×
Overview The Brand Location & Market The Project Gallery Returns Calculator Team Invest
The First UMusic Hotel in North America

UMusic Hotel
Kansas City

The 1907 Scarritt Building, reborn — a hotel, an immersive venue, and the cultural engine of Universal Music Group.

The Legacy

The city that made the music

1907

The Scarritt rises

A landmark of superior architecture on Grand Boulevard — placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Kansas City built it before the world knew what this city would give it.

1937

Parker's Kansas City

At 18th & Vine, a teenager named Charlie Parker was forging the sound that changed American music forever. Jazz didn't pass through Kansas City — it was made here.

2028

The stage comes back

The world's largest music company plants its North American flag in the building where Grand Boulevard began — a hotel, a venue, and a recording studio in the city that earned them.

Every era of this story had its builders. The third act is looking for its founders.

The Investment Opportunity

Become a founding investor in the first UMusic Hotel in the U.S.

An equity interest in UMH KC LP. The 1907 Scarritt Building & Arcade — acquired September 2025, reborn as hotel, venue and spa.

32.8%
Projected LP IRR
4.71x
Equity Multiple
8%
Preferred Return
$50,000
Minimum Investment
$185.6M
Total Capitalization
Why This Deal

Three reasons this stands apart

🎛️

First-of-its-kind entertainment hub

More than a hotel — a 360° creative ecosystem with a concert venue, recording studios, listening rooms and F&B, driven by UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle.

📍

Prime Kansas City location

At E 9th & Grand in the heart of a booming downtown — across from the new 239-key AC Marriott, steps from Power & Light, T-Mobile Center and CPKC Stadium.

🏛️

Below-market capital stack

$165M+ in city incentives, ~$45M in historic tax credits, C-PACE financing and 30-year abatements lower the equity required and enhance returns.

Backed by Universal Music Group

Programmed by the world leader in music

The hotel and its venue will be programmed by Universal Music Group — turning UMG's artists, IP and cultural leadership into a new vertical of entertainment hospitality through UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle (UMHL), the exclusive management company for UMusic Hotels.

#1
Recorded Music
#1
Merchandising
#1
Audiovisual Content
#2
Music Publishing
UMusic recording studio
UMusic Hotel Madrid
Proven Concept · Madrid

The model already works

UMusic Hotel Madrid opened the category — operating under the UMG brand since late 2023.

130
5-star rooms
898
Seats · Teatro Albéniz
15.8K
Superfans in month one
4
Locations open or under contract
  • Sold-out Universal Music Festival · Phantom of the Opera
  • Artist-fan experiences with Karol G and Luis Fonsi
Live from Madrid — real nights, real receipts
Universal Music FestivalSold Out
Karol G · Luis FonsiArtist-Fan Experiences
The Phantom of the OperaTeatro Albéniz
David Bisbal · Pablo LópezExclusive Concerts
Kansas CityNext · 2028
Location & Market

The city that raised Charlie Parker gets its stage back

Jazz was forged at 18th & Vine. A century later, downtown Kansas City is one of the fastest-growing urban cores in America — and it's investing like it.

$9.7B
Invested downtown since 2000
88%
Population growth since 2010
28.4M
Annual visitors
$4B+
Visitor spend · up 11% YoY
$1.5B
New KCI airport terminal
$374M
Streetcar extension
2026
FIFA World Cup host city
1st
Purpose-built women's soccer stadium in the U.S.

1,537 new hotel keys absorbed downtown since 2020 — and visitor spend still climbed 11%

Loews · 2020
800
Aloft · 2024
300
Cascade · 2023
175
Hotel KC · 2020
144
Origin · 2023
118
UMusic · 2028
±169
A market that keeps absorbing supply while spend grows is a market with room for a category the city has never had: a true entertainment hotel.
  • 3 blocks from the Power & Light district · 10 minutes to T-Mobile Center
  • Across the street from the new 239-key AC Marriott
  • $1B riverfront and $500M West Bottoms redevelopments underway
  • Recent openings: Loews (800), Aloft (300), Cascade (175), Origin (118)
UMusic Hotel arrival
The Project

Respect the roots. Reimagine the experience.

818 Grand Blvd — the adaptive reuse of the 117-year-old Scarritt Building & Scarritt Arcade into a first-of-its-kind creative hotel.

  • ±169 keys with a 30% suite mix · ±174,974 total square feet
  • ±1,800-seat immersive music & entertainment venue, designed with Populus
  • ±17,000 sf of food & beverage plus a year-round "Live" rooftop
  • ±4,000 sf premium full-service spa & gym
  • UMusic-branded recording & podcast studios
  • Connected ±330-unit UMusic residential tower (offered separately)
Guestroom suite
The 800 Grand Master Development

The hotel headlines a $480M block

The residences and retail rise next door under the same master plan. This offering is the hotel — the first act of the district.

