the financial district. The Scarritt Estate Company was founded by six children of Nathan Scarritt, who settled in Kansas City in 1848 and worked as a teacher and preacher. The company built the Scarritt to provide office space, which was increasingly in demand as Kansas City developed into an important economic center during the early 20th century.

In 2013, a developer announced plans to convert the historic structure into apartments designed to support the needs of artists. That plan fell through, and by 2015, the Scarritt Building and Arcade had around a 35% occupancy rate. In 2015, another developer bought the building with the plan of converting it into mostly affordable apartments. When the logistics of that plan proved difficult, a Florida development company acquired the property in 2019 and initially planned to convert the Scarritt Building into a Wyndham hotel while the arcade would become a coworking office space--a plan that reflects the growth of coworking concepts at that time. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company modified its plans, announcing that floors two to twelve of the Scarritt Building and two to four of the arcade would become apartments. At present, the building and arcade has continued to operate as an office building. Both structures have been well maintained over the years and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

"Developer plans $21.7M artist-geared apartment project for Scarritt Building." Kansas City Business Journal. October 9, 2013. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/morning_call/2013/10/developer-plans-217m-artist-geared.html.

Friestad, Thomas. "Scarritt Building renovation trades hotel, offices for 126 apartments, grocery store, restaurant." Kansas City Star. December 20, 2020. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2020/12/19/scarritt-building-arcade-augustine-sunflower-piea.html.

Hannah, Sheila M. "Scarritt Building and Arcade." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. March 9, 1971. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Scarritt%20Bldg%20and%20Arcade.pdf.

"Monthly Event Hosted by the Scarritt Arcade Building." The Urban Core Group. February 24, 2016. https://kcurbancoregroup.com/event/scarritt-arcade-building.

Roberts, Rob. "Deal for Scarritt Building: 'It was like robbing the bank'." Kansas City Business Journal. October 21, 2015. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2015/10/19/scarritt-buildings-reeder-office-space.html.

"Scarritt Arcade." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=88180.

"Scarritt Building." The Kansas City Public Library. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://kchistory.org/image/scarritt-building-5.

"Scarritt Building and Arcade Tour." Bob Myers Properties. February 16, 2016. http://www.bobmyersproperties.com/events-in-kansas-city/scarritt-building-and-arcade-tour.