Health Care & Community Services

Clay County hospitals are much like the old joke about Midwest weather: Stick around and they'll change.

This year, work was underway or recently completed at every major hospital in Clay Countyclear responses to growing markets, increased demands and growing opportunities.

The largest facility is also the oldest. Forty-year-old North Kansas City Hospital is a 350-bed, regional medical center serving the Northland as well as northwest Missouri. Its more than 550 physicians represent 45 medical specialists.

Liberty Hospital has grown dramatically in its 25 years and today lists 180 beds and more than 340 physicians. Also a regional medical center, Liberty serves patients north to the Iowa border and as far east as Trenton, Missouri. Liberty recently upgraded its state-designated, Level II Trauma Center.

Saint Luke's Northland Hospital-Smithville Campus is one of two Northland St. Luke's locations. This 92-bed facility has 211 employees. The Smithville campus has recorded many “firsts” throughout its long history. This facility has over 50 physicians on staff.

Although it is the smallest Clay County Hospital, the 34-bed Excelsior Springs Medical Center provides important health care for residents of Excelsior Springs and surrounding communities regardless of the patient's ability to pay. Excelsior Springs Medical Center services include emergency room, radiology, rehab- ilitation and independent living.

One of the largest Clay County medical institutions is Tri-County Mental Health Care Services. Located in the Human Services Building on the Maple Woods Community College Campus, Tri-County provides mental health services in Clay, Platte and Ray counties. Tri-County has six behavioral health physicians on staff at its main facility, along with a full-time staff of 71 involved in everything from medication services to com-munity substance-abuse prevention. Tri-County has won national fame for its utilization of existing mental health professionals located in communities throughout its three county area.

The Human Services Center housing Tri-County is also home to a number of health and community service organizations focusing on health and wellness issues.

Other health services are provided by the Clay County Health Department. This organization is responsible for services such as restaurant and other food vendor inspections as well as a wide range of consumer services such as Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Well-Baby Program. The department provides services from its main center in Liberty and at satellite walk-in clinics in Kearney, Excelsior Springs and at the Metro North Shopping Center.

Additional services are also available from the Northland Health Clinic.

Elementary & Secondary Education

Clay County boasts six public school districts, all of which have earned Missouri's highest “AAA” rating. These districts range from North Kansas City, with three high schools, to Missouri City, which consists of one school. Other districts are Liberty, Kearney, Excelsior Springs and Smithville.

Also serving the Northland are two large parochial districts, including the Northland Catholic Schools which operates numerous elementary programs and St. Pius High School.

The “newest” is the Northland Lutheran School Association which has operated elementary schools here for several years. This month, the Lutheran district will break ground on a new campus located on Highway 169 north of Metro North Shopping Center. The $35 million campus will eventually hold more than 1,400 students in grades one through 12.

The Northland also hosts two other private schools, Clay-Platte Montessori and the Oakhill Day School, as well as several faith-based programs. The latter group includes the Eagle Heights Baptist Church Faith Academy, Holy Cross Lutheran Life Christian Academy, the current Martin Luther Academy and Outreach Christian Academy.

The quality of Clay County's schools was most recently reinforced by the Missouri Department of Education's Distinction in Performance awards. With only about 30 percent of the state's schools qualifying, both North Kansas City and Liberty districts were included from Clay County.

All of Clay County's public and faith-based schools meet the rigorous standards of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Clay County public high schools are designated A+ Schools by the State of Missouri, allowing graduates to qualify for two years of post- secondary education funding. In the past five years, Northland graduates have been eligible for more than $10 million in A+ scholarship funding.

Clay County schools generally have smaller pupil/teacher ratios than state requirements, higher graduation rates and standardized test scores consistently above national averages. High percentages of Clay County seniors are college bound. They also celebrate equally high performance in arts and athletics.

The only “negative” with local school districts involves their boundaries, which in no way reflect municipal boundaries. For instance, the North Kansas City School District covers not only municipal North Kansas City but much of Kansas City, North, Gladstone, Pleasant Valley and Claycomo. Liberty's boundaries extend west of I-35 into Kansas City.

Higher Education

While elementary and secondary education is a strongpoint of Clay County, higher education is equally of great importance.

Clay County offers a surprisingly diverse selection of higher education, including programs that have earned national recognition. These schools also serve more than stereotypical high school graduates. Career programs, adult programs and other non- traditional curricula are widespread.

The oldest college in Clay County is also the oldest west of the Mississippi River. William Jewell College was founded in Liberty in 1849. Today this four-year liberal arts college has 1,400 full-time day students and 400 adult evening students.

