Three of the biggest projects were entertainment-related.

The Kansas City Power & Light District continued the long, slow rollout of its $850 million downtown revitalization
project; the $326 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is finally rising on a hillside just south of the Downtown Loop; while the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village waterpark has slowed to a trickle of this $450 million construction project.

Power & Light’s milestones the past year have included completion of downtown’s long-awaited grocery and market, Cosentino’s Market Downtown, and the reopening of the rejuvenated Midland Theatre as a state-of-the-art concert
venue.Wyandotte County and Schlitterbahn officials have emphasized they are still on schedule for opening of the massive water park and resort later in 2009.

Despite their size, none were the largest project in the region. That honor went to the nearly $2 billion Iatan 2 power plant north of Weston. Kansas City Power & Light re-started that work in 2007 following a multi-year dispute that will delay completion until at least 2010.

• The Independence School District has been rewarded for its excellence in education in recent years, as indicated by
the district receiving the “Distinction in Performance” accreditation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education for 2006, 2007 and 2008. The school district’s focus is to provide an excellent learning opportunity for each student. It is committed to helping students achieve their dreams, to ensuring students’ futures, and to working with parents, business partners and city officials to make Independence a viable and cohesive community.

Making Tracks

A significant number of projects involved transportation, including three massive intermodal developments.

The fastest out of the blocks was the CenterPoint–KCS Intermodal Center at the former Richards Gebaur Air Force
Base in south Jackson County. This $150 million, 970-acre facility completed its first phase in 2008. A joint partnership
of CenterPoint Properties of Chicago and Kansas City Southern Railway, Center- Point-KCS broke ground in March 2008.

“They’re open and trucks are driving there,” noted Chris Gutierrez, president of KC SmartPort. “They spent a significant
amount of money at a time when there’s little investment elsewhere.”

The $30 million invested so far is geared toward build-to-suit distribution center prospects, noted Mark Long of Zimmer Real Estate, which is marketing the property. “We could break ground tomorrow on a building.”

Fred Reynolds, senior vice president of Development for CenterPoint, said the project is geared to exploit trends involving everything from global trade to fuel prices. “Kansas City is really blessed on a national basis with location and infrastructure,” he said. “Our site is also outstanding. You’ve got Class I rail on one side and two full interchanges with
[U.S. Highway] 71 on the other.” The entire area is a Foreign Trade Zone and, via Kansas City Southern Railway, has
rail connections to Mexico and the Pacific.”

Reynolds expects corporations to begin examining the build-ready sites as weather warms. The current economy, if anything, may even help. “Efficient transportation is even more important when the economy is tight,” he said. “In many cases, you can save enough to cover your rent. It’s significant.”

In south Johnson County, Logistics Park KC near Gardner is a similar rail and trucking operation under construction. Owned by BNSF Railway and being developed by the Allen Group, the 1,000-acre intermodal facility has a price tag of $200 million.

Construction started in October on the Intermodal Business Centre at Kansas City International Airport, developed by the Trammel Crow Company for the Kansas City Aviation Department. The $150 million, 800-acre Business Centre is rising on the southeast corner of KCI’s property. Scheduled for completion in the summer of 2009, the first phase, on 180 acres, will house approximately 1.8 million square feet ofcommercial space, one of the nation’s largest Foreign Trade Zones.

At the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, several projects completed or under way total approximately $110 million. Current work includes $22 million in access construction on the west side of the airport and $17 million for work that includes new hangars.Both are scheduled for completion in the summer of 2009.

Transportation construction has been strong for several years in the region, and could help area construction companies weather the down economy for awhile. Transportation-related projects exploit Kansas City’s centralized location and strategic transportation network.

Other projects include new and expanded distribution centers, such as the 400,000-square-foot Pure Fishing facility near KCI. Announced in May, the building is under construction on 47 acres in the SkyPort Business Park. Even larger is a 600,000-square-foot distribution center completed early in 2008 by Kessinger/Hunter in Olathe. Another began when O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. purchased 16 acres in Executive Park for a 210,000-square-foot facility.

 

Downtown Focus

Despite the opening of the Sprint Center and much of the Power & Light District, there’s still been plenty of construction
activity downtown this year. In addition to the aforementioned Kauffman Center, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City opened its 12-story, $200 million headquarters in 2008.

A project likely to bring great impact is the $245 million Paseo Bridge replacement, which will improve I-35 traffic flow from the Northland into downtown. The Christopher S. Bond Missouri River Bridge will feature an eye-catching tower
and up to double the capacity. The sixlane roadway will be expandable to eight and will include an auxiliary lane connecting local industrial areas to keep trucks off the main right of way.

“It’s designed to fix those bottlenecks,” Jennifer Benefield of the Missouri Department of Transportation noted.

“That’s the key.”

The 260-foot-high main tower required special agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration to accommodate flight patterns at nearby Downtown Airport. The work also includes some five miles of work on I-35 north and south of the bridge, helping traffic to flow more smoothly in and out of downtown.

Also downtown, J.E. Dunn Construction’s world headquarters building took shape in 2008. It’s a $40 million, 203,000-square-foot office notable for several reasons, including its location northeast of city hall where little redevelopment has occurred to date. The Dunn project will be one of the greenest in the region because of its designed Gold LEEDcertification that would make it the first corporate headquarters in the area so recognized.

 

Retail Work

Although entertainment and retail have been hurt by the economy, construction on several major centers continued during 2008.

In excess of $1 billion in construction was represented by the continued work on major centers in Johnson County. The
1.1 million-square-foot, $225 million Corbin Park in Overland Park advanced in 2008. The mixed-use Priairiefire in Overland Park is progressing toward a 2010 opening. The $400 million project will have 600,000 square feet.

