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What comes after the World Cup? Leaders ponder KC’s next phase (and how to get there)
EDCKC leader: Tapping Kansas City’s full potential requires coordinated eco devo strategy across region
Tracey Lewis has lived and worked in some of the nation’s biggest cities — experiencing enough to know that the window of opportunity to drive meaningful economic change can be remarkably small, he said.
Kansas City’s time to act is now, Lewis said emphatically.
Its professional sports teams are thriving. Infrastructure is improving. The World Cup is coming. And the metro has enviable amounts of room in which to expand; tailwinds suggest a region-wide desire to grow, too.
Tracey Lewis, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri
“We’ve become attractive to industries that need a workforce with a work ethic that is also accessible across the entire city and also has a mindset that embraces new companies and new ideas,” said Lewis, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDCKC).
Editor’s note: The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, is a financial supporter of Startland News.
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Kansas City — both the city and region — are “ready for it from a mental perspective,” he said, but actually sparking change requires strategic and intentional coordination across a diverse range of municipalities that make up the local business ecosystem.
Gone are the days when economic leaders can simply plan a development and wait to see if it takes off, Lewis said, noting it’s a passive approach historically seen in cities across the U.S.
“They’ll make an urban center with a transportation depot and establish a residential community and hope the effort will spur development,” he said.
But there’s a trend emerging in cities like Nashville, Austin and elsewhere: More and more, municipal agencies are working together internally and externally, community to community, “so that the execution is invested and the outcomes are what you want.”
“Now we’re at a point where we are more collaborative and it’s not smart for Kansas to fight Missouri; it’s not smart for Kansas City to fight with Lee’s Summit or Overland Park,” Lewis said. “We need to get opportunity to the region and then figure out a place for it to settle.”
Defining economic development
Economic development; it’s a nebulous buzzword to many outside its immediate rings. What’s being developed? Who benefits? And how does the economic impact ripple out?
The U.S. Economic Development Association defines the phrase as creating “the conditions for economic growth and improved quality of life by expanding the capacity of individuals, firms, and communities to maximize the use of their talents and skills to support innovation, lower transaction costs, and responsibly produce and trade valuable goods and services.”
And how does that translate into real numbers? Let’s take a look.
The Kansas City region’s job count recently reached a new high of 1,152,600, a number that put the metro at fifth among 11 benchmark areas.
KC-relevant stats
- Small businesses: Over 70 percent of net new jobs in the KC region are created by small businesses. Source: SBA Office of Advocacy & Kauffman Foundation (citing regional data)
- Population and GDP: The KC metro — home to roughly 2.1 million people — boasts a GDP of about $145 billion, reflecting steady growth in recent years. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
- Startup ecosystem: Kansas City’s GDP is about $145 billion, reflecting steady economic expansion. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) / Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- KC regularly ranks among the top metros for startup activity and entrepreneurial momentum. Source: Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship
- Local professional sports teams (Chiefs, Royals, Sporting KC, KC Current) contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic impact — highlighting sports’ role in the region’s growth. Source: Various team-commissioned studies & Kansas City Sports Commission
So, what’s a titan of industry to do?
Outside investors, innovators, industry leaders and other decision makers might struggle to understand Kansas City’s economic plans and hopes for the region — at least at a glance, said Andrea Bough, 6th District at-large councilwoman for Kansas City, Missouri.
Andrea Bough, KCMO 3rd District
She’s among a group of civic leaders working on a new economic development plan that will widen the focus beyond Kansas City’s downtown and make it easier for external parties to see the community diversity across the metro — and the kinds of opportunities desired in each community or “node” within the metro and beyond, she said.
The strategy aims to align opportunities with local interests and incentives, Bough emphasized, using the needs of the Country Club Plaza as a prime example within her district that can be matched with incoming business development.
But Bough acknowledges the realities that many across the metro are living: What’s desired in the 6th district is likely completely different than what might be requested on the East Side near Troost Avenue.
“The last economic development policy that we had — AdvanceKC — was adopted about 12 years ago or so,” she said, noting it hinged on former Mayor Kay Barnes’ vision to redevelop downtown.
And there’s certainly been a payoff, Bough acknowledged.
The Power & Light District is thriving and investing back into its infrastructure. The city has attracted the World Cup and the NFL Draft. Fans have experienced Super Bowl championship celebrations and a World Series parade.
“But who do we want to be in five years, 10 years, 15 years?” Bough asked.
She pointed to developments that have laid positive tracks through the region: expanding the KC Streetcar, building the first stadium in the world exclusively for women’s sports; but added, “we are doing things that are very reactive.”
Diverse stakeholders in the region are developing plans and visions, Bough said, “but it is not a cohesive effort to say ‘What does the business community, the civic community, the city hall community and the philanthropic community — what do all of the communities that collectively come together to form Kansas City — want to see as we move forward?”
Focus on the east side
In the shadow of development within the recent past and present — Power & Light, the Crossroads Arts District, the West Bottoms, Country Club Plaza and elsewhere — sits the East Side.
It’s an ideally situated community that has yet to fully benefit from a boom, Emmet Pierson said.
