“The Power & Light District has become one of the best places to live, work and play in the city and you might argue in the region — and even the country at this stage. It’s got everything you’d want in a city in one neighborhood,” said John Moncke, president of Kansas City Power & Light District and the featured speaker at May’s luncheon hosted by the KC Downtowners.
The KC Power & Light District was developed by The Cordish Companies, a 100-year-old family-owned business based in Baltimore, Md. The district encompasses nine city blocks of entertainment, retail, office and residential development.
“We’re all about bringing people together,” said Moncke.
One of Cordish’s newest businesses is an entrepreneurship incubator it calls Spark, a co-working space in three cities, including Kansas City.
‘We have over 700 members, and the majority of our members are businesses owned by women and people of color. It's something we’re very proud of. It’s very true to what we value as a culture,” Moncke said.
Live!, Cordish’s branded entertainment districts located in its developments across the country, bring a high-energy, high-octane feel, said Moncke. Many of the Live! districts, including those in St. Louis, Arlington (Texas), Philadelphia and Atlanta, partner with a professional sports team.
Moncke said the naming rights of the Power & Light District’s KC Live! soon will be out to market.
Moncke shared his top ten reasons why he’s excited about downtown Kansas City, reminding the audience that the “Top 10 Lists” popular several years ago started with the tenth reason, saving the top reason for last.
10. Strength of anchor tenants in both the Power & Light District and Downtown (KC) generally. Moncke specifically cited Cosentino’s Market, Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland, B & B Theatres, Genesis Health Clubs, KC Live!, T-Mobile Center, Kansas City Convention Center, Loews Kansas City Hotel and Hotel Kansas City.
9. Return of private events. Moncke said private events held Downtown in the spring of 2022 are tracking very close to 2019 levels.
“So if we have a good fourth quarter, we may have a bigger private events (number) year than in 2019. That’s something that I’m excited about,” he said.
8. Live sports and concerts.
7. Full accreditation for the Kansas City Public Schools.
“You don’t have amazing cities without great schools, and if any of you have been around Downtown for awhile, you remember there was a time when you would have to choose can I keep living downtown if I want to have kids. And that’s changing now,” Moncke said.
6. The new KCI (MCI) Airport.
“This is really a fitting front door for our city, so I’m very excited about that,” he said.
5. We want the World Cup. Whether or not Kansas City prevails in getting the World Cup, Moncke said it’s a win for the city to be in the final running.
4. Kansas City Current stadium.
“How has there not been a women-specific arena or stadium built in the country until now? . . . I think it’s not only the right thing to do [to bring the stadium to KC], but I think it’s going to be good for business for all of us, and I think people are going to move here because of this equity story. Who wouldn’t want to live in the kind of city that had the first women-specific pro sports stadium? I know it sounds like a place I’d want to live,” Moncke said.
3. I-670 Park/South Loop. “This is going to be a game-changer for how people experience Downtown,” he said.
2. New business openings. Moncke named specifically Sinkers Lounge, District Tan and Blue Sushi Sake Grill as new tenants in 2022, but said more are on the way.
1. Downtown residential growth. Thirty-two thousand (32,000) people now live Downtown. Three Light, with a jazz music theme, is joining One Light and Two Light as an additional residential option.
“There was a threshold of density that we needed Downtown that we just didn’t have, and we’re starting to get very close to that threshold for big companies like Target to look at Downtown,” he said.
At the event, Stan Meyers, president of the KC Downtowners and client development manager at Terracon, awarded the 2022 Jared Miller Award to Kiona Sinks, community engagement/digital marketing strategy manager, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. This award acknowledges the contributions of community leaders dedicated to the quality and success of the Kansas City community.
Meyers then passed the leadership mantle to Jason Osborne, the new president of KC Downtowners and national director of business development at Rosemann & Associates, P.C.