JE Dunn Construction’s newly renovated HQ is the perfect backdrop for MWM's Retail-Office Summit

MetroWire Media will host its upcoming Office-Retail Summit on Tuesday, March 31 at 4 p.m., offering attendees a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the newly renovated headquarters of JE Dunn Construction in Kansas City. More than a traditional panel event, the summit doubles as an immersive experience, allowing guests to walk through and engage with a workplace transformation that reflects the future of office design.

The six-story, 190,157 SF headquarters has been comprehensively reimagined to better support evolving work styles, future growth, and the collaborative culture that defines the employee-owned company. The project exemplifies intentional workplace design, aligning organizational culture with business strategy to create a modern, adaptable environment that enhances the employee experience while providing a polished setting to host clients and partners.

Attendees will see firsthand a variety of new features, including expanded and flexible meeting environments, enhanced workstations, and thoughtfully designed indoor-outdoor social areas. A standout element is the redesigned Work Café, now a year-round destination connected to an upgraded patio through an operable wall system, complete with integrated heating and audio to extend usability across seasons.

Functionality within the existing footprint was a key priority. The renovation introduced 23 new meeting spaces, including a dividable training room and additional conference areas to support growing team and client needs. Throughout the space, strategic brand storytelling is woven into corridors with digital displays, curated messaging, and project photography that highlight JE Dunn’s legacy without overwhelming the architecture.

Sustainability also played a defining role. Rather than demolishing, the project team repurposed the existing structure and diverted 107 tons of material from landfills, contributing to environmental benefits equivalent to growing more than 2,300 tree seedlings over a decade. The building earned both WELL Gold and LEED Gold certifications, underscoring its commitment to high-performance, people-centered design.

Despite the scale of the transformation, the project was delivered while the building remained fully operational, relying on careful phasing and consistent communication to maintain business continuity.

The summit will feature insights from Charlie Lowe of CrossRoads Real Estate, Chris Jimemez of Clockwork Architects, and Beck Johnson of Walnut Risk Management, moderated by Marcia Youker, Midwest Regional Client Solutions Director with JE Dunn Construction. The discussion will be enhanced by the very environment attendees will experience in real time.

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Header image: One of many open-space common areas at the JE Dunn Kansas City headquarters will be the site for MetroWire Media's Office-Retail Summit March 31st. Image / JE Dunn credit: Nate Sheets Photography

Wyandotte County faces a crowded incentive landscape as Chiefs stadium talks intensify

Kansas politics and local development buzz have converged in an unprecedented way: the Kansas City Chiefs’ potential move across state lines has turned Wyandotte County and neighboring cities like Olathe into arenas for competing economic incentives. What began as a singular bid for an NFL stadium has mushroomed into a complex web of STAR bond districts, municipal tax pledges, and fierce negotiations involving key decision-makers and business partners statewide.

At the heart of the effort is a massive plan to build a $3 billion domed stadium in Wyandotte County, paired with a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in Olathe, Johnson County — a project with total development costs approaching $4 billion. The state of Kansas and the Chiefs organization negotiated a public-private partnership that uses STAR (Sales Tax and Revenue) bonds to finance up to 60 percent of the public portion of the work, with the team covering the remaining share. STAR bonds allow public sales tax generated within a designated district to be used to repay bondholders without creating new tax levies on residents.

In Wyandotte County, the Unified Government (UG) of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, has held spirited hearings on an ordinance that would establish a STAR bond district stretching more than 200 acres between 118th and 126th streets. Under the proposal, Wyandotte County would pledge future local sales tax, part of county sales tax, and up to 8 percent of transient guest taxes collected in the district toward bond repayment for up to 30 years. A key figure at recent hearings was Todd LaSala, outside development counsel for the UG, who outlined the financial mechanics and conditions for local participation.

Meanwhile, in Olathe, city leaders have moved aggressively on their piece of the Chiefs puzzle. The Olathe City Council voted unanimously to pledge local sales and hotel tax revenue from a 165-acre development site at College Blvd. and Ridgeview Rd. to support STAR bonds for the Chiefs’ headquarters and practice facility. As part of that plan, Olathe would redirect 1 percent of city sales tax and portions of county and hotel taxes generated in the “base revenue area” toward bond repayment. This commitment stretches up to three decades but avoids raising existing tax rates. Mayor John Bacon and council members championed the measure as a catalyst for jobs and long-term economic growth, even amid vocal public debate.

