REBUILDING DOWNTOWN & THE URBAN CORE

Building 'Something Spectacular'

by David Smale

Kansas City is not a small market. Maybe it is by professional sports standards, but when the nearest larger city in any direction but east is more than six hours away, Kansas City becomes a regional city, with a population of 8 million people to draw from.

That’s why the revitalization of Downtown is so critical. If done properly, Kansas City will be the place to be, not only for residents of the metro, but for people from hundreds of miles around.

“There is tremendous energy and momentum now building in the Downtown core of Kansas City,” said Mike Morris, development director for the Cordish Company, the Baltimore-based developer that is in charge of the Kansas City Live! entertainment district being constructed Downtown. “It is rare to see so much positive complementary development occur in one place.

“It is an incredibly exciting time for Kansas City. It is a world-class city and should have a dynamic and vital Downtown core. Downtown has the opportunity to not only become the center for entertainment in the metropolitan area, but to become the premier regional destination.”

In all, $3.4 billion in construction has been completed recently or is underway in Downtown, which comprises the area between the Missouri River and 31st Street, between State Line and the Bruce R. Watkins (Highway 71). Sean O’Bryne, vice president for business development of the Downtown Council believes that reviving its Downtown core is key to the success of any city.

“Downtown is the economic heartbeat of any region,” O’Bryne said. “Certainly it is for Kansas City. People should want Downtown to be the economic center. For example, convention dollars ripple throughout the community like no other dollar will do. Second, it’s an image thing. Downtown is a reflection of the citizens that live within the region. Nobody likes the image of a downtown that’s downtrodden and beaten. They like the image of a fresh, vibrant, 24-hour, seven-days-a-week downtown.”

A report prepared for the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City by the Sasaki Associates (called the Sasaki Report), states, “As a strong and vital core, a vibrant downtown strengthens the entire region, making Kansas City more competitive with other successful cities in attracting workers and visitors from the region and beyond.”

The Sasaki Report is a follow-up to an initial report done in 2000 that gave suggestions for how Kansas City could capitalize on its inherent strengths and improve on its weaknesses. The Sasaki Associates were impressed with the action taken. “Kansas City has made tremendous strides over the last five years to transform the downtown and infuse it with new energy. No city in America has accomplished as much in such a short time,” the report stated.

“While the accomplishments are great, the imperative at this point is to sustain the momentum. Ongoing investment and a focus on the downtown Loop as a priority will develop the solid base that stakeholders are looking for—an authentic, sustainable, viable place where people want to be most of all, whether it is for jobs, living, or entertainment and culture.”

Some may claim that reviving Downtown will hurt the suburbs, which have experienced growth and development at the expense of Downtown over the last half century. O’Byrne disagrees.

“It does not take anything away from the suburbs,” he said. “It is an economic engine. It will spur an economic ripple effect to suburban markets. Look at all the major markets. Those that have successful downtowns have related growth in their suburbs. The ones that have downtowns that are dead or dying, have stagnant suburbs as well.”

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has seen that first-hand.

“It’s in the city’s best interest to have good suburbs,” he said. “But it’s also in the suburbs’ best interest to have a good downtown. A strong downtown can make the suburbs better, and vice versa. The businesses in the suburbs will be more competitive in attracting top-flight employees if they’re near a city with a strong downtown.”

Hickenlooper says the most important part of rebuilding a downtown is residential construction. Before he became mayor, he owned a restaurant in the lower downtown (“LoDo”) section of Denver. He was opposed to the baseball stadium being built in that area because he felt it would stunt the residential growth. What he found, however, was that a mix of residential, entertainment and retail was good for all three.

“Baseball is a family thing, and people reacted to the stadium,” he said. “The residential area continued to grow, and after the stadium was completed in 1995, it escalated. In the last 10 years, we have built close to 10,000 residential units in downtown Denver.”

The credit for Kansas City’s resurgence goes to civic leaders, according to Cordish’s Morris. Mark Ernst, CEO of H&R Block, which has chosen to build its new world headquarters Downtown, said that leadership is one of the reasons his company chose to be a part.

“We believed in Mayor Kay Barnes’ vision of a vibrant new downtown and the true public/private partnership needed to make the vision a reality,” he said. “Kansas City is a part of our heritage, and we have a strong commitment to the community. Building the new H&R Block Center on Main Street Downtown continues our 50-year tradition of being located on Main Street in Kansas City.”

While the authors of the Sasaki Report are impressed with the progress shown so far, there is a strong recommendation for the next step that has attracted a lot of attention—a Downtown baseball stadium. So what are the chances? Better than you might think.

About a year ago, word leaked that the city was doing a feasibility study on building a stadium Downtown. With 10 years left on the current lease and the Bi-State vote coming up, Royals management put the kibosh on those plans.

“Our fans started reacting,” Royals President Dan Glass said. “They wondered why we would consider leaving when we have a beautiful stadium. Not to take anybody down the wrong path, we said we weren’t interested in pursuing it at that time.”

But Bi-State II failed, and Jackson County must find a way to raise $80 million to uphold its end of the lease. If that doesn’t happen, Glass said the Royals would consider options.

“If we were 100 percent sure that it wasn’t going to work (at the Truman Sports Complex), we would consider Downtown,” he said. “We’d probably look first in Jackson County, then beyond. But frankly, I don’t see that happening.

“The bottom line is there needs to be a consensus of where we should be. Right now, there is not a consensus among all of our fans. The Truman Sports Complex is so unique. People in Kansas City are too practical to throw away something like Kauffman Stadium.

“We still have 10 years on our lease. We have the benefit of being able to live out the next few years and let Downtown develop. That still gives us plenty of time to determine the next step.”

The summary of the Sasaki Report bodes well for Kansas City. “The success of any plan is ultimately determined by how it is implemented. This is a time of great opportunity, with a rebirth and transformation of Downtown now clearly underway. Timely action is required to achieve the full potential of the major capital investments now in place and under construction, and to extend the benefits to adjacent neighborhoods, other parts of the City, and the larger metropolitan area.”

So what will Kansas City look like in another five years? It’s hard to say, because what we’ve already seen is that redevelopment is very contagious.

“When we get this finished, we’ll have something spectacular,” O’Byrne said.

When H&R Block agreed to build its headquarters in Downtown Kansas City, it ignited great momentum to the redevelopment inside the Downtown loop.