In Leawood, the $450 million Park Place mixed-use center opened with 550,000 square feet, including office
development and two hotels.

Across the state line, the 550,000- square-foot Summit Fair in Lee’s Summit is progressing toward a late 2009 opening. It will be anchored by a Macy’s. Also in Jackson County, Adam’s Dairy Landing in Blue Springs is a 600,000 square foot power center.

Platte County’s Zone Rosa completed its second phase shortly before the end of 2008. The work doubled that center’s
size and cost some $141 million.

Across I-29, the new Tiffany Springs MarketCenter was comprised of 675,000 square feet when it was completed in
mid-2008. In Clay County, two centers were finished along Highway 152 west of Liberty. The Shoppes at Shoal Creek and Shoal Creek Plaza combined for more than 400,000 square feet and approximately $100 million in construction.

After a lengthy work stoppage, the West Edge near the Country Club Plaza restarted construction in 2008 with a new contractor.

Housing the new Bernstein-Rein headquarters, the 2.4-acre retail and commercial development will feature a hotel, restaurant and auditorium.The price tag is $125 million.

Development of Clay County’s Briarcliff West continued with more construction, including a new office and
hotel. The $40 million, nine-story, Hilltop office complex was 80 percent leased before opening in the fall of 2008.

In Leavenworth County, the $45 million Lansing Towne Center began work. The 215,000-square-foot project with a 100,000-square-foot anchor. The massive overhaul of Truman Sports Complex was well under way in 2008, where Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums were being renovated. Kauffman is expected to be finished for opening day in 2009, while Arrowhead should be complete in time for the 2010 season. Total costs will be $425 million.

Not all announced projects moved ahead. The Gateway project in Mission and The Falls at Bass Pro in Independence
were regrouping thanks to the challenging economy. Although the nearly $600 million Village West and Legends developments continued work in 2008, the biggest news was the cancellation of a $777 million Hard Rock Casino, hotel and entertainment complex. The state has reopened bidding on the project, which, eventually, will likely still yield a gambling and entertainment project at or near the Kansas Speedway, albeit much smaller than the
original Hard Rock plan.

 

Health and Housing

Greater Kansas City’s position as a regional health care market has helped keep construction crews busy.

The University of Kansas Hospital opened a new Center for Advanced Heart Care rehabilitation unit and the Marc A. Asher M.D. Comprehensive Spine Center. Though relatively small, the projects were part of a $77 million operation that opened in 2006.

Saint Luke’s has several projects, including construction of the Mid America Heart Institute, part of a $350 million
expansion of its main center near the Plaza. The $150 million Heart Institute will cover 350,000 square feet with new diagnostic and scanning equipment.

Saint Luke’s also finished the nearby Ellen Hockaday Center for Women’s Care at a cost of approximately $23 million. The $51 million expansion at Saint Luke’s East-Lee’s Summit also finished this past year.

Shawnee Mission Medical Centercompleted its new outpatient center in western Lenexa. The Outpatient Pavilion
on Prairie Star Parkway cost $16 million and is comprised of 79,000 square feet. Also nearby is Shawnee Mission Medical
Center’s $84 million extension.

Cass Regional Medical Center expects to complete a $49 million replacement facility in Harrisonville in late 2009. At
138,000 square feet, the new hospital will be more than twice its current size.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital was more than midway through a threephase, $40 million expansion. It is scheduled for completion in 2010.

The first new hospital in Clay County in some time was also completed: Northland LTAC Hospital near 68th and U.S.
169 included an investment of $18 million for just less than 50,000 square feet. By the end of October, LTAC was
planning its second phase and Phase III is set for the first quarter of 2009, taking LTACH to 35 beds and full capacity.

In December, Liberty Hospital completed a $13 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion. With two new floors atop the south tower, the hospital added 40 additional licensed beds to the facility, bringing the new total to 285.

The Excelsior Springs Medical Center’s expansion cost $9.4 million. Completed late in 2008, it added a two-story,
28,000-square-foot outpatient and wellness clinic to the existing facility.

Construction at Hospital Hill included $120 million at Children’s Mercy, part of a five-year expansion plan, and $20 million at Truman Medical Center.

In an otherwise gloomy year for housing construction, the long-delayed Beacon Hill project on Kansas City’s east side began work estimated to top $60 million. Near the Jazz District, the first 13 townhomes were under construction, with more than 200 more planned.

In the River Market, 100 Wyandotte is a 326-unit apartment project that will significantly increase the population on the north side of downtown. Located on a 7.4-acre former rail yard, the work by the Morgan Group of Houston is the
single biggest new residential project in downtown in quite some time.

 

Learning Curve

Higher education has also helped keep construction companies busy. The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s $38.3
million student center was well under way in 2008. The 108,300-square-foot, four-story center will seek a LEED Silver
certification with features to include solar panels and turbine.

William Jewell College was building a $12 million Sorority Complex and Greek Common. Expected to open in the fall 2009, the state-of-the-art residential complex is located on property “cleared” by a 2003 tornado.

The North Kansas City School District completed Staley High School and a District Activities Complex. The district’s
fourth high school, the $63 million campus and adjacent $15 million activity complex included $5 million in infrastructure
and site work. It’s the first high school in Missouri to earn a LEED Silver award.

In Kansas, the Blue Valley School District began construction on Southwest High School, scheduled to open in 2010.
Located at 175th and Quivira, Southwest will hold 1,600 students in a 300,000- square-foot building on 113 acres. The $55 million construction project includes an extensive athletics facility.