Downtown Council Office Summit Offers Overview of Potential Projects

By Kevin Collison

Call it a SimCity for grownups.

Last week’s Downtown Council office summit not only provided expert opinion on where the downtown Kansas City office market may be heading over the next few years, but laid out potential office development sites ranging from the Berkley Riverfront to Washington Square.

To summarize, the consensus of the panel that came together along with real estate executives Gib Kerr of Cushman & Wakefield, and Mike Klamm of CBRE, was that the vacancy rate has tightened to the point new construction will likely be necessary soon.

The last high-rise office tower built to serve multiple tenants downtown was the 30-story 1201 Walnut building in 1991. The H&R Block building, a single use tower, was completed in 2003, and Corrigan Station, a redevelopment office project for multiple tenants at 18th and Walnut, just opened this year.

The group believes that downtown’s revival, helped by a residential boom that now counts about 25,000 residents, has created an environment that appeals to companies seeking to recruit younger talent who want to be in a more diverse, vibrant environment.

During the presentation, Kerr identified sites in downtown that have been identified for potential office developments.

Here’s the locations and some ideas that have been suggested for the scale of development that might work at the appropriate time:

Berkley Riverfront

Berkley Riverfront development concept

1034 Main

1034 Main development concept

13th and Grand

13th and Grand development concept

16th and Broadway

16th and Broadway development concept

East Village

East Village development concept

Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park development concept

Third and Grand

Third and Grand development concept