Operated by the Missouri Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA, William Jewell is consistently ranked in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report's “America's Best Colleges.” In 2001, William Jewell was also named liberal arts “College of the Year” by Time Magazine.

Maple Woods Community College saw a major renovation this year when the 27-year-old institution expanded its administration area and created a new Learning Resources Building. This modern campus emphasizes practical learning for careers and preparation for four-year programs. Maple Woods has 5,042 students and another 4,000 in community education classes.

Sanford-Brown College was founded in 1866. This private institution offers extremely focused, short-term career and degree programs in business, health care and information technology. Sanford Brown's North Kansas City branch is the largest of its four Missouri campuses.

The University of Missouri at Kansas City operates a unique program at Metro North Mall. Three master's programs are currently available: curriculum and instruction, educational administration, and counseling/guidance. Expansion plans include social work, business administration, public administration and special education.

The Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was founded in 1957 on the former 200-acre Vivion Farm at Vivion and North Oak. The newest of six seminaries founded by the Southern Baptist Convention, Midwestern Baptist trains students to be pastors, teachers, ministers or missionaries.

Clay County institutions of higher learning impact more than students seeking degrees. William Jewell's nationally acclaimed Fine Arts Program is perhaps the most dramatic example of community involvement. It brings world-class fine arts to Kansas City, enriching Clay County and the entire metropolitan region. No less than a dozen theatre, symphony, art and other community programs are connected directly and indirectly to these institutions.

Residential Real Estate

Clay County's residential real estate market has become one of the most dynamic in metropolitan Kansas City.

The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City reported 1,064 housing starts in Clay County for the first eight months of 2002, a 24- percent jump from the same period one year earlier. For the same period, nearby Platte County recorded a 10 percent increase and metropolitan Kansas City an 11 percent increase.

Kansas City is by far the biggest player and in Clay County, discussion of Kansas City real estate must begin with the Shoal Creek Valley.

The scope of Shoal Creek is indicated by its sheer size, which is measured in square miles (more than seven), not acres. Picture Swope Park filled with homes, shopping centers and schools. The Shoal Creek Valley is bound generally by 1-435, northeast 96th Street, Flintlock Road and northeast 76th Street.

The unfolding development is largely in the hands of a few large companies such as Shoal Creek Valley Development Company and Hunt Midwest. These two companies alone are developing mixed uses on more than 4,200 acres, nearly the size of Longview Lake Park. Both are planning multiple, unique developments rather than huge tracts of cookie cutter construction with an emphasis on amenities. Current construction is also focusing on homes starting at near $200,000 and up.

Another area development is taking that even further. Staley Farms is a 700-acre, master-plan community located along the headwaters of a Shoal Creek tributary, near North Oak and Highway 291. The new championship golf course was complete before any of the executive homes began. Like other developments in the Shoal Creek Valley, Staley Farms emphasizes amenities such as greenways and landscaped common areas.

This trend toward luxury homes is also evident at the other end of the county. The Briarcliff sub-division features bluff-side “villas” and apartments near Highways 169 and 9. With homes starting at $400,000 and its stunning vista of the Kansas City skyline, Briarcliff is among the most unique in the Midwest.

Clay County's residential real estate also includes more affordable housing. First-time buyers find more options north of Shoal Creek along Highway 291 and in neighborhoods throughout the smaller communities.

Retail & Commercial Real Estate

Dramatic retail growth is evident at several Clay County locations because of two things: cars and rooftops.

One of the best examples is Highway 169 at Barry Road. As homes and traffic increase in the area, Metro North Shopping Center continues to thrive even as major new retail areas grow to the west and south.

Figures from an Iowa State University Department of Economics retail study show Clay County's steady trend upward. Retail sales for Clay County more than doubled from $1.1 billion in 1987 to $2.4 billion in 1997. In constant FY 1971 dollars, the sales per firm nearly doubled, from $428,033 to $873,990.

The growth at M-152 and I-35 is one of the most dramatic. Early development included businesses focusing on both local and non-local travelers: restaurants, gasoline stations and motels. More recently the focus is on the increasing number of area residents: two banks, a Target, Home Depot and Office Depot.

While most of this development has been on the Kansas City side of I-35, Liberty is seeing development of its “Triangle,” which had been stymied because the strategic location was divided among nearly 20 separate owners. A recent bridge expansion should solidify this as one of the Northland's best locations.