The Chiefs organization, led by Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, has signaled strong support for both STAR bond districts, making clear that local incentives were a crucial part of the overall agreement with the state. Gov. Laura Kelly and state legislative leaders also played central roles in crafting the incentive framework, including the use of Kansas’s Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund alongside STAR bonds to sweeten the deal without imposing new statewide taxes.

For Wyandotte County and its neighbors, this isn’t just a stadium bid — it’s a test of economic strategy under pressure. With multiple communities pledging future tax revenues and public hearings drawing packed rooms, the Chiefs project has become a catalyst for reconsidering how incentives are used, who pays the price, and how long the benefits must be weighed against competing development needs. 

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Header image A rendering of a domed Kansas City Chiefs stadium in Wyandotte Co., Kansas. Image | Manica Architecture

Independence, Mo. set to rebuild historic power plant to fuel massive AI data center

Independence, Mo., is positioning itself at the forefront of the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom with plans to reopen and drastically expand a long-dormant power facility to meet the energy needs of a new, billion-dollar AI data center campus. The project, anchored by European cloud computing firm Nebius, will transform the former Blue Valley Power Plant into a powerhouse capable of generating up to nine times more energy than it once did — enough to support cutting-edge AI workloads and bring significant economic activity to the region.

Nebius has announced plans to build its third — and largest — U.S. data center in Independence within the Eastgate Commerce Center, a 400-acre site east of Kansas City. The campus is expected to span roughly 2.5 million SF and include multiple buildings dedicated to high-density AI compute and storage. The full buildout could require at least 800 megawatts (MW) of power, roughly enough to supply hundreds of thousands of homes — a dramatic increase compared to the original plant’s roughly 90 MW capacity.

To supply electricity during the interim, the city is negotiating four separate energy contracts with third-party providers, including NextEra Energy and Evergy. These agreements allow Independence Power and Light to purchase power beginning in mid-2026 and pass costs through to Nebius, keeping local utility rates stable for residents and businesses.

The centerpiece of the energy strategy is the phased redevelopment of the Blue Valley Power Plant. Originally constructed in the late 1950s and shuttered in 2020, the facility will be rebuilt and expanded by Independence Power Partners (IPP) — a joint venture between United Energy Trading, a major North American crude oil and natural gas company, and Exigent Energy, a national energy management firm. This private financing arrangement accelerates construction, with an initial 250 MW phase targeted to come online by 2027 and expansion to over 1,100 MW by 2029.

Local officials emphasize that the project — with construction set to begin later this year — is expected to deliver substantial economic benefits, including construction jobs, longer-term operations roles, and broader investment in regional infrastructure.

As Independence rebuilds its historic power plant to meet the demands of tomorrow’s AI economy, the city is betting that power — and data — can fuel not just machines, but sustained growth for the local community.

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Header image: Eastgate Commerce Center in Independence, Mo. gets a new $1billion AI data center. Photo | Cushman & Wakefield

Former Kansas City Star press building to become $100M AI-Powered tech ampus

Patmos Hosting Inc. is advancing to the next phase of redevelopment at the iconic former Kansas City Star printing press building, located at 1601 McGee Street in downtown Kansas City, Mo., marking a major milestone in the site’s transformation into a futuristic technology hub. The mammoth, 421,112 SF, four-story structure — once a bustling newspaper production facility — is now being reinvented as the Patmos AI Campus, a state-of-the-art data center and multi-use technology destination.

The centerpiece of this redevelopment is a $100 million Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) loan arranged by PACE Loan Group through the Show Me PACE program, the largest C-PACE financing secured in Missouri to date. This long-term, private-sector financing will fund energy-efficient infrastructure upgrades — including advanced cooling systems, electrical support, HVAC, plumbing, and other equipment — that are critical to supporting the facility’s powerful computing loads.

Patmos has continued construction since late 2024, quickly building out initial capacity and attracting multiple long-term tenants that have already signed leases for space in the facility. Once fully upgraded in early 2026, the campus will offer 35 megawatts of power tailored for high-density GPU, HPC, and AI infrastructure companies and serve as a flexible hub for modern computing workloads.

