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Creative
energy fuels efforts of local real estate developer, Kansas City
Business Journal, August 25, 2006, |
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"They are self-driven. They are fun, whimsical. They are taking a risk. They are pushing an edge," she said. She might just as well be describing herself. Alpert, general partner of Botwin Family Partners LP, said she always has been drawn to creative people and to those who are willing to take a risk. And the real estate developer's portfolio is a testament to that statement. Botwin Family Partners has commercial real estate holdings of 275,000 leasable square feet in 10 properties in the Crossroads Arts District, Waldo, Leawood and Topeka. Alpert was a litigation lawyer until her family opened its real estate firm in 1986. She said that during the company's first renovation at 520 W. 75th St., the building that now houses 75th Street Brewery, she realized how much she loved this environment. "It was at that time that I started to develop my love affair with small neighborhoods," she said. "I like understanding the rhythm of the neighborhood -- how it will talk to you and inform you." Alpert said that wherever she is working, she thinks it is important to bring the feel of the area into the renovation. Working in areas such as Waldo and the Crossroads Arts District enables her to foster relationships with her creative, entrepreneurial tenants, for most of whom she is the first landlord. "I like long-term relationships," Alpert said. "And when you work in that kind of neighborhood, you develop those kinds of relationships." Sharon Miller, owner of The Gown Gallery and The Gown Gallery Bridal Loft, is a tenant Alpert has worked with since 1994. Miller began working with Alpert when she was looking for space to expand her home-based dress business. Miller said Alpert worked with her even before she had the financing secured to open her shop and has since seen her through two expansions. "Sometimes times get really rough," Miller said. "She is always in your corner, and she is going to try everything she can do to help you make your dream come true. She has a dynamic, entrepreneurial spirit." Along with being a "conduit for entrepreneurs," Alpert also is known for giving artists their first commissions, said Josh Shelton, principal architect at el dorado inc. who has partnered with Alpert on numerous projects. Alpert works with local artists through her multidisciplinary approach to building renovation. A self-described frustrated artist, she said she loves watching the creative process. In her renovations, she has brought artists into the projects to create everything from special lighting to tile to glass fixtures. Shelton said he often finds himself working in "progressive and innovative collaboration" on Alpert's projects. "The glue is creative energy," Shelton said. "If you are creative in whatever you are doing, she'll be right there with you." Artistic sparks Here are some of the creative real estate renovations Diane Botwin Alpert has managed in Kansas City: 1901 Main Street Size: 15,000 square feet in a grouping of three buildings that
date from the early 1900s. Size: 4,600 square feet. Size: 16,250 square feet in a cluster of five buildings that
includes Alpert's office. Tammy Worth | Worth is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.
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