Dive Brief:
- The development team for The Grove, an 85-acre, $220 million mixed-use development in the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit, MO, has announced it will break ground on the project's first phase this month, according to the Kansas City Business Journal.
- Developers have chosen Kansas-based general contractor A.L. Huber to oversee construction of the project, as well as design firm Klover Architects and engineering company BHC Rhodes.
- This first portion of the project will take five years to complete and will include 440,000 square feet of industrial space. The Grove should take 10 years to finish, and, when 100% complete, will include more than 600,000 square feet of industrial and flex space, 95,000 square feet of offices, more than 88,000 square feet of retail stores and restaurants, nearly 385 apartments and more than 2,500 parking spaces.
Dive Insight:
Kansas City, MO, is also getting a major development along its riverfront. Last month, the Kansas City Port Authority announced details for the 80-acre, Berkeley Riverfront Park development. The "live-work-play" project will feature 400 apartments, 6 acres of retail and a restaurant in its first phase, as well as a potential connector to the Kansas City streetcar system.
Kansas City is also increasing its capacity to accommodate more events and travelers to the area. Spurred on by unsolicited proposals from contractors Burns & McDonnell and AECOM, Kansas City International Airport officials issued a request for proposals in May from companies interested in designing, building and privately financing a new terminal. The only information available about the project is that it will include a 750,000-square-foot building — plus a parking garage — and will cost around $1 billion.
The Kansas City City Council also cleared the way last month for construction to begin on a $300 million hotel near the city's convention center. The city will donate land for the project and has created a Community Improvement District around it, a move that will allow special guest and hotel taxes to go toward financing it. Kansas City officials said a new hotel is necessary to compete for lucrative convention and trade show business.
