Kansas City Power & Light District

Kansas City Power & Light District

By: Andrew Ewing

            Kansas City Power & Light District is a similar project to what I am planning on doing for my thesis. This was a downtown revitalization project that covered 9 square blocks.  Estimated at $850 million, this design features 450,000 square feet of retail/entertainment space, 1,200 residential units, 1.2 million square feet of office space, and 400 hotel rooms. This district links the Bartle Hall Convention Center and the new Sprint Center Arena.

            This project was extremely successful for a couple reasons.  This district plays a key role during the day as it's a place to come work, eat, and  shop. Part of the success comes from several high profile tenants that joined the venture. H&R block opened their world headquarters here, as well as an AMC movie theater that was the first all digital movie theater in the U.S. There are dozens of retail shops that allow people to make this an all day experience.  During the evening this area takes on a whole new dynamic, as it becomes an entertainment destination.  At the center of the entertainment aspect is the Kansas City Live! venue. It is a one block covered outdoor area for live music.  This contains two level, with the ground level containing primarily bars and restaurants, and the second story containing night clubs, and a bowling alley.  The outdoor space is covered with a clear single skin membrane that allows light to pass through but protects the general public from the elemen ts.

                   

            My thesis project is a vacant site located in downtown St. Louis across from Busch Stadium.  Kansas City and St. Louis have a very similar relationship city type wise.  They are similar in size, location, demographics  climate and most importantly the problem, revitalizing the downtown.  There have been several proposals as to how to solve this, but none have made it through to the construction process yet. By studying the Kansas City project and how it was planned, phased, and implemented, along with a lot of other research hopefully this can lead some insight into properly handling and making this St. Louis project a success.