Pulse Design Group moves into Plaza high rise

Pulse Design Group has moved into their new office space on the tenth floor of the 46 Penn Centre building.

Custom-designed by their own team, Pulse’s new, 10,000-SF headquarters feature unobstructed views of the Country Club Plaza, an open floor plan and plenty of space to safely collaborate and accommodate anticipated staff growth.

The finished product is a welcoming environment that fosters collaboration, innovation and creativity - the perfect stage for a team of healthcare forward-thinking architects, interior designers, medical equipment planners and virtual reality developers.

“The move to the Country Club Plaza provides a larger footprint for firm growth, adds increased visibility, creates a central locale for employees, clients and industry partners, and offers additional amenities for associates,” said Rick Embers, managing partner for Pulse.

The open kitchen and dining spaces provide an area for the entire firm to meet and further encourage employee camaraderie. Multiple meeting spaces, varying in size, provide areas throughout the office for employees to work individually or in small groups.

“The new space is also great for entertainment. The central location and open-floor concept caters to hosting industry events,” said Lindsay Hampton, Pulse principal.

Pulse is optimistic that the move across the state line - from Lenexa, Kan. to Kansas City, Mo. - will catapult the firm’s goals; which include recruiting and developing talent, increasing brand awareness, identifying new business to diversify the firms portfolio, expanding the firms geographic reach and adding areas of focus within healthcare design.

“Employee morale is at an all-time high. Everyone is so proud of our new space,” said Pulse president, Dennis Burns.

It was important for the leadership to have all hands on deck while creating their new office, which even served as a learning tool for younger staff who were included in design charrettes, an integral part of the creative process.

“Many Pulse employees were involved in the creation of our new space and it is was amazing to see the employee excitement while creating their new home. Our new office space is collaborative, open, modern and caters to innovative design,” said Basil Sherman, Pulse principal.

Pulse leadership is also dedicated to employee professional development, encourages community involvement networking with industry professionals and assists and advises in employee growth.

“Whether that requires advising intern architects on licensure, helping staff achieve accreditations, suggesting outlets to obtain continuing education credits or mentoring a summer intern, Pulse Design Group leadership capitalize every opportunity to assist employee professional development,” said Mary Moore, Pulse associate principal.

Providing cutting-edge, solution-driven design solutions are at the core of the firm as exemplified in one of their recent projects at Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH) West Campus.

Representing the largest single campus expansion in it’s history, the LMH Health West ambulatory facility is a new, 243,000-SF medical office building designed to guide the organization for the next 20 years. Pulse Design Group provided full architectural and interior design services in addition to complete scope of services for medical equipment planning. This design-build project featured a constant collaboration between architect, contractor and owner that resulted in a cutting-edge facility to serve Douglas County.

Pulse Design Group was originally founded in 1980 as Wilson Johnson Associates. In 1997, Rick Embers joined and the firm became known as Wilson Johnson Embers (WJE). In 2011, WJE rebranded to Pulse Design Group, zoning in on their healthcare industry focus. Today, Pulse Design Group is celebrating over 40 years in business.

“Many of the firm’s employees have been with Pulse Design Group 10+ years, a true testament to positive employee satisfaction,” said Michael Andracsek, Pulse principal.

From a COVID-19 standpoint, Pulse is maintaining a safe and operational office space with safely-distanced workstations, staff mask requirements and room occupancy limits.

To learn more about Pulse Design Group, please visit their website at www.pulsedesigngroup.com.

46 Penn Centre adds Ocean Prime Restaurant to menu

Country Club Plaza’s recently completed 14-story corporate office building, 46 Penn Centre, is adding acclaimed restaurant Ocean Prime Restaurant + Prime Social Rooftop to its amenities menu.

Pinnacle Construction Group will begin construction on the steak and seafood restaurant in the next 60 days, with an anticipated fall 2021 opening date, according to a release.

Kansas City is the newest location - and the first in Missouri - for Ocean Prime’s award-winning Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR). The management investment partnership became a reality between the restaurant group and investors associated with Block Real Estate Services principals.

“At the outset of our plans for the building, we set our sights on landing a world class restaurant for 46 Penn Centre,” said Ken Block, managing principal of Block Real Estate Services.

With 8,500 SF of space, including three private dining rooms and a peninsula bar, Prime Social will be the only rooftop venue with expansive views of the Plaza and surrounding area.

