Jon Stephens, president and CEO of Port KC, shared the breadth of the projects in which Port KC is involved at the February CCIM Kansas City Chapter meeting.
Port KC is a state-enabled port authority, one of 15 in the state of Missouri.
“We're actually the fastest growing port authority in the Midwest. We're one of the most diverse port authorities and we run actual facilities, but then we also do development finance and a lot of other land use,” said Stephens.
In 2015, Port KC took over a decommissioned bulk goods port and 70 plus years of infrastructure located in Kansas City’s West Bottoms area. With an investment of a few million dollars, Port KC reopened the port and re-established waterborne commerce out of it.
“Now more than 100,000 tons are imported and exported out of this site a year, with a capacity for 300,000 in our current format. We continue to reinvest,” Stephens said.
In 2018, Port KC acquired a 420-acre site that AK Steel Corporation used as a landfill near the confluence of the Blue River and the Missouri River. Stephens said Port KC is developing through a public-private partnership a $500 million intermodal center on the site. Port KC also is in the process of establishing its own short line railroad to connect all of the class one rails that will run through the center.
Kansas City last year was the fourth fastest-growing logistics market, making it now the 15th largest logistics hub in the nation, but only the 31st largest metro area, said Stephens.
“We did a market study that the number of shipping containers coming in and out of Kansas City by 2030 will be more than double what they are today. Our highways, our rail cannot sustain that. So we're building that out,” Stephens said.
Much of Port KC’s land development currently is focused on the riverfront, the original foundation of the growth of Kansas City; however, when Port KC took possession of the area, it had been long neglected.
“The Kemper Arena roof was dumped there and left there in the trees and the weeds because when the original roof collapsed, the city, to save money, just dumped it on the riverfront,” Stephens said.
Today, the riverfront boasts such improvements as the Berkley Riverfront Park, a portion of the Riverfront Heritage Trail, the Town of Kansas Pedestrian Bridge, Union Berkley Riverfront, a mixed-use residential development featuring 410 apartment units that were the first residences built on Kansas City’s riverfront in 110 years, Bar K and the CORE apartment complex.
“Our vision for the future is to build a five and a half million square feet true mixed-use walkable neighborhood. We anticipate 8,000 to 10,000 residents living in this area. It will be dense. It will be vertical. It will continue to go more vertical but in a very different way. And then any significant office attraction will be placed more on the I-35 corridor,” said Stephens.
Soon to be added to the riverfront area is a streetcar stop in the center of the park. Stephens said the rail is going to be delivered and start to be welded in the fourth quarter of this year, and it will open at the same time as the Main Street streetcar extension.
While Port KC was weighing options and possibilities for an east-end anchor to the riverfront, Chris and Angie Long contacted Port KC about the possibility of building a stadium to house their newly acquired professional women’s soccer team, Kansas City Current.
“What really was possibly the shortest project timeline in the history of professional sports, in ten months, we went from wow, wouldn't it be cool to do something to announcing an 11,500-seat, professional stadium on the riverfront, structuring the entire deal, having all the land, everything's done, everything's ready,” Stephens said.
“The initial designs are to make this incredibly urban, pedestrian-oriented. . . . there will be no permanent parking for this stadium at all. Everything will be oriented to be walkable, to be park and ride, to be streetcar,” he said.
Port KC also does development finance, using tax exemptions and conduit bond issuances.
“We have a lot of ways to do various programs with port improvement districts, with international trade zones, with advanced industrial manufacturing zones. So we’re able to look at the traditional pieces when it comes to developers that are looking to do really any vertical, but our primary vertical the last two years has been the industrial manufacturing supply chain and working to bring those projects to life or get them pad-ready,” said Stephens.
Port KC has partnered in the development of 49 Crossing on the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base land.
“So the future for Port KC is we’re going to continue to do what we do best which is doubling and tripling down on logistics and infrastructure. We are continuing to look at not just building out the Berkeley Riverfront, but what’s next with all of the associated, adjoining land,” Stephens said.
Stephens said he thinks the West Bottoms area is poised for massive change and growth.
“We’re excited about working with various stakeholders down there to do it right, in the right way and let it continue to become some industrial, some distribution, which is what it is, but then also be able to add thoughtfully housing and retail and all the kinds of things that make that kind of an interesting neighborhood,” he said.