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How Kansas City’s Dream Team Planned the Future

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2000 edition of Ingram’s.

THE YEAR IS 2050, and Kansas City has begun its bicentennial celebration. There is a great deal of real history in Kansas City’s 200 years. And with the passing of time, the momentum of change has continued to acceler­ate. Technology has long since become the conduit of connectivity. In recent decades, it has spurred the well orchestrated building of what today many consider to be the most vibrant city in America. A turning point in local history was the celebration of the city’s 150th birthday, which coincided with the advent of a new Millennium.

Kansas City’s Dream Team, (Standing L-R): Phil Kirk, Jim Calcara, Dan Carey, Greg Grounds, Bob Mayer, Vicki Noteis, Deron Cherry and Rafael Garcia. (Seated L-R): Stephen Nottingham, Rod Richardson, Adam Jones, Rob Pearcy, Peggy Dunn and Joe Sweeney.

At that time, a group of dreamers convened to craft a vision for the Kansas City of 2050. Issues discussed at this meeting ranged from the social, to the gov­ernmental,to the environmental. The meeting took place within the cellars of the recently opened American Restaurant in what we now call the “old town” section of Kansas City, or “Old KC” for short. Those fourteen people of geo­graphic and cultural diversity formed a metro-wide initiative that continues to spark discussion on the future of Kansas City even today. After that first meeting, and partly as a result of it, Kansas City grew to become the largest metro in the states of Missouri and Kansas and among the most progressive cities in which to live, work and call home in all the world.

In celebration of the 200th birth­day of Kansas City, we’re pleased to present segments of this historic meeting and share the vision that they created. 

A LOOK BACK AT A LOOK FORWARD

By Joe Sweeney

As you have probably read in your history books, this first “Greater Kansas City Summit” of 1999 started an annual tradition that holds a rightful place in hearts of all our citizens. Each person in atten­dance represented a point of view that collectively reflected the lives of all Kansas Citians. To make this summit work, the participants checked their agendas and egos at the door with the pledge to unify their efforts in a cohesive plan.

Fourteen people participated in this forum. Their ideas flowed very freely. And much of what they predicted, most surely came true. We present in­dicative quotes from those in atten­dance, edited only slightly. As is true for all winning teams, we prefer to at­tribute the fruits of this effort to the group not to the individual.

EXCERPTS FROM THE FIRST GREATER KANSAS CITY SUMMIT

Suburban Development

  • Those of us in the midwest should not ignore the fact that once west of St. Louis, the last eastern city, people came to inhabit open spaces. The westward movement represents the culture that people want – more open space to spread out. They don’t want too much density. Gimme some elbow room!
  • We’re going to look back more than 50 years from 2050 at the sub­urban explosion, which happened because of the federal highway act, the federal home lending act, the baby boom and the Brown vs the Board of Education issues. Those four things fed the suburban boom and separated the people who made decisions of developing the suburbs from those who remained in the center of the city.
  • Kansas City has the strongest suburbs in the country and no city can out-suburbanize this market. For this reason, Kansas City may likely never emulate the strong urban cores of cities like Boston or Philadelphia.
  • The greenway will become an increasingly important amenity of the Kansas City region.
  • If Kansas City continues to spread out as it has since 1950, the metro area will run 24 miles west of Topeka. The key to the growth of Kansas City will likely remain in the ability to appropriately manage how the market becomes in-filled in areas not yet developed.
  • In 2000, 58% of Kansas City, MO is still vacant or undeveloped. Why then would we continue to keep spreading out without in-filling the area we reside in first?
  • Edge cities are not different in description than traditional cities. They are defined by industry, gov­ernment, commerce, safety, cul­ture, companionship, community and religion. These are the com­ponents that will allow a hub city and the edge cities that border it to thrive as one.

