KC Council Authorizes $5M to Facilitate Preparations for SouthPointe Project

Posted May 13, 2025

Kansas City has authorized the use of $5 million to help develop the SouthPointe at 63rd project, a 31-acre redevelopment that broke ground early last year.

The SouthPointe project is a mixed-income multi-family housing, office space and hospitality redevelopment located at the intersection of 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue. When completed, the project would consist of over 1,000,000 square feet of commercial and residential space.

A groundbreaking ceremony for SouthPointe was held in January 2024, which featured city leaders and members from the project developers. The project is being led by Southpointe Development LLC, a partnership between real estate developers UrbanAmerica and CJR Development Partners. Due to site conditions and construction costs, development has stalled on the project, Southpointe LLC development manager Marvin Lyman said during the Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee meeting on May 6.

“The site condition at 63rd and Prospect has proved to be far more complex and costly than initially projected,” he said. “Subsurface soil issues, including compaction challenges and drastic elevation changes, demand significant site preparation and correction. Costs that could not have been foreseen when the original plan was conceived, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Lyman went on to discuss the economic and cultural impact the development would produce in Kansas City. The developers have secured letters of intent for the planned office and retail space within the project, including the Hyatt Studios hotel brand. The hotel, which would be located on the east side of the development site, would act as an economic and employment boost in the area as well as serve as the first African American-owned and operated hotel in the Kansas City area in decades, he said. 

Following that meeting, during the City Council meeting on May 9, council members voted to authorize the use of $4.5 million previously appropriated from the General Fund, and $500 thousand previously appropriated from the Development Services Fund to facilitate site preparations for the project.

The ordinance was sponsored by member Ryana Parks-Shaw, Mayor Pro Tem and representative of the 5th City Council District of Kansas City. The ordinance passed with a vote of 11-2.

The council also authorized the City Manager to negotiate an amended and restated development agreement with Southpointe LLC.

The SouthPointe project, if completed, will feature 240 units of multi-family apartments and townhomes with exercise facilities, a pool, a meeting area and other amenities. Additionally, the project will include a 4-story, 140,000 SF office and retail building, a 114-key extended-stay hotel, a supermarket, up to two restaurant pad sites and more across its three-phased development plan, according to the project’s website.