Some of Clay County's newest retail hotspots are surprising. The Ameristar Casino near I-435 and Highway 210 has plans for separate retail developments, as does the Harrah's Casino at 210 and Chouteau Trafficway. A major intersection is Chouteau Crossings at Chouteau and I-35. Chouteau Trafficway is developing into a significant corridor since completion of the new Missouri River bridge. A Tax Increment Financing package is proposed to improve this artery.

Other retail expansion is slated in the upscale Briarcliff development where La Bella Vita will be the first authentic lifestyle retail center to come to Kansas City since the concept was invented 70 years ago with the Country Club Plaza. Hunt Midwest is targeting retail growth on properties at I-435 and Parvin Road and at Highway 152 and North Brighton.

Commercial

While Clay County has no College Boulevard or Air World Center, its more evenly distributed office space experiences low vacancy rates and profitable rental.

A recent survey showed that in Class A buildings, Clay County averaged a rental rate of $22.40, one of the best in the metropolitan area. Clay County also has a surprisingly large quantity of commercial space. Its 45,906,200 s.f. far exceeds Platte County's 8,661,701, but much of Platte County's commercial space is in highly visible developments along I-29. Clay County's commercial real estate is often tucked in smaller pockets such as the Kendallwood complex in Gladstone or Bluejay Plaza in Liberty.

That is changing. One of the most dramatic examples is the Riverfront Business Center in the Briarcliff development on Highways 169 and 9. Perched on a bluff overlooking downtown Kansas City, this is one of the most dramatic sites in Kansas City. On this 600-acre, park-like setting, more than 215,000 s.f. of Class A office space has been constructed, with an additional 800,000-plus s.f. of space planned.

Hunt Midwest is currently developing a commercial and multi-family site near the largely vacant I-435 and M-152 intersection. Located at M-152 and North Brighton, this will be the first commercial development in an area that sees 37,000 cars pass each day. Hunt Midwest is also undertaking a commercial development near Parvin Road and I-435.

Other commercial developments are planned in mixed industrial/commercial locations near the Ameristar Casino. Part of a 2,500-acre master-planned development and located near the unique SubTropolis underground business complex, the Ameristar Development makes use of the newly completed four-lane Highway 210 access to I-435.

Industrial Real Estate

Even residents of Clay County are often surprised at the level of industrial development. From the more than 1,000 companies in North Kansas City's industrial zone to the American Italian Pasta Company in Excelsior Springs, industrial development is a dynamic component of Clay County.

Ford Motor Company with more than 6,000 workers and a payroll of more than $400 million at its Claycomo plant is the county's largest employer. The facility's health is indicated by ongoing plans for an approximately $300 million expansion. Ford also generates demand for suppliers and transportation, including the Norfolk Southern Intermodal facility near Highway 210, one of the largest and most modern in the Midwest.

The city of Liberty can boast a couple of major industrial residents, including its headquarters for Ferrellgas Partners and the huge Hallmark Cards distribution center. The latter is one of two highly automated Hallmark distribution facilities that combine to ship more than 1.3 million wholesale packages--each day.

Hallmark was one of several partners in the nearby Heartland Meadows Industrial Park. Begun in 1991, Heartland Meadows has filled each of its three phases ahead of schedule.

Heartland Meadows is located on what could eventually become one of the area's most dynamic development areas, the Highway 69 corridor between Liberty and Excelsior Springs. This highway is currently an under-utilized four-lane thoroughfare with a parallel rail line. The Clay County Regional Airport is midway between the two nearest communities. The County broke ground this fall on a major runway expansion that will allow landing by full-size cargo planes, including jets.

In the near term, Hunt Midwest is developing several industrial sites in Clay County as part of its properties in two key locations, Highway 210 and I-435, and at I-435 and Parvin Road. The Highway 210 site is part of a 2,500-acre master planned development adjacent to Hunt Midwest's SubTropolis, the world's largest underground business complex and itself a major industrial facility.

SubTropolis currently houses not only warehousing operations but several office and service firms. SubTropolis is also significant because it hosts one of the largest Foreign Trade Zone spaces in the United States. Under the authority of the Greater Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone, Inc., the site allows foreign goods to enter duty and quota free for an unlimited period of time. Goods are stored, manipulated, mixed with domestic or foreign material or exhibited for sale.

Clay County is also the site of Missouri Enterprise Zones, including sites at Excelsior Springs and Claycomo. This designation provides enhanced incentives to offset the tax liabilities of businesses in creating new jobs and new investment.

Clay County also makes judicious use of Industrial Revenue Bonds issues by its county-appointed Industrial Development Authority. In addition, most munici- palities within the county utilize Tax Increment Financing programs to help developers construct infrastructure.

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