Geo-Political Issues

  • Among the biggest detriments to anything we as a community do is our state line &the counties that separate us.
  • Cities, as they’re constituted now, will cease to exist. We will see less parochialism and more ways in which sales and property tax are used to make the area work more equitably and regionally.
  • There will be less competition between state and city economic de­velopment initiatives for tax base, as there will be regulators preventing the use of incentives to motivate businesses to move.
  • The son of Bi-State will be all the more important as something that people can embrace metro-wide. – Because we have no mountains or an ocean, we have nothing that will impede our geographic growth.
  • Decisions to construct or im­prove roads and other economic de­velopment decisions will be managed by a broader authority.
  • Future economic development and infrastructure demands will be managed by establishing a regional authority that will likely dissolve the influence of city and state govern­ment as we know it today.
  • The Kansas City area may be­come a true metropolitan planning area, and we will essentially elimi­nate the divisional lines and criteria that leave some areas healthy and others blighted.
  • The Kansas City area will re­place the organizational dysfunction that was spawned by the Interstates and area enterprise zones and will in­stead create a broader spectrum pro­gram that treats all geographic areas of the metro equally.
  • The concept of maximizing the worth of the entire area and assess­ing resources based on ethical and efficient standards rather than on arbitrary and dysfunctional ones will create a stronger overall region without perpetuating its problems. 
  • KC will grow to incorporate sur­rounding areas such as St. Joseph, Lawrence, Atchison and New KC. This will contribute to making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. European models like this, London for instance, are prime exam­ples of healthy metropolitan areas that KC will emulate.
  • The more it is analyzed, the more logical it appears that a metro­politan wide Unified Government may prevail in our future.
  • Having the chance to view the city from the outside looking in, the KC area perhaps grew too fast in the last 30 years since 1970. This growth has precluded the ability to resolve many of the issue that should be re­solved before the area expands its boundaries again.
  • City governance will evolve to become a citizen-oriented process that will make the biggest positive difference in quality of life issues for the people of the community.
  • By 2050 we anticipate that gov­ernment will become more intrusive in healthcare, if not providing the means, then certainly regulating the distribu­tion of service for equality’s sake.

The Future of “Old KC”

  • Downtown is and will likely al­ways remain the center of this city. We view it as the center radiating outward and make it a major focus of redevelopment for the overall health and well being of the metro area.
  • Much of the housing in the center city is of exceptional craftsmanship and will likely endure longer than more re­cently built housing in the suburbs.
  • The renaissance of the west side of Downtown Kansas City today must be emulated on its east side for the urban core to remain protected and thrive in a cohesive fashion.
  • The suburbs have caused this city to lose the nostalgic mix it so much longs to restore. When the com­munity works more to integrate this mix of income and amenities, it will be back on track of having the thriv­ing city culture the majority desires.
  • An example of diversity at work may today include the Northeast area of Kansas City. This area possesses a melting pot of cultures. The African­ Americans. The Italians. The Croatians. The Vietnamese. They and many more are living in a culture that is raising the youth that one day will run, certainly be a part of the coali­tion that runs, this city.
  • The irony of perception even in the year 2000 is deceiving. Take 18th & Vine for example. The stereotypi­cal response of people is that it may not be a safe place. In fact, this area has over time restored itself to be much safer than most of the suburbs themselves. This is occurring due to community neighborhood pride — people getting along to make it a place of cultural diversity, a better place to raise a family.

Transportation

  • In 2050, we may not be in need of a car, or at least in need of as many cars as a family needs today due to the lesser need of travel and more efficient methods of transport.
  • The impact of freight moving through this marketplace will be im­mense. While there will be dimin­ished manufacturing of product, there will remain the need to move prod­uct, and the Kansas City region will be among the most logical crossroads for the movement of product and data in North America.
  • The trick will be the transporta­tion to and from points of connectivi­ty throughout the metropolitan area.
  • In 2050, there could be a need for fewer roads. People will work more out of their homes. Likewise regional destinations of employment and transportation sectors may have people traveling against the grain of present day traffic congestion.
  • The reason people will choose to get out of their homes will be more due to the fulfillment of social interac­tion with people than for work.

