2024 KCADC Annual Meeting highlights $1.8B of new investment across the region

The Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) hosted its 2024 Annual Meeting last week, drawing over 2,000 civic and business leaders to celebrate a year of robust regional growth and strategic industry advancements. Under the theme “FLEX,” the event underscored the region’s adaptability as a cornerstone of its success. It highlighted achievements in the Kansas City metro area, including 18 counties across Kansas and Missouri.

Record-Breaking Investments and Job Creation

This year, KCADC and its partners secured commitments from 16 companies, resulting in $1.8 billion in capital investments, nearly 1,500 new jobs, $104.7 million in wages, and 2.3 million SF of new development. These milestones reflect Kansas City’s growing prominence as a hub for innovation and opportunity.

Google’s $1 billion data center in Kansas City, Mo., was among the most notable investments in 2024. Alongside its infrastructure project, Google committed to advancing sustainability by adding 400 megawatts of carbon-free energy to the grid. The company also demonstrated a strong community focus, contributing $100,000 to the North Kansas City School District’s STEM initiatives and announcing an additional $120,000 investment to strengthen STEM programs in Kansas City Public Schools.

Strengthening Global Recognition

Increased media attention has bolstered Kansas City’s growing reputation. Over 630 stories spotlight its economic wins and quality-of-life benefits, reaching an estimated 1.25 billion people globally and enhancing the region’s visibility on the international stage.

KCADC President and CEO Tim Cowden emphasized the importance of leveraging this momentum for future growth, attributing the success to a unified regional vision.

Keynote and Awards

Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink and a best-selling author, delivered the keynote address, offering actionable insights into how simplification can drive efficiency and amplify impact. Her message resonated with attendees, providing tools to help businesses streamline operations and focus on meaningful work.

KCADC has also received accolades for its efforts to promote the region. The organization earned two gold medals from the International Economic Development Council, recognizing its KC Options Magazine and the “KC Design Draft” campaign for excellence in economic development marketing.

Building for the Future

As Kansas City continues to grow, leaders across industries remain focused on fostering a resilient and inclusive economy. From groundbreaking investments in infrastructure and education to enhanced global recognition, the region is poised for sustained success.

The KCADC Annual Meeting reinforced the importance of flexibility and collaboration in shaping the future, ensuring Kansas City remains a leader in innovation and a magnet for talent and investment.

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Header image: Board of Directors incoming co-chair and Evergy President/CEO, David Campbell speaks at the 2024 KCADC Annual Meeting. Image courtesy of the Kansas City Area Development Council

Kansas City's vision for South Loop Park becomes reality

Work on a transformative project that's been envisioned for Kansas City for 30 years or more will begin early next year.

"The South Loop Project is building a cap over I-670, which has long been the disdain of many leaders in the region, from the federal and state highway system, city leaders, and even to business owners and residents in the area. So, we are going to create a tunnel that will create a cap, and we are going to put a park on top of that cap," said Ann Holliday, VP of strategic initiatives at Downtown Council of Kansas City.

Panelists Tirzah Gregory, VP and group director at HNTB Corporation; Mark Neibling, AIA, associate principal, architecture at BNIM; and Mario Vasquez, assistant city manager and city planning director at City of Kansas City, Missouri, joined Holliday at a lunch event last week hosted by CREW KC. Meredith Hoenes, director of communications at Port KC, moderated.

Port KC, the Downtown Council, and the City of Kansas City are partners in the project.

"This is the biggest reclamation project that we have going on in the city. We're creating something out of nothing. Something that's been sort of a chasm Downtown. We're putting something there," said Vasquez.

Vasquez addressed why it has taken so long to start this project since it was first proposed in the 1990s. Back then, he said, not much was happening Downtown, and it was a struggle to put things together.

"Today, Downtown is dynamic. It makes sense now to build this amenity that can continue the momentum that we have Downtown," Vasquez said.

The first phase of the project involves constructing a tunnel through which traffic will flow. This project presents many challenges.

"At the end of the day, we are dealing with an infrastructure that is almost 60 years old and all that has to be replaced," said Vasquez.

According to Gregory, constructing a structure over a highway is like remodeling or adding onto an old house.

"You've got existing infrastructure to deal with, including some of the bridges that cross over the highway . . . so you can imagine the complexity of having some of

the old systems work with the new systems. . . . The structure is going to be carrying some heavy loads. . . .  We have to build these foundations without impeding the right of way, making sure the highway stays at the same capacity that it is now," said Gregory.

