Kansas City, Mo. ? Developers hope to transform the former headquarters of political boss Tom Pendergast into a bed-and-breakfast operation.

The development might also include apartments, a restaurant and a basement nightclub.

Pendergast bought the Monroe Hotel in downtown Kansas City in 1924. That same year, he built a two-story building next door, which housed the Jackson Democratic Club on the second floor. During the Pendergast era in the 1930s, the two buildings were considered the unofficial capitol of Missouri.

The state ordered the Monroe closed in 1977, citing its lack of heat and water, and the building started attracting transients. By the mid-1990s, the city had slated the building for demolition.

Now, Adam Jones and Benjamin Sundermeier have big plans for the structure.

Jones, a developer of historic properties, bought the hotel last summer and worked with the city to spare the building. The city’s most recent inspection was in February.

Sundermeier, an interior designer, expects the project to be finished in 18 months.

Renovating the five-story Monroe is challenge enough, but Jones and Sundermeier also hope to buy the two-story building next to it.

A door was opened in the second floor common wall between the buildings after Pendergast had a heart attack and other serious health problems in 1936. That allowed Pendergast to use the hotel elevator, avoiding the flight of stairs to his office. After he pleaded guilty to income tax evasion in 1939, the court ordered the doorway closed.

“It was basically done to humiliate him,” said Lawrence Larsen, co-author of “Pendergast,” a biography of the political boss.

Jones envisions a connected suite of restored Pendergast offices in the two buildings, perhaps operating as a satellite attraction of the Truman Museum in nearby Independence. Many say Pendergast delivered Harry S Truman, ramrodding him to the U.S. Senate seat that would eventually land him in the White House.

Before development begins, the building or block must be placed on the National Register of Historic Places to qualify for possible historic renovation tax credits. Other development issues such as parking also must be addressed.