This Offering · The Spotlight

UMusic Hotel Kansas City · 2028

The restored Scarritt Building — on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971 — opens first, carrying the historic tax credits, the venue and the brand.

±169 keys · 30% suites ±1,800-seat venue Opens 2028 — first in the district
Next Door · The Tailwind

UMusic Residences & retail · 2029

  • 24-story, ±330-unit UMusic residential tower (separate offering)
  • 28,000 sf of ground-level retail along Grand Boulevard
  • ≈$109M TIF approved unanimously by the City Council
  • Up to $480M in Port KC revenue bonds authorized
  • Design: Hoefer Welker with Populus
In Their Words

What Kansas City is saying

Downtown Kansas City remains our region's premier destination for unique and transformative development. We look forward to welcoming new residents and a new signature addition to Kansas City's skyline when 800 Grand is complete.

Quinton LucasMayor of Kansas City

Saving the historic Scarritt Building is vital to the Grand corridor and our greater downtown. This development aligns with Port KC's mission to attract catalytic growth and sustainable economic vitality to our city.

Jon StephensPresident & CEO, Port KC

This'll create another half a billion right in the heart of our downtown — and we're certain that's going to spur more development along the Grand corridor.

Sean O'ByrneDowntown Council of Kansas City
As reported by KCTV5 and KSHB 41, July 2025.
Capital Stack & Incentives

$165M+ in incentives, working for investors

Kansas City's commitment shows up in one of the most creative capital stacks in the market. Incentives enter as non-participating capital — lowering the equity required and enhancing projected returns.

$45M Historic Tax Credits $18M Property Tax Exemption $45M Tourism Tax Rebate $30M Sales Tax Redirection C-PACE Financing 30-Year Abatements

Sources of Capital

Senior Debt$78.0M
C-PACE Debt$50.0M
HTC Financing$43.7M
LP Equity$13.9M
Total Capitalization$185.6M
Community Impact

A soundtrack for community growth

Through its nonprofit AMPD Foundation, UMHD pairs the development with a long-term social-impact strategy — expanding access to the creative economy for Kansas City youth.

🎓

Playing for Change music school

Co-created with PFC (127 schools, 25 countries, 4,000 students) — after-school and weekend programming for K-12 students in the KCPS district.

🎙️

Professional facilities

A UMusic-branded performance venue, recording studio and podcast studio built to support education, collaboration and workforce training.

🌟

A path to opportunity

Emerging local artists gain exposure to UMG and real pathways into the music industry — turning cultural access into economic mobility.

Investment Summary

Projected returns

32.8%
LP IRR
4.71x
Equity Multiple (CFx)
39.6%
Cash-on-Cash Return
$51.5M
Projected Net Profit (LP)
Tax Advantage

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025, made 100% first-year bonus depreciation permanent (IRC §168(k)) for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025. The hotel's FF&E and land improvements can be fully depreciated in year one, generating early paper losses passed to investors via Schedule K-1.

≈ $150,000

projected federal tax benefits for a $100,000 investor — with ~$112,000 realized within about four years of opening.

How the deduction actually works — step by step

1 · A cost-segregation study prepared by Baker Tilly breaks the hotel's basis into components: furniture, fixtures & equipment (5–7 year property) and land improvements (15-year property).

2 · Under §168(k) as amended, property with a recovery period of 20 years or less qualifies for a 100% deduction in the year placed in service — instead of spreading over 5–15 years.

3 · The partnership allocates those first-year losses to investors on Schedule K-1, which may offset other income — subject to each investor's own limits: passive-activity rules (§469), tax basis, at-risk rules (§465), business-interest limits (§163(j)), and state conformity.

Owner Benefits

Encore Owners Club

Invest $100,000 or more to unlock a founding-owner membership:

Complimentary room nights VIP venue suite Priority concert tickets 20–30% savings Private owners lounge Artist & member events
Perspective

Where this sits next to everything else you own

What it gives youIndex fundsRental property818 Grand
You can stand inside it
First-year bonus depreciationpartial
Opening night, backstage
Your name in the building
A story your family retells

An index fund never asks you to opening night.

The Calculator

Watch what your capital does

Two sliders. Three layers of return — cash, tax savings, combined.

$
37%
Deck illustration: 37%
You invest
Layer 1 · Cash
Distributions + sale / refinance
$0
Layer 2 · Tax Savings
Bonus depreciation — Big Beautiful Bill
$0
Combined Return
Cash + tax benefit
$0

Your money, visualized

Your investment Project cash Tax savings (BBB)

Sounds too good to be true? Good — interrogate it.
The questions sophisticated investors ask first, answered straight.
Why is the projected multiple so high?