One of the issues to solve is utilities. The Downtown area is riddled with utilities crossing every which direction, Gregory said.

"We are working with 15 different utility companies right now to coordinate. Some of them cross along Truman Road. Some of them cross over the highway. Some of them go under the highway, so that adds a lot complexity. They don't want any interruptions, of course, to the service that they provide," she said.

Another issue is drainage. The Downtown area slopes toward the planned park.

"A lot of the water coming across from Downtown goes at a low point across our park at Walnut Street. We have to make sure that we don't make anything worse," Gregory said.

There is a proposed rain garden to help collect some of the drainage, Hoenes said.

Above: Moderator Meredith Hoenes of Port KC next to the panelists at last week's CREW KC lunch event from left to right: Meredith Hoenes; Mario Vasquez; Ann Holliday, Tirzah Gregory; and Mark Neibling. Photo credit: Elizabeth (Liz) Wampler

The KC Streetcar is a consideration as well. The project must proceed with minimal impact on the streetcar service.

With respect to the tunnel itself, life safety systems will be crucial, including fire suppression, lighting, egress, ADA compliance and signage.

"That was kind of a new thing because we don't have tunnels around here," Gregory said.

Once the tunnel is complete, a park will be installed on top of it. OJB has been retained as the landscape architect.

Neibling said the park will feature a series of terraces "that are moments of art, areas of respite with this kind of welcoming approach from the west," and the buildings within the park will be responsive to the landscape.

According to Neibling, the design of buildings in the park will be focused on zero carbon. Plans include a food hall, a performance pavilion, a dog park and play areas.

"I look forward to when that space is so inviting and the whole community is down and enjoying it. They're sitting under these large trees. They're rolling in the grass. They're enjoying the environment in Downtown Kansas City," said Holliday.

The project will be a public-private partnership. According to Holliday, public monies to date include approximately $30 million in federal funds and $50 million in state funds. In addition, the City of Kansas City has committed $10 million and also is investigating a $65 million loan under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and may apply for additional federal funds via grant projects. Approximately half of private sector funds' $50 million goal has been raised.

"We're talking to some other government entities in the area and working on some cost share arrangements with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). . . . That's for funding for how we build it," Holliday said.

She said the city will own the park and plans to contract with a private, non-profit-based organization to manage it, similar to arrangements with the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium and Starlight Theater.

"The goal then would be sponsorships, other philanthropy, revenue-generating opportunities within the park so that it would be self-funded for now and then capital endowments and things for maintenance in the future," Holliday said.

A general contractor has been selected, with details being finalized, and an announcement forthcoming next month, Vasquez said. Hoenes said the name of the project could be announced in January.

Vasquez said activity on the project will begin in the first quarter of 2025, and he expects to shut down I-670 mid-summer of 2025. He said the tunnel may be complete in 2027, but the contractor ultimately will address the timing issue. In addition, all construction activity in the public rights of way will cease on May 1, 2026, in preparation for the FIFA World Cup activities.

"So whatever work we can get done by that time is what's going to be done. Keep things open; diminish the disruption," Vasquez said.

"We're not going to hold a groundbreaking ceremony. We're going to hold a ground making ceremony, because that's what we're doing. We're making a whole new space," said Holliday.

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Header image: A rendering of South Loop Park that will cap a four-block stretch of Interstate I-670 between downtown Kansas City and the Crossroads Arts District. Image credit: BNIM

Mixed-use demand fuels Drake Development’s project surge

“You’ve got to be willing to adapt and listen to the market and listen to your users as well,” said Ian Mussman, director of sales & leasing, at Drake Development LLC.

Mussman spoke at the September breakfast meeting hosted by CCIM Kansas City. He highlighted three of Drake’s current projects in the metro area.

Merriam Grand Station, located at the southeast corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-35 in Merriam, Kansas, is nearing completion. The site once housed a Kmart, which sat vacant for more than a decade.

Drake completed its first site plan for the site in July 2020. It took Drake over 2 ½ years to work through the assemblage and entitlement processes. Drake acquired the five-parcel site from three different property owners.

The 50-foot grade change from the northeast corner to the southwest corner of the site presented the most significant challenge to redeveloping the site.

“One of the reasons that it sat available for so long is that it was in a hole. It sat almost 20 feet below Shawnee Mission Parkway grade, and none of the high-profile tenants of the city who would want to go into a project like this would ever accept a site like that. We came up with a creative solution and ended up raising the site just under 15 feet. So almost the roof of Kmart, more or less, became the finished floor of the new project,” Mussman said.