“Ocean Prime is one of the finest restaurants in the U.S. and is the perfect partner to provide that elevated guest experience. It gives our tenants even more amenities at their fingertips, as they will soon have an in-house restaurant and rooftop lounge to entertain their clients and employees,” said Cameron Mitchell, founder and CEO of CMR.

This will be the 17th Ocean Prime restaurant since the 2008 launch of the concept in Columbus, Ohio.

“We are excited to expand the Ocean Prime concept, bringing both classic and modern fare,” said Mitch Miller, vice president of Ocean Prime.

“Our restaurant is known for its vibrant energy, made-from-scratch menu offerings, seasonal ingredients and an extensive menu to suit every palate- including prime steaks, chops, chicken and seafood. Our signature cocktails, from classics to original creations, and extensive wine list are a highlight of our guests’ experience. Prime Social will be a cool rooftop oasis and an ideal spot for guests to sip, savor and surround themselves within the cityscape,” Miller said.

46 Penn Centre opened in the fall of 2020. The Class A office building features 220,000 +/- RSF of office space, approximately 11,000 +/- RSF of retail space and secure, covered parking. Located north of 47th Street and east of Pennsylvania Avenue, it features private balconies on each floor and has been constructed with only four columns per floor for maximum space-plan efficiency.

KC Streetcar stays on track to success

Despite the economic challenges of the COVID pandemic, the KC Streetcar system continues to gain momentum and community support.

During this week’s KC Downtowners monthly webinar, Tom Gerend, executive director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA), discussed the current status of the KC Streetcar line as well as the plans for expansion.

“Decreased foot traffic in downtown Kansas City has impacted ridership, but not enthusiasm. Local neighborhoods are continuously requesting that the line extend into their area,” Gerend said.

The current extension projects include routes to the Country Club Plaza, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and the River Market.

“The Plaza stop is an exciting development. This extension will be a gateway connection linking the KC Streetcar to local and regional bus routes. The residents of the Mainline and Plaza areas will have increased accessibility as well,” Gerend said.

The ease of accessibility to these areas will be an added bonus for the students of UMKC. The campus stop will not only help bring foot traffic into other neighborhoods, but be an added an amenity for students.

The additional stops were requested, voted on, approved and funded by the districts that they will impact and are expected to be complete by late 2025.

At the other end of the Mainline, the KC Streetcar plans to expand to the River Market.

“The River Market is a Kansas City neighborhood that has essentially been on an island. This connection will raise the quality of life for residents in this neighborhood by offering better accessibility to and from the area,” said Gerend.

The $20 million project has received $14 million in federal funding and $6 million from local investors.

The current Mainline operates six cars; the expansion projects will allow that number to increase to twelve. The additional cars will require a larger maintenance facility, which is being planned alongside the expansion projects.

The success of the KC Streetcar is clear with public transportation ridership up 30 percent since it began operation, according to Gerend.

“While there is no way of quantifying the economic impact of the COVID pandemic until we are on the other side of it, the hope is that continuing to develop our city during this time will help us bounce back faster,” Gerend said.

In closing, Gerend was asked about further expansion north and south of the urban core.

“There are three legs to the stool. Before we can move forward with a project, we need to know there is technological feasibility, financial feasibility and community support. We are seeing a lot of community support north of the river. The feasibility still needs to be determined,” Gerend said.

Early discussions with North Kansas City have brought to light the possibility of future expansion across the Heart of America Bridge; however, data regarding the feasibility of the that project still needs to be collected.

“This season has brought with it many challenges, but development in downtown Kansas City is moving forward with a hopeful outlook. The KC Streetcar will serve as a valuable asset in recovery and continuing to grow our city,” Gerend said.

The expansion project team plans to seek local contractors via the KCMO procurement process.

Gerend was named the first executive director of the KCSA in June 2014. Since public opening of the streetcar system on May 6, 2016, the KC Streetcar system has carried over 8 million passenger trips, won numerous state and national awards and has been credited with stimulating over $3 billion in active economic development in downtown Kansas City.

In addition to overseeing KCSA’s financial, operations, maintenance and marketing programs, Gerend is helping to lead and advance the streetcar expansion efforts to the Missouri Riverfront and UMKC in partnership with the City of Kansas City, Missouri; the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority and PortKC.