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Urban Renaissance
Multibillion-dollar facelift has Kansas City playing a new tune
By Jennifer Seward
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| The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art recently completed its first renovation and expansion since the world-class museum opened in 1933. Designed by renowned architect Steven Holl of Steven Holl Architects, New York, and constructed by Kansas City's JE Dunn Construction, the centerpiece of the $200-million project is the 165,000-sq-ft Bloch Building, which equates to a 67-story skyscraper lying on its side.
(Photo courtesy of Timothy Hurley Photography) |
he city known best for its blues and barbecue is now also benefiting from billions of dollars of new business.
“Kansas City is experiencing a construction boom the relative scope of which we have not seen since the pioneer days,” says Don Greenwell, executive director of AGC Kansas City. In the core city area bounded on the north by the Missouri River, approximately $4.5 billion of construction has been completed or is in various stages of development.
And that’s not all. Substantial projects are also under way outside of the immediate downtown area, including a new museum, $600-million sports complex renovation, new theme park, mixed-use developments, numerous new or major hospital expansions, new powerplants and a complex three-highway interchange. There also are plans for a major casino. All of the work adds up to more than $9 billion for the 18-county region.
Let There Be Light
The high-profile Power and Light District—a nine-square-block complex of stores, eateries, movie complexes, live-music clubs and 10,000 new loft units interspersed with fountains and parks touts itself as the largest new development in the Midwest. Developed by the Baltimore-based Cordish Co., this $850-million endeavor, nicknamed KC Live, is just one of the area’s many new projects in which Kansas City’s JE Dunn Construction has a hand. The firm’s recent downtown Kansas City work includes H&R Block’s new $138-million world headquarters in the Power and Light District, completed in October 2006; the $370-million IRS Processing Facility in midtown, completed in December 2006; and a $192-million addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, designed by Stephen Holl Architects and opened last summer in the Plaza area south of downtown.
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| In April 2007 Walton Construction and Clarkson Construction, both of Kansas City, completed the Bartle Hall expansion and grand ballroom construction at the Kansas City convention center. The 80,000-sq-ft-ballroom, constructed over Interstate 670, was designed to accommodate a sit-down dinner for 3,500 people and provides the city with its first venue for an event of this type and size, says Bob Steele, project manager for McCown Gordon Konrath, the city's construction adviser for the project. Clarkson Construction’s role included the reconstruction of two bridges, the substructure and superstructure, and concrete floor for the convention center expansion. Walton handled the exterior and interior packages for the $150-million project. |
Construction on the $207-million Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Kansas City was completed by JE Dunn in January while the $358-million Kauffman Performing Arts Center (home to the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera) and a $300-million expansion at St. Luke’s midtown campus are starting to take shape.
Margaret Bowker, JE Dunn’s Midwest vice president, attributes the sudden growth spurt to a number of factors working together. She says the Sprint Center, the city's new $276-million sports and entertainment venue, came on the heels of the new H&R Block building, which together with various tax increment incentives have brought money downtown and set the stage for a slew of new development. The Sprint Center was built by Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis, and opened in October.
“There have not been a lot of new building projects in the downtown Kansas City area since the 1980s, and this [surge] has been a long time coming,” says Bowker, calling former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes (D) the catalyst for the monumental changes. Bowker adds that the downtown revitalization “has brought out-of-town developers like Anschutz of Denver and Cordish, who had never looked at Kansas City before.”
Stretching Out
It isn’t just the heart of the city seeing changes. “We’re growing literally in every direction,” says Greenwell, who attributes the current level of activity to pent-up demand for development. “Typically, you'll have a spurt where one segment will increase [at a time], but it seems like we have the fortune right now of hitting on multiple segments in both private and public development.”
In the entertainment arena, Turner Construction, New York City, is constructing the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village near Village West, approximately 15 miles from downtown on the Kansas side of Kansas City. The $749-million project is the first expansion outside of Texas for the popular Schlitterbahn group of water parks.
The year-round retail and entertainment destination designed by Berger Devine Yaeger, Kansas City, will feature a 1.5-mi-long river to be constructed by Turner that will carry guests between lodging units and a San Antonio-like riverwalk with shops and restaurants.
Turner broke ground in mid-November, but was “hit hard by the weather,” says the firm’s project executive Jeff Werthmann. “The project was put on hold while we wait for the weather to clear,” he adds.
