The 1970s ushered in the contemporary construction era in the growth of Kansas City anchored with both public and private sector construction, commercial and residential.

In 1975, people from throughout what was widely touted as the four-state region [Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa] were enjoying the fruits of Kansas City’s massive construction projects—the new Mid-Continent International Airport [now KCI], Arrowhead Stadium, Royals Stadium, Kemper Arena, Bartle Hall and Crown Center.

Thousands of professionals continued to work in downtown Kansas City, but the center city couldn’t keep its grasp
on shoppers, who were increasingly flocking to shiny new malls in the suburbs, ranging from Oak Park Mall and Metcalf
South to Independence Center to Indian Springs. Still, it was the Country Club Plaza that cemented its place as the retail
and cultural heart of the city, especially after it reinvented itself following the devastating Plaza Flood of 1977.

By 1975, the massive demographic shifts in greater Kansas City were accelerating. In the urban core, there were four distinct Kansas Cities, separated by three powerful boundaries—the Kansas and Missouri rivers, which separated the
smaller, declining Kansas City, Kan., from its more famous Missouri namesake; State Line Road, which separated upstart
Johnson County [and its high-quality schools] from the Missouri side; and Troost Ave., which generally separated black from white.

In one of the surest signs of the population shift to the suburb, Interstate 435 was born, carrying its first traffic in 1973.
From relatively few cars using that partially completed bypass in the early days, the loop has grown to the point of regular
traffic jams morning and afternoon and expanded capabilities. While there has still been plenty of development inside one of the nation’s largest highway bypasses, most of the growth has been outside of the loop, vastly expanding residential
and commercial growth in Lee’s Summit, South Johnson County, Shawnee and Liberty areas.

In 1975, driving into the city from St. Joseph past the new Kansas City International Airport on Interstate 29, visitors would pass through undeveloped land virtually the entire route—no Zona Rosa, no Barry Road development, no Briarcliff. Today, the same trip passes areas with office, commercial and residential developments as the corridor is finally being developed. It didn’t take long to recognize that Kansas City was looking for new beginnings or at least a reawakening.
And, active real estate development was a key.

In 1975, downtown Kansas City was in need of some newness. While Bartle hall had recently opened, there had been
little in the way of new office space in quite some time. Downtown development would be spotty through much of the 1980s and 90s, until the massive construction boom of the past five years finally halted the urban core’s decadeslong
skid. It started, in fact, with the opening of City Center Square in 1977. Helping downtown get through those sluggish decades were commitments from DST to invest in and refurbish commercial property downtown, the Copaken, White & Blitt organization developing the Town Pavilion, a group led by Kemper family members and joined by community investors coming together to provide funding for the Vista Hotel [now the Marriott], Hospital Hill renovations, and the innovations of the then pioneers to convert warehouses in River Quay into residential lofts.

Those projects laid the groundwork for all the positive developments downtown in recent years—the transformation of the River Quay into a vibrant River Market neighborhood, Sprint Center, Power & Light Entertainment District, Kauffman Performing Arts Center, East Village, the 18th & Vine Jazz District, office and residential expansion at Crown Center, a revitalized Union Station, the Crossroads, Federal Reserve Bank and IRS facility. All totaled, that’s $6 billion invested in the city’s core. Meanwhile, the Country Club Plaza area, which has remained vibrant through the years, is still going strong and even growing, thanks to the addition of the Plaza Colonnade, West Edge, Kauffman Foundation, Stowers Research Institute, UMKC expansions, the Bloch Building of the Nelson-Atkins, and several new apartment and condo buildings.

It is Johnson County, of course, that has had the biggest and most consistent growth the past 35 years. One of the most significant catalysts of that growth occurred in 1973, when developers broke ground on what would become Corporate Woods. Today it is a 2 million plus square feet complex of 27 buildings surrounded by hotels and retail shops.
Further development sprang forth from that area, with high-density, high-quality offices and retail stretching from 95th
Street to 151st Street, including several of the metro’s most successful malls. And, the growth continues. Park Place, 119
Center, Corbin Park with its new Van Maur department store are all open.

In 1960 about 143,000 people lived in Johnson County. That number approaches 600,000 today.