Let’s be honest, Kansas City’s skyline is nice, but it’s not exactly world class.

Less than two-dozen buildings commanding a significant level of prominence are scattered between Quality Hill and the eastern freeway loop. Compared to many similarly sized cities, Kansas City’s downtown is underwhelming. Most of all, its scattered layout dilutes some of the additional impact it could have.

This distribution is a big part of the problem. Although a surge of major construction during the 1990s added considerably to this horizon, the predominant features still include vast tracts of parking lots and empty buildings. Like a friendly smile that nevertheless needs some dental work,

Kansas City’s skyline is nearly as significant for what isn’t there as for what is.

Between now and 2010, however, this state of affairs will see a major change. While the number of buildings will be significant, the most important feature may be where they are to be constructed and their relative significance, both visually and in terms of community impact. It might be an exaggeration to say that Kansas City will have an entirely new skyline in the next five years—but just barely.

A good viewpoint is atop the recently renovated Liberty Memorial. From here, the view of downtown has always been impressive. But if you could look today, then magically take a time machine to 2010, the differences would be remarkable.

Almost at your feet and just to the left, the new IRS Complex extends from the revitalized Main Post Office Building west to Broadway. This expansive campus comprises the equivalent of four blocks.

In the opposite direction, the new headquarters for Shook Hardy & Bacon rises 24 stories from the southeast section of Crown Center. As you look for more recent construction on the ridge connecting to Hospital Hill, something catches your eye to the south: the new 14-story Federal Reserve Bank at 29th and Main. Almost directly behind the memorial entrance, this gleaming white Federal Reserve is surprisingly close, and you realize that with the core of downtown steadily building south, its separation appears less significant than it did in 2004. You can even envision future construction between the Federal Reserve and the equally prominent former BMA Tower to the west.

But the most dramatic changes are to the north. Not only does the downtown skyline look almost completely different, but it is now much “closer.” For a moment you wonder if this really is Kansas City.

The most striking changes are along the south freeway loop. Where downtown once ended at a gaping canyon, the flow of buildings and interspersed green space has magically jumped the one-time barricade at several points, and at others completely hides it by drawing up to its edge.

Most astounding, however, are the new structures themselves. From left to right, a series of new and dramatic buildings have significantly altered the core skyline, making it almost hard to remember how the old Kansas City looked.

On the west—your left—the new Performing Arts Center is finally complete. Although its construction was delayed by fundraising, the result was worth the wait. From your perspective at Liberty Memorial, this graceful center commands attention from the hill south of Bartle Hall. To the right, the smaller but equally attractive Kansas City Ballet Center completes an area that already represents one of Kansas City’s most significant concentrations for the performing arts.

Neither of these buildings rivals in size their backdrop: the mammoth Bartle Hall complex that recently completed its new ballroom and a spectacular new entryway. The nearby Music Hall, enclosed on two sides by Bartle and the newer ballroom, bustles with new activity as its remodeled interior finds new uses as part of the city’s expanded convention business.

The most dramatic single area of the skyline is to the east. The huge H&R Block complex features the unique headquarters building, an important new addition to downtown’s skyscrapers. Then comes the growing Kansas City Live! entertainment district, with a blend of buildings that are both diverse but coordinated. All of this leads the eye to the new arena, a sleek structure that fills what was once a major gap of surface parking in the downtown skyline.

Gaps, in fact, are hard to find. One small area between the entertainment district and Bartle is planned for a major convention hotel while older buildings such as the President Hotel are completing major restoration efforts. You realize that from the remodeled Bolling Federal Office building on the right to Bartle Hall on the left, the Kansas City skyline is now unbroken development.

Only the area’s closer to your vantage point still contain some openings, although even here changes are under way. On your right, the Kansas City Star expansion faces the arena. Along with the Performing arts complex on the left, these are the largest structures that have visibly crossed the south loop barrier into the Crossroads District. Although smaller in scale, other new construction is also evident. Remodeled loft and condominium projects have been joined by a few new retail developments that are starting to arrive to support this residential growth.

In fact, you realize that Kansas City’s mdowntown skyline is not only almost full, it really is “closer” to your van-tage point at Liberty Memorial. The former skyline with a few skyscrapers rising in isolation from parking lots has been replaced by dynamic development surrounding a few islands awaiting construction. It may not be New York, but who needs New York.  LWP