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| JE Dunn’s own 204,000-sq-ft national headquarters will house 550 of the company’s employees and serve as a catalyst for the city’s East Village development. |
Despite the delay, the water park is on track to open in May 2009. The rest of the project is scheduled for completion in 2012.
The Schlitterbahn property is also one of the locations being considered for a $750-million casino development. The Las Vegas Sands Corp. is currently in the discussion stage with the city for a proposed casino development that would consist of a 300-room hotel, 5,000 slot machines, 200 table games and 275,000 sq ft of retail.
In the East Village, JE Dunn is working with Kansas City’s Swope Community Builders on a redevelopment of the east side of downtown. The estimated $350-million renovation will transform the area into a residential and retail neighborhood anchored by a new headquarters for the contractor.
JE Dunn broke ground in January on its 204,000-sq-ft national headquarters, which will house 550 of the company’s employees. Bowker says the new building will serve as a catalyst to the East Village development. It will have a precast- concrete and glass exterior, flexible office environment, state-of-the-art technology, cafeteria and a 780-space public parking structure.
The sustainable design of the firm’s new headquarters was conceived by BNIM/360, an association of BNIM and 360 Architecture, both of Kansas City, in an effort to earn LEED-gold certification.
The company is scheduled to move into its new offices in mid-2009. The East Village proposal calls for the construction of 1,300 residences and 87,200 sq ft of retail space.
Fan Appreciation
In the sports sector, a voter-approved tax increase is funding the nearly $600 million of renovations and new construction at the Truman Sports Complex, home to the city’s beloved Chiefs and Royals. They play at the neighboring Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums.
The project follows construction of the high-profile Sprint Center, designed to accommodate the city’s new NBA and NHL teams as well as other sporting events, concerts and family shows (see related story).
Designed by Kansas City’s HOK, the $325 million of work at Arrowhead is being constructed as a joint venture between JE Dunn and Turner Construction and includes expanded suites, a climate-controlled concourse and additional fan amenities at the club level. Exterior renovations include gates and entry areas, ticket offices, team store, museum, restaurant and administrative offices. The new horizon level includes renovated press and coaches’ booths and a suite level for fans.
Tom Steadman, the stadium’s development manager, says Arrowhead will remain open during the construction, with work inside the stadium phased to take place during the Chiefs off-season.
Steadman says scheduling is the primary challenge on this project because construction outside the facility is ongoing and must be coordinated with site logistics of the simultaneous renovation at Kauffman Stadium, which operates in spring, summer and fall. “Our construction has to accommodate the crowds coming for the Royals’ games, and this requires constant communication with the Royals and the Jackson County Sports Authority,” he adds. The project will be completed in 2010.
Next door at Kauffman Stadium, a $250-million renovation includes doubling the concourses and replacing the old JumboTron with a high-definition scoreboard more than twice the size of the current display. The project is a joint venture between Indianapolis-based Hunt Construction Group and locally based Walton Construction.
Christy Wolfe, Walton’s Kansas City marketing manager, says the redevelopment of 30-year-old Kauffman Stadium is “Kansas City’s way of making sure that the stadium stays up to date.”
Wolfe says HOK was also chosen to design Kauffman in an effort to ensure continuity with Arrowhead’s new look. Kauffman is the second Kansas City project on which AGC and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have created a partnership and worked together to promote jobsite safety. The Sprint Center was the first.
Other Kauffman renovations include outfield construction, a new three-story administration building in front of the stadium, a Diamond Club, broadcast booths and renovation of older suites. Completion is set for July 2009.
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| Construction begins in April on Kansas City’s new Christopher S. Bond Missouri River Bridge, one element of the kcICON design-build project being constructed by the Paseo Corridor Constructors, a joint venture of Kansas City’s Clarkson Construction Co. and Massman Construction Co. and Kiewit Western Co. of Denver. The bridge construction is scheduled for completion by August 2011. (Rendering courtesy of Parsons Construction GroupA) |
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Building Bridges
Infrastructure upgrades are designed to keep pace with Kansas City’s burgeoning development.
Named for U.S. Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.), the new Missouri River Bridge is one element of the $245-million kcICON design-build project being constructed by Paseo Corridor Constructors, a joint venture of Clarkson Construction Co. and Massman Construction Co., both of Kansas City, and Kiewit Western Co., Denver.