The original site plan featured a power center lineup. Mussman said there was little lending appetite for big box, and Drake’s attempt to add a hotel was not a winner in those early months of COVID.

After many site plan revisions and the expenditure of a hefty amount of architectural engineering dollars, the nearly completed project features 361 multifamily units with underground parking, retail space and a civic activity space. Mussman said all but one retail space has been leased.

The City of Merriam wanted an environmentally and green friendly civic space which, Mussman said, was never part of the original plan. However, through a public-private partnership with the city, Drake is constructing a canopied space that will have solar panels to help power the project’s common area parking lots.

A second project, on which construction is just starting, is Cocina 47, located at 604 W. 47th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. The project on the north side of the

Country Club Plaza is adjacent to another of Drake’s redevelopment projects, the Jack Henry building.

Cocina 47 on the Country Club Plaza , where the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist used to be, is set to open in 2026. Image Credit: TR i Architects

Mussman said when Drake acquired the Jack Henry building, it learned that the neighboring Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist building had become too large for its shrinking congregation and too expensive to operate.

“So quickly we realized there was an opportunity to modernize their space in a way that better fits their needs. This is a super complex deal that we had to come up with a way to let them ‘condo-out’ their space,” said Mussman.

The church is reducing its footprint by approximately one-half and is acquiring the condo space at no cost to them. Until construction of Cocina 47 is complete, the church is housed in the Jack Henry building.

Mussman said it took 54 months between the time it acquired the property until it began construction on Cocina 47.

“We’ve completed demolition and now we’re working on everything that goes below grade before we go vertical,” he said.

According to Mussman, the tenants, who he was unable to disclose yet, will be high end restaurant groups on the second and third floors of the three-story building, with first floor space still available.

Mussman said Drake anticipates completing the building shell by late 2025 or early 2026 and having tenants open in 2026.

The third project Mussman discussed is located at the southwest corner of Highways 50 and 291 in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, the municipality where Drake has made its most investment. The project is in its planning stages.

Oldham Village, in Lees Summit, Mo., would include 15 retail pad sites, 300+ apartments and, potentially, a field house and fitness center. Image courtesy of Drake Development

Mussman said this project started in 2020. Drake initially purchased one parcel with the intent of developing it as industrial. Then Drake considered big box, which the city did not want. Drake settled on apartments with retail pads. According to Mussman, tenant recruitment is not an issue because currently 92,000 cars a day pass in front of the site.

“As the plan evolved, we ended up growing the scope and growing the property assemblage,” he said.

The project, which Mussman called a “monumental undertaking”, now involves 15 parcels from 12 different property owners and more than 46 acres.

“This one is especially hard because these businesses you see here, these are owner-occupied businesses. They don’t care what your appraisal says. They don’t care what your pro forma says. This is their livelihood. This is where they fed their family for decades. It’s a very emotional decision, and it requires a lot of creativity,” said Mussman.

Mussman said Drake purchased nearly half of the parcels on a sale-leaseback which allowed the sellers to raise capital to relocate, find a new home and continue to operate their businesses.

Besides tackling the assemblage issues, Mussman said the biggest challenge on this project is the sanitary sewer. He said there are approximately $3.5 million of offsite sanitary sewer upgrades needed to allow new businesses to open and operate at the site. This has discouraged other developers, but Drake will make the improvements which will benefit an 835-acre area. In addition, Drake must relocate a perimeter ring road.

Mussman said Lee’s Summit has been looking for a site for a fieldhouse for several years. In place of one of the three apartment phases Drake had planned, the city will construct a 120,000 SF fieldhouse facility.

“When we bought this site, if you would have told me we were doing a 120,000 SF fieldhouse with the city, I would have laughed. And here we are. It just went to council last week, and they approved the contract,” he said.

Mussman said he anticipates construction of the project will begin before the end of the year. The city’s planning commission approved Drake’s plan last week, and it is headed to the city council shortly.

Mussman noted that all three projects are located in core areas.

“We’re not trying to shift the center of gravity and go out in a cornfield and make everyone go somewhere. These already have an insane amount of traffic. They’re highly desirable areas for tenants and residents. And then we just figure out how do we solve the puzzle and make something economically feasible that also meets the city’s and residents’ demands,” said Musssman.

Header Image: The long-vacant Kmart site at the intersection of Antioch Rd. and Shawnee Mission Pkwy. is set to come back to life. Drake Development has submitted plans for a $136 million project, named Merriam Grand Station. Rendering courtesy of Drake Development