Historic 'Gem Building' for sale at $650,000 in Topeka
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A historic apartment complex built before WWII is for sale near Topeka's downtown area.
KSNT 27 News spoke with Tyler Johnson, sales associate with Berkshire Hathaway, about the Gem Building at 506 Southwest 10th Avenue in Topeka. The old structure is recognized by the National Park Service (NPS) as a location in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and has a price tag of $650,000.
"It's a multi-use building," Johnson said. "So you have twelve apartments up top then you have three commercial spaces down below."
Johnson said the building is currently home to apartment dwellings and the business Prairie Glass. It also comes with five garage spaces, two offices and a big basement along with some extra storage space.
The Gem Building made it onto the NRHP in 2006 and was originally built in 1928, according to the Kansas Historical Society's website. It was added to the NRHP as an example of an early 20th century apartment building. Charles D. Cuthbert was the architect for the structure which was built on an $80,000 budget or more than $1.5 million in the present day.
"I think it's really stood the test of time and is in good overall shape for being 90-years-old," Johnson said.
The building was operated by members of the Leuenberger and Klopfer families as a multi-purpose building containing a grocery store, liquor store and meat market. Johnson said Berkshire Hathaway purchased the structure from the estate of a Leuenberger family member in 2020 after he passed away.
Johnson can be reached at 785-383-8792 or tyler@firstrealtorsks.com. You can check out the listing for the property by clicking here.
For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf