|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Transportation has historically been a major, if not the major factor in determining growth for Jackson County. Since Independence and Westport first developed to serve traffic on the Sante Fe, Oregon and California trails, the area has evolved around transportation growth. From early cattle trails then railroads, the area has always looked to transportation as its largest cause for growth, and a determinant of where growth takes place within the region. Although Jackson County and metropolitan Kansas City continue to be affected by river and especially rail traffic, the number one focus today involves highways. In Jackson County, that starts with I-70, one of the busiest east-west corridors in the country and a major business and commuter route locally. Two of eastern Jackson County’s fastest growing communities straddle that route, Independence and the newer Blue Springs. One of the leading prime locations in the region sits alongside their border, where I-70 joins I-470 and a major Independence corridor, the Little Blue Parkway. Planned by Independence for years, the Parkways have made a short but significant development on both sides of I-70 following construction of an interchange there. The result was development of one of the most dramatic retail and office locations in the region, east and south of the existing Independence Center, the fourth largest retail center in the area. The proposed continuation of Little Blue Parkway is designed as a continuation and expansion of these projects. The thoroughfare will open retail, office and industrial opportunities. The parkway is already the site for the new Independence regional hospital. Last year U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., secured a $30 million grant for the Independence portion of the project Equally diverse development is occurring along Adams Dairy Parkway in Blue Springs and several locations in Lee’s Summit. Adams Dairy Parkway is developing a major commercial and retail focus. A proposal on 123 acres is also in planning to create a large retail area there. Lee’s Summit in many ways boasts one of the best locations in the area. Thanks to I-470 and the recently improved Grandview Triangle, Lee’s Summit benefits from easy access to I-70 and two major north/south corridors, U.S. 71 and I-35. U.S. 50 provides another route directly to Kansas City and to mid-state Missouri. Southwestern Jackson County directly abuts those north-south routes. I-435 feeds into U.S. 71 near Grandview and connects that area with Johnson County, Kan., and I-35, the “NAFTA Superhighway.” Significantly, Jackson County lies near the center of the United States and several recent developments have solidified its role as a major distribution and transportation center. For the long-term, one of the most dramatic involves the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base immediately south of Grandview in Kansas City. CenterPoint Realty Services Corp., a Chicago industrial developer, has agreed to buy the former airport from the city of Kansas City for $5.6 million. CenterPoint also plans to spend more than $250 million redeveloping the 1,400-acre former military airfield into “a world call inland port.” The Richards-Gebaur effort plans to recruit new manufacturing, warehouse and shipping industry tenants attracted by Kansas City Southern Railways’ existing regional and international rail cargo operations at the site. The improved “intermodal” hub for transferring rail and truck cargo would become the centerpiece and main selling point of the proposed International Freight Gateway at Richards-Gebaur. Hunt Midwest Enterprises, one of the area’s leading developers, is progressing on efforts to develop the area’s underground space, similar to Hunt’s SubTropolis, the largest underground development in the world. Although many details on the Richards-Gebaur project remain to be worked out, the first phases of the project could open in 2007. Kansas City’s is already the nation's second-largest rail hub and third-largest trucking hub. Even older areas of the U.S. 71 corridor were recently redeveloped, including a $6.8 million redevelopment effort on 87th Street. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|