Social Concerns

  • What may be among our great­est weaknesses today, may become our greatest strength in the future. The educational system of tomorrow may include districts linked by areas of interest and culture. This change in economic structure may break down the barriers that today hinder the great opportunities for learning.
  • Safety has been and we believe shall remain the number one priority of this community.
  • We hope to see a safe city in 2050. This is the primary reason people will stay here.
  • Presently the KC area is fairly seg­regated, not so much racially as eco­nomically with subdivisions being built that group people of the same income status and capability.
  • If we let the city decay and don’t rebuild it, we risk the loss of the culture that created its personality to begin with. We must tie this com­munity together regardless of race, color and financial capability. We must focus on the real issues and provide a quality and standard of life that everyone can share.

Commerce

  • Kansas City will build its future on who we are, and not who we are not. We are not Chicago or New Orleans. This community offers great quality of life. We will attract people not because of mountains and beach­es but rather because of tangible amenities and industry.
  • The internet will contribute the greatest change to the world of retail­ing as we know it today.
  • Today, transportation and stor­age of data already outpaces the manufacturing and hard goods sector all over the world. Imagine how this will be in 2050 and beyond.
  • Telecommunication in the future will become a large factor as to how we operate. We do not anticipate there to be any telephone cables &/or wires. All communication will likely be digital wireless.
  • The world has become more global than we may realize. In 50 years we will be able to do things we never dreamed of today. If we build a Downtown arena today, in 20 years we may choose to not attend due to virtual reality that gives us the same experience without the challenge or cost of attending. Technology is taking us where we literally can sit at home and still live in a world of interactivity.
  • What we will see in urban re­newal is a mixed-use type of venue – with retail, commercial and residential living for all ages and incomes.

Larger Musings

  • Jazz is the only true art form in the world that was created here. – We believe the world knows about us but we do not know about the world.
  • The Kansas City region creates a collective decision-making process, which bodes well for the things we’re trying to build here.
  • The area possesses so many people of enormous vision. That’s the greatest resource we have in Kansas City.
  • Kansas City has an inferiority complex. What might be our greatest strengths may be what we think are our most significant weaknesses.
  • Kids are an issue that pretty much everyone in KC comes together on.
  • I think that if KC’s going to shape the future, education is going to be at the heart of that.
  • The challenge is how do we keep all of our cities viable, exciting, safe places to be?
  • When we consider our greatest assets, our open spaces come to mind. But they may be one of our greatest deficits in that they give us the opportunity to move away as things deteriorate, instead of staying and recycling them.
  • The people living along the Troost Corridor don’t spend much time in Leawood, and I would hazard a guess that Leawood people don’t spend much time on Troost.
  • We are figuring out, before it is too late, that environmentally we can’t sustain this kind of growth.
  • I would see the city in 2050 as one in which decisions are made with far greater concern for how those decisions effect other people in the community.
  • When my daughter gets out of college, I want her to think that she can stay in KC to raise her family, because it has a great future.
  • I think what we’re all saying here is that we must remember the human scale. Technology in many intrinsic ways, disconnects us.
  • In community rebuilding, we have to take a sense of pride in car­ing for the community. That’s accom­plished through widespread increase in community service efforts. Youth mentoring is another key issue. That’s really the measurement of our legacy. It’s not what we did individ­ually, it’s what we taught together.
  • Churchill said that we design our buildings but then we determine our destiny. Should we consider de­veloping our plan before we start building for the sake of building.

 

The Founders of the Greater Kansas City Summit, of December 1999

Phil Kirk of DST Systems. For many years, Phil contributed to the redevelopment of the urban core. He most notably inspired the Southwest Boulevard Corporate Corridor that connected to the West Bottoms Campus. Kirk also became famous for rebuilding the mechanical Hereford Cow that once rested high on a pedestal above the Downtown skyline in western downtown.