“Kansas City, right now … economic development is not slowing down. Put it like that. But when we talk about development on the East Side, we’re slogging along with a project here, a project there,” said Pierson, president and CEO of Community Builders of Kansas City, a not-for-profit, urban core-focused community development corporation.
Community Builders of Kansas City’s “The Rochester” multifamily community on Blue Parkway; courtesy photo
CBKC has invested more than $225 million in Kansas City since 1991, but Pierson thinks that number could have — and should have — been much higher by now, he said.
“Kudos to Michael Collins and the Negro Leagues for coming up with a project to do a hotel with a parking garage. Great,” he said. “Our project on Dr. Martin King Boulevard, $30 million office building with Health Forward as an anchor. Great. We’re doing a pickleball facility in the old Coco Key space at Adams Mark, which is still the Third District of Kansas City. Great.”
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But, looking at those bustling projects, Pierson said, he can’t help but still see “the huge challenge and the lack of committed and sustainable resources when we talk about economic development in some of the Kansas City’s neighborhoods, such as the East Side.”
Pierson said he’s “not throwing rocks at somebody else’s development,” but wants to underscore that his organization has not benefited from equity grants — money given that does not have to be repaid.
“If you were to give me a $7 million equity grant — not a loan, a grant — then I don’t have to take money out of my operations to do projects like The Rochester,” he said of the multi-family development his company built on Blue Parkway. “The Rochester — Community Builders put in almost $4 million cash of our own money on that project. The city put in a half million bucks after we were already under construction.”
Most other development funds came from loans, Pierson said, funds that have to be paid back and create a drag on his organization’s balance sheet.
Can the tide rise equally?
A popular concept in economic development theory: a rising tide lifts all boats.
Historically, however, outside investment can lift the boats of some neighborhoods, while leaving others washed out, Lewis acknowledged.
Tracey Lewis, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, at CPKC Stadium; photo courtesy of EDCKC
Still, he remains optimistic Kansas City’s approach can help balance outcomes across communities.
The possibility of grants for development in underserved communities are on the table, he said, pointing to KCMO voters’ approval in 2017 of a 1/8 percent sales tax to fund economic development projects in the Central City — or the Near East Side, adding that “the EDC will continue to participate in that strategy and lead ideas and execution on that.”
And, the revenues from that tax are not miniscule: The city reported in August of last year that it has disbursed more than $61 million from the program since 2017.
Beyond direct investment, Lewis said, EDCKC plans to focus on workforce development in the form of spearheading the passage of a bond measure for Kansas City Public Schools, which, if successful, would be the first issuance since 1967.
The $400 million bond package would take pressure off the district’s general fund, which traditionally must cover both operational and infrastructure-related costs. This would allow the district to both bring some buildings up to par while also investing in its people and curriculum vital to its students’ success in today’s business environment.
A third pillar: partnerships. Lewis said the EDCKC cannot be successful without strong ties to the various chambers of commerce and other civic- and business-minded organizations in the region.
Zooming out, the bigger strategic priorities include land development, business attraction and entrepreneurship, Lewis said.
What’s next?
A consultancy hired to guide the city and the EDCKC through its planning efforts — Angelou Economics — is currently doing “a deeper dive” with roughly 80 stakeholders, Bough said.
Hired by the city in spring 2024, the consultants are expected to present a draft policy proposal to the KCMO city council at either a business session or general committee meeting — date and time to be determined, but the target deadline is to be sometime in May or June.
From there, council members are set to consider the draft proposal in the form of an ordinance that would go through the normal committee process with public hearings and public comment.
Beyond the project, Bough envisions the creation of an internal team “to drill down on some things because … it’s not building code, it’s not permitting … (it’s an) economic development policy that will start to bleed into other things that will give us a kind of a to-do list. ‘Here’s your economic development policy, but here’s your to-do list,’ and we will continue to work on that over the years.”
The city doesn’t need to be part of any cross-region border wars, she emphasized, noting the overall goal is to indicate the areas and nodes of the city that are best for diverse investments.
“The differences warrant different … incentives, industries, practices,” Bough said. “This is almost going to be a KC Playbook for Development Incentives — a really comprehensive plan for economic development in the region.”
“Councilwoman Bough’s policy initiatives — supported by our city council and mayor — will help establish strategies and forge partnerships that encourage investment in neighborhoods beyond our core districts, such as downtown and the Plaza,” Lewis said.
He notes the past two decades have been years in which city leadership and partner organizations have laid the groundwork to revitalize traditionally popular areas, and “now it is time to focus on the communities that have patiently awaited the resources necessary for broader revitalization.”
He’s looking to committed partners across the region to make it reality.
“We look forward to committed partners like Mr. Pierson benefiting from robust support as they drive new growth and opportunities in our communities,” Lewis said. “By leveraging their energy and expertise, Mr. Pierson and other emerging developers can help bring renewed vitality to Kansas City neighborhoods ready to participate in our ongoing economic renaissance.”
Haines Eason is the owner of startup media agency Freelance Kansas. He went into business for himself after a stint as a managing editor on the content marketing team at A Place for Mom. Among many other roles, he has worked as a communications professional at KU and as a journalist with work in places like The Guardian, Eater and KANSAS! Magazine. Learn about him and Freelance Kansas on LinkedIn and Facebook.
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