The Business Attraction & Retention Committee works in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Kansas City Area Development Council to recruit new businesses as well as retain existing businesses to Downtown. The committee is proactive in mining leasing data, meeting with CEO team members and conducting quarter business recognition events.

Chair – Julie Pierce, Vice President, Henderson Engineers
Schedule – Meets the 2nd Friday of every month 

The Human Services Committee is comprised of the top human service providers in the Downtown area and those who are interested in helping the homeless and those that are at risk of being homeless. The goal of the committee is to ensure that human services needs are being met using best practices to ensure quality of care and effectiveness of operation through a collaborative of consumers, service providers, units of government and businesses.

Schedule – Meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month 

Infrastructure Committee works with public agencies and stakeholders to develop Downtown infrastructure investment policy and continually improve the quality of the built environment. Initiatives of the committee include prioritizing capital improvements, developing annual recommendations to the GDAP for the City’s PIAC process, and interface with MoDOT on transportation developments.

Chair – John Fairfield, Owner, Fairfield Law Office, Steve Weatherford, Principal, TranSystems
Schedule – Meets the 2nd Friday of every month 

The DTC, in cooperation with the Kansas City Public Library and Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, formulated a creative private-public partnership, which made this project possible. The financing plan for the $49.5 million project included the following funding sources: State and Federal historic tax credits; Missouri Development Finance Board investment; City of Kansas City Missouri and private contributions. 

The Downtown Council (DTC) works with reStart and Episcopal Community Services at the Downtown Community Services Center to address homelessness in Downtown. The DTC purchased a building in close proximity to overnight emergency shelters and built out the site. The Center provides showers, counselors and housing referrals. reStart has served 538 households and the Community Kitchen has served more than one million hot, nutritious meals.

The Downtown Council sponsored a ULI Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) to study and offer preliminary recommendations for the future of Barney Allis Plaza. The study looked at the demand for open space and parking at Barney Allis Plaza. The panel also studied options to fund, construct and operate a new garage while programming the open space above. 

One building that remained as a deterrent to development in Downtown Kansas City was the Shoppers Parkade at 11th & Grand. The Downtown Development Group was asked to create a redevelopment plan that included demolition, site preparation, and a long-term development strategy. This project resulted in the removal of a blighted structure and creation of a new development site. The temporary lot created 125 surface parking spaces and the City upgraded sidewalks and landscaping.

Greater Kansas City YMCA selected the former Lyric Theatre building for its long-awaited return to Downtown Kansas City. The vacated theater at 11th & Central will become a flagship $39 million, four-level, 80,000 square-foot community center. The Downtown Council will serve as the developer in the public interest through DTC Community Development Inc.

Art in the Loop Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization to engage artists in Downtown with public art commissions. The organization’s strength stems from its partnership with the Kansas City Art Institute, the Kansas City Municipal Art Commission and the Downtown Council. Common ground is found in a shared belief that the development of Downtown and enhancing the cultural life of our city are directly linked. The Downtown Council provides staff and leadership support to Art in the Loop.

Block 4 Properties, a nonprofit affiliate of the Downtown Council, was set up to acquire property at 17th & Broadway for the future home of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. UMKC decided to place the project at their Volker Campus and the land is now available for development. 

The 501c4 Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) were established to make the Central Business District and River Market cleaner, safer, and more attractive. The CIDs are designed, through our safety and maintenance ambassadors, to create an inviting environment for all who live, work, and visit the Center Business District and River Market.

Downtown Kansas City Civic Ventures is a 501c3 nonprofit organization created in 2009 to improve Downtown and the urban core through educational and services programs. The organization owns and manages the Downtown Community Services Center at 8th & Paseo which houses reStart and the Kansas City Community Kitchen.

The Downtown Political Action Committee (PAC) educates state and local candidates about the importance of the challenges and opportunities in Downtown Kansas City and endorses candidates who support those issues. The Downtown Council provides management and administrative services to the PAC.

DTC I Inc. was created by the Downtown Council to facilitate the development of the First National Bank building at 10th & Baltimore. The DTC formed an LLC to purchase the building and renovate it into the Central Library for the Kansas City Public Library. The organization currently manages the Library District TIF.

DTC Community Development Inc. (DTCC), a 501c3 nonprofit affiliate of the Downtown Council was set up to implement the redevelopment of the former Lyric Theater building at 11th & Central. The DTCC will convert the former theater building into an 80,000 square foot flagship YMCA. The Downtown YMCA will become a life and wellness community center.

Power House Properties KC LLC was formed by the Downtown Council to facilitate the redevelopment of the historic Power House at Union Station into the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity for the Kansas City Ballet. The building was a 90-year old, environmentally contaminated, former powerhouse that had been abandoned for 35 years.