Structure, not magic. Over $165M in city, state and historic-tax-credit incentives enter the project as non-participating capital — they fund construction but don't share in profits. A comparatively small LP equity base carries a $185.6M project, which concentrates the projected upside on that base.

Be clear-eyed about the mirror image: concentration amplifies downside the same way. That trade — outsized projected returns for real risk — is the honest description of this deal.

Is the tax benefit actually in the law?

Yes — and you can read it yourself. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) made 100% first-year bonus depreciation permanent under IRC §168(k) for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025. The IRS issued implementing guidance in Notice 2026-11. Hotel FF&E and land improvements are classic qualifying property, identified through a cost-segregation study prepared by Baker Tilly.

Then why doesn't every investor get the full benefit?

Because your ceiling is personal. Federal law limits how much loss you can actually use in a given year: passive-activity rules (§469), your tax basis, at-risk rules (§465), and business-interest limits (§163(j)). Unused losses generally carry forward rather than vanish. States differ too — some conform to federal bonus depreciation, others decouple. That is exactly why this calculator asks for your tax rate, why the intake asks for your ZIP, and why your CPA should see the numbers before you commit.

What has to go right for these projections?

Real things, on real schedules: construction completing on time and on budget, the hotel reaching its projected rates and occupancy, the venue and F&B programming performing, and a healthy environment for refinance or sale. Any of them can underperform. This is a development deal — principal is at risk, distributions are not guaranteed, and the projections are dated estimates, not promises. We would rather you invest with clear eyes than big ones.

How do I verify any of this myself?

Register your interest, sign the NDA, and the data room opens: the full financial model behind this calculator (pro forma dated 09.09.2025), the depreciation schedule with Baker Tilly's cost-segregation detail, and the incentive documentation behind the $165M. Bring your CPA and your attorney — we expect them, and the diligence process is built for them.

Development Timeline

From a 1907 landmark to opening night

Q3 2025
Complete

Scarritt Building & Arcade acquired — asset control secured

Q4 2025
Complete

Design development; Historic Tax Credit submission

H1 2026
Complete

≈$109M TIF approved unanimously; GMP pricing; financing close

2026–27
Underway

Construction — restoring the 117-year-old landmark

2028
The Spotlight

UMusic Hotel Kansas City opens — first act of the district

2029
Next Door

±330-unit UMusic Residences & retail complete the block

About the Team

Experienced sponsors

UMusic Hotels Development
Lawrence "LB" Bain
Chief Executive Officer

Former Chairman & CEO of IMH Financial; repositioned L'Auberge de Sedona; 30+ years and $5B+ in real-estate and financing transactions.

Will Meris
President, Capital Markets

25+ years in real-estate capital raising — Virgin Hotel Las Vegas, Bishop's Lodge; co-founded IMH Financial, raising $900M+.

Justin Bain
Director of Development

Experience-focused hotelier behind L'Auberge de Sedona (#1 in the Southwest, 2016) and MacArthur Place, Sonoma.

Kay Hamel, CPA, CGMA
Chief Financial Officer

25+ years guiding hospitality and real-estate organizations from loss to sustainable profitability.

Elaine Beeson
Director of Operations

Leads investor services, operating agreements and PPMs; formerly on a top retail brokerage team at CBRE.

David Harty
VP of Analytics

Former Wells Fargo Hotel Franchise Finance; financed Hilton and Marriott products nationwide. U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

The BR Companies
Juan Banos
Chief Executive Officer

15+ years in real estate, development and construction across the U.S. and Mexico; sets BR's vision, partnerships and growth.

Greg Cotton
President, Midwest Development

23 years at the intersection of sports, law and land — former COO & General Counsel of Sporting Kansas City; Cascade Hotel developer.

Ryan Sullivan
Chief Development Officer

16+ years delivering high-profile projects; leadership roles at IQHQ, EDGE and Greystone across the development lifecycle.

The Founding 100
Written into the building
The Founding Investors of 818 Grand
Your Name · MMXXVI
Kansas City, Missouri

Founding investors may choose to have their name cast in brass in the restored Scarritt Arcade — permanent, physical, touchable by the next generation. A 117-year-old building's third act, with your name in it.

Name on the Founders Wall (opt-in) Opening-night access First look: future UMusic Hotels across the U.S.

Become a Founding Investor

UMusic Hotel Kansas City · UMH KC LP · Minimum investment $50,000

Contact Investor Services
Brought to you by
UMH Development, LLC × The BR Companies

Investor.services@umhd.com · UMusic Development, LLC · 7001 N Scottsdale Rd, Suite 2050, Scottsdale, AZ 85253

CONFIDENTIAL. This website is for discussion purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any such offer will be made only through definitive offering documents. All financial data is unaudited; projections represent estimates based on assumptions believed reasonable and are not guarantees of future results. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Prospective investors should consult their own legal, tax and financial advisors.

818 Calculate your return