The project’s other design-build partners include Parsons Transportation Group, Washington, D.C., and TranSystems Corp., Kansas City.
Clarkson engineer Tom Kellerman, Paseo’s joint-venture sponsor, says the new six-lane, 1,000-ft, landmark cable-stay bridge will replace the former bridge that “ironically, involved both Clarkson and Massman more than 50 years ago.”
The Missouri River Bridge reconstruction is the centerpiece of a project that will upgrade a 4.5-mi stretch of Interstate 29/35 from four to six lanes as they enter and exit the downtown loop, Kellerman says. A total of eight bridges, including the bridge over the Missouri River, will be constructed for this project.
The existing Paseo Bridge will remain open to traffic during construction. The new bridge should be completed by August 2011.
Highway Expansions
Clarkson is also heading up work on the Interstate 435 and Antioch interchange project. At $127 million, this is the largest contract ever for the Kansas Dept. of Transportation.
The project involves the reconstruction of I-435 and new interchanges at Antioch Road and U.S. Highway 69. Until now, U.S. 69 and I-435 were two-lane and three-lane highways in each direction and unable to handle the heavy volume of traffic, Kellerman says.
Clarkson widened I-435, added an interchange at Antioch and widened U.S. 69 while also managing extensive bridge work and constructing retaining and noise walls. A total of 13 new bridges will be built, requiring more than 17,000 cu yd of structural concrete, 4 million lb of reinforcing steel and nearly 9 million lb of structural steel.
Kellerman says Clarkson’s reconstruction of this major artery will open up the area for more economic development. Clarkson started work on the project in 2006 and will finish in October.
On the Missouri side, Clarkson also recently completed the Three Trails Crossing highway project, formerly known as the Grandview Triangle.
“Clarkson constructed four out of five of the projects totaling in excess of $200 million,” Kellerman says. Work included reconstructing the complex interchange throughout I-435 and I-470 and U.S. Highway 71, as well as construction on numerous major bridge structures, retaining walls and concrete pavement to support the more than 200,000 vehicles that pass through this confluence of highways every day.
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| Southwest Power Station Unit 2, Springfield, Mo. (Photo courtesy of Carson-Mitchell) |
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Power Surge
New powerplants will address the region's growing energy needs
The construction of three new powerplants promises to create a combined power production of more than 1.5 gigawatts and is drawing construction firms to the area from around the country, says AGC Kansas City Executive Director Don Greenwell.
Kansas City’s Burns & McDonnell was selected as the designer for the new Iatan Unit 2 850-MW, coal-fired electricity generating plant for Kansas City Power & Light Co., being built on the existing Iatan powerplant site near Weston, Mo. Burns & McDonnell will also provide KCP&L with project and construction management support for the project.
According to KCP&L, the Iatan Unit 2 will be a high-efficiency, coal-fired powerplant featuring state-of-the-art emission-control equipment designed to exceed current and future clean air requirements.
Meanwhile, City Utilities, Springfield, Mo., is building the Southwest Power Station Unit 2, a 300-MW, coal-fired, base-load plant in Springfield, Mo. Project manager Terry Ohmstede says City Utilities is acting as its own general contractor/construction manager on the $700-million project, which is in the early stages of construction.
“The plant has all the bells and whistles available right now,” Ohmstede says of the plant’s pollution control equipment.
Kansas City firm Carson-Mitchell completed the largest continuous foundation pour in Springfield-area history while working on this project, pouring 2,000 cu yd of concrete in a single day, says Jim Carson, the firm’s vice president. He says the firm employed new techniques on the $1.5-million concrete portion of the project, using liquid nitrogen to lower the temperature of the concrete and prevent excess heat build-up.
“Concrete heats up when curing and too much heat causes cracking,” says Carson. “We used ingredients that would develop the minimum amount of heat, insulated the forms and pre-cooled the concrete. The concrete was kept wrapped for 30 days while it was cooling, and electronic monitoring devices kept track of the temperature.”
Ohmstede says CU is close to awarding a major contract for the project’s boiler construction. Kansas City’s Hayes Drilling, A1 Electric and Connelly Mechanical have also participated in the project.
A third new coal-fired plant is in the permitting process and would be located near Norborne, Mo. Associated Electric Cooperative, the wholesale power supplier for Missouri’s rural electric cooperatives, is hoping to build a 660-mw, coal-based power plant to meet the area’s growing electricity demand.
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