Jim Calcara of CDFM2. Jim was the founder of The Avenue of the Arts. With his associates, he designed many structures and office environments for commercial development in the region. Calcara would go on to influence the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to build its World Headquarters in KC in a structure spanning the Missouri River.

Peggy Dunn, then Mayor of Leawood, KS. Peggy would go on to become Governor of Kansas. She was most notably remembered as the Co-Chair of the organization to secure a major Kansas entrance on the North American Toll Road.

Rafael Garcia of Rafael Architects. Rafael was one of area’s most forward thinking architects. He would become recognized for contributing to the master plan of “New Kansas City”(formerly Miami County) and help to secure the development of The New KC International SpaceP0rt. Garcia likewise was named first Chairman of the newly formed American Hispanic Chamber of Commerce headquartered in New KC.

Rob Pearcy represented the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS. Rob would one day be recognized for operating one of the leading advertising and P.R. agencies in the Midwest. He would also help secure the right away to form Mighty MO River Road and Chair an initiative to develop the Missouri river fronts and Brush Creek corridor.

Rod Richardson of the Johnson County Vision Task Force and a partner with Wallace Saunders, et al. Rod would become the Co-founder of the Greater Kansas City Summit and among the local business leaders to secure the Kansas City region as being among America’s most thriving metropolitan areas.

Deron Cherry, former All-Pro Kansas City Chief and independent businessman. Deron would serve reluctantly as Mayor of Kansas City and would lead the first area-wide United Way Regional Coalition. He also became significantly involved with the development of the KC Area Mass Transit Rail System.

Greg Grounds, Mayor of Blue Springs, MO. Greg was the political activist who unified the communities of Jackson County and passed State of Missouri and federal legislation to fund the Missouri Turnpike. The Missouri Turnpike originates in Kansas City and travels through Central Missouri between Jefferson City and the Lake of the Ozarks and into the southern corridor of the St. Louis area.

Adam Jones, urban commercial real estate developer and artist. Adam was involved with conceptualizing the master plan of the Southwest Boulevard Corporate Corridor and became most famous for the redevelopment of the West Bottoms Campus in the historic WoodStockYards District of Kansas City.

Dr. Dan Carey, the long-term President of Benedictine University in Atchison, KS. Dan contributed to the Kansas City region working with Kansas and Missouri Departments of Transportation and area educators. He would become known most notably as the person who designed and set aside the land for the later development of the outer highway system as part of the KC Metro Transit Plan of 2009.

Bob Mayer of GMAC Commercial Mortgage would join Peggy Dunn’s task force to secure the North American Toll Road to traverse through the Kansas City region and form the North American Crossroads Coalition Corp. Mayer most notably became recognized as the visionary who would establish Tripoint Corporate Centers located in Platte City, at I-70 in Wyandotte County and in New KC where the North American Toll Road points of access are located.

Vicki Noteis, urban planner for the City of Kansas City, MO and the architect of the F.O.C.U.S. Plan. Vicki remained involved with F.O.C.U.S to maintain its integrity. She was later honored by the Urban Land Institute as being one of the six Urban Planners of the 20th Century.

Stephen Nottingham, Art Director of Ingram’s Magazine. Steve would become the Chairman and master planner of MetroGreen, the nature trails and transportation greenbelt that circles the KC area. Nottingham’s design connected neighborhoods circling the area and incorporated bike paths, jogging trails and waterways that preserved the endangered environmental concerns created in the early 21st Century.

Joe Sweeney, Publisher of Ingram’s. Joe founded the Harlem Yacht Club on the north shore of the Missouri River east of the historic Broadway Bridge and would become best known for the design of the Kansas City Area Mass Transit Rail System, a plan that would be scrutinized for many years until business leaders realized the logic and value to efficiently moving high volumes of people and diminishing air quality concerns.