“Kansas City has a great opportunity to really illustrate what we have, what we’ve already accomplished, what we’re doing, and really set the tone,” said Michael Collins, founder and CEO, Grayson Capital.
Collins was speaking to the crowd gathered at the Aspiria campus as a panelist at KC’s 2024 Milestone Showcase hosted by MetroWire Media. The program highlighted milestone projects in the Kansas City area.
Collins was joined by panelists Mike Bell, SVP, Hunt Midwest; Christina Franklin, IIDA, director of interior design, Generator Studio; Courtney Kounkel, founder + owner, Monarch Build; Jon Stephens, president and CEO, Port KC; and Michael Zeller, founder and CEO, Rock Island Bridge/Flying Truss, LLC. Kyana Bowers, business development officer, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri (EDC KC), moderated.
Hunter Johnson, SVP of sales and leasing, Occidental Management, kicked off the program with an update regarding Aspiria. According to Johnson, 2023 saw the addition to the campus of 300,000 SF of executed leases and new tenant amenities. Andretti’s Indoor Karting & Games plans to open a 90,000 SF go-cart entertainment center on the campus in the fourth quarter of this year, he said.
All eyes will be on Kansas City when the CPKC Stadium, the first-ever stadium built for any women’s professional sports team, opens on March 16. Monarch Build is a general contractor on the project. It is an experience, Kounkel said, that she never imagined she would get.
“I think it’s a whole lot more about women and elevating minorities and women up, not just about sports. But, sports have a really great platform in order to express to the world disparity, and we’re fixing that,” Kounkel said.
Franklin said there’s an honor and a responsibility that’s affiliated with working on the stadium project.
“It is definitely the first; it’s not going to be the last. But, we’ve created what that benchmark is and how all future facilities will judge and hopefully develop based on us. And so we always had that at the forefront of our minds as we were developing this — so that’s a unique experience,” said Franklin.
Franklin also is involved with Margaritaville Hotel Kansas City, another milestone project currently under construction in Kansas City, Kansas, set to open in spring 2025. The project features a 229-room hotel with approximately 70,000 SF of outdoor amenity space. Franklin said it will be a very unique property with all the kitsch that comes with the brand, including lots of parrots and sandals.
This summer Kansas City will see the completion of the Rock Island Bridge. Zeller and his team are transforming a railroad bridge on the Kansas River built in 1905 into an entertainment venue and public crossing, which Zeller said is broadly categorized as infrastructure renewal.
Rock Island Bridge is being developed and operated as a public-private philanthropic partnership, drawing funding from public and private sources. When completed, the bridge will have a 1900-person capacity.
“What’s unique about what we’re doing is that we’re treating this bridge like it’s land, and we’re making more land on it,” Zeller said.
“We think we’ll be a favorite bumper shot on Monday Night Football, but what’s probably even bigger is we’re hoping this lights up the Kansas River and triggers development that moves north all the way up to Missouri over time,” said Zeller.
Another milestone was achieved in the industrial sector when Ace Hardware Corporation recently chose to establish its primary United States distribution center at KCI 29 Logistics Park, the largest mega site in Missouri. The facility will span 1.5 million SF, making it the premier industrial distribution center by footprint in Kansas City.
“Companies are now selecting Kansas City over Phoenix, Indianapolis, and Dallas because of our ability to reach 90 percent of the US more efficiently,” Bell said.
According to Stephens, between 2018 and 2023, neither Kansas nor Missouri ranked in the Top 10, or even the Top 25, among states in advanced industrial logistics warehousing. By creating certainty with a fixed tax climate and other programs, Stephens said Kansas City has become the fifth fastest growing market in distribution logistics by square foot added.
The KC Streetcar expansion is hitting new milestones. Stephens said groundbreaking for the riverfront extension will be announced soon. Eight new streetcars will be added to the system. One new streetcar already has been delivered, with the others coming once a month.
“What that means is you will see an integrated plaza waiting area for transit riders. This is on the Troost MAX line, still walkable to the streetcar. We’re also going to add car share, bike share, a bike storage facility and a fixing facility. So really we’re looking at transit mobility as a whole. We’re really focused on those who want to leave their keys and do car share, do bike share, scooter, bus and/or the streetcar,” he said.
“Because the spotlight is continuously put on Kansas City, CPKC Stadium, our industrial connectivity, our connectivity in general with transportation and infrastructure as well as our cost of living, I think it puts us on the pedestal to be looked at,” said Collins.
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Feature Photo Credit: Arch Photo KC | Jacia Phillips