Beyond its core role as a data center, the vision for the Star building extends to community-oriented and business-friendly spaces. Patmos plans to convert nearly 150,000 SF of the building into multi-tenant technology offices, co-working space, and event venues, helping foster collaboration, innovation, and downtown activity. There are even plans for features such as suites, a potential Kansas City Police Department outpost, and large open spaces facing Truman Road to engage the surrounding neighborhood.

The redevelopment reflects an adaptive reuse approach, bringing new life to a landmark that had sat largely empty since The Star moved operations out in 2022. By repurposing the structure instead of building anew, the project aims to accelerate deployment timelines, reduce environmental impact, and anchor significant economic growth in the Crossroads district.

Key partners in this transformation include PACE Loan Group and the Show Me PACE program for financing, with Patmos managing the build-out in collaboration with construction and engineering teams (specific vendors and general contractors have not been publicly detailed). As Kansas City continues to grow as a tech and AI hub, the Patmos AI Campus stands out as a landmark example of urban revitalization and next-generation infrastructure investment. 

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Header image: The former Kansas City Star printing building at 16th and McGee in Kansas City, Mo. Image | Patmos/LoopNet

Royals Stadium debate pits economic promise against community pushback

The Kansas City Royals are weighing three potential locations for a new ballpark as their lease at Kauffman Stadium approaches its end, but a growing wave of local opposition — most loudly voiced in Johnson County — has turned the search into a high-stakes political and economic tug of war.

Team officials have identified North Kansas City, a site just south of downtown Kansas City, and the Aspiria campus area in Overland Park as the primary options under consideration. The Aspiria site, near 119th Street and Nall Avenue, drew public attention after a Royals affiliate purchased the property’s mortgage as part of a broader site-evaluation process.

Supporters of a move point to potential economic benefits: a modern stadium could spur mixed-use development, increase hotel and restaurant business, and expand the region’s entertainment footprint, particularly if paired with residential and office projects that promote walkability and year-round use. Proponents say a thoughtfully designed ballpark can act as a catalyst for urban renewal and new tax revenues without forever burdening taxpayers.

But the proposal at Aspiria has encountered intense resistance from suburban neighbors and municipal leaders worried about traffic, neighborhood character and the loss of existing jobs. T-Mobile, which maintains a major presence at the former Sprint campus, warned it could relocate more than 3,500 employees if a stadium were built on the site, saying the campus cannot accommodate both a corporate workforce and a major-league ballpark. That threat has become a central talking point for opponents who say the immediate economic costs could outweigh long-term gains.

Leawood and other Johnson County communities have hosted town halls, organized petitions and issued formal letters opposing the Overland Park option, arguing residents were left with more questions than answers about traffic mitigation, public financing and the long-term master plan for the area. More than 1,300 signatures have been collected on a petition opposing a stadium at the Aspiria campus, and local elected officials have publicly registered their concern.

North Kansas City and the downtown site offer different trade-offs. North Kansas City supporters emphasize better connectivity to existing transit arteries, shorter commutes for many metro residents and the chance to integrate housing and retail around the ballpark. A downtown-adjacent location promises higher foot traffic and tourism synergies but raises familiar worries about displacement, parking strain, and whether increased development around a stadium will serve longtime residents or primarily outside investors.

State and local deadlines add urgency. Kansas and Missouri lawmakers have moved incentives into place, and advisory deadlines this winter and next year have focused attention on the timetable for a deal — elevating both public pressure and political risk for officials who must decide whether to back taxpayer support for infrastructure and transit improvements.

The Royals insist no final decision has been made and that they are continuing to evaluate options in both states, but the path forward will require negotiating a delicate balance: placating anxious suburbs, retaining major employers, protecting neighborhood character and building a venue robust enough to anchor future development. Whatever site is chosen, the outcome will reverberate beyond baseball — reshaping traffic patterns, employment locations and the economic map of the Kansas City region for decades. 

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Header image: A rendering of a new Kansas City Royals stadium proposed just south of downtown Kansas City, Mo. Image | Kansas City Royals