Downtown CouncilAffiliated OrganizationsCurrent InitiativesPast InitiativesDTC MembershipCID ProgramsCID InitiativesCID Dashboard
Downtown Council of Kansas City
The Downtown Council of Kansas City (DTC) is a private, nonprofit membership organization representing Kansas City’s best businesses, property owners, nonprofit organizations and anyone who is invested in Downtown’s success.
Downtown Council Board Chairs
The Downtown Council’s 2018 Board Chairs, pictured left; front row: Jerry Riffel, Vice Chair; Nate Orr, Chair; and back row: Christopher Briggs, Treasurer; Julie Pierce, Vice Chair; Charlie Miller, Secretary.
Affiliated Organizations
The Downtown Council of Kansas City (DTC) manages multiple organizations with goals that support its mission of creating an economically vibrant Downtown.
Art in the Loop Foundation
Art in the Loop Foundation is a 501(c)3 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.
Block 4 Properties
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.
Community Improvement Districts
The 501(c)4 Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) were established to make the Central Business District and River Market cleaner, safer and more attractive.
Downtown Kansas City Civic Ventures
Downtown Kansas City Civic Ventures is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created in 2009 to improve Downtown through services programs. The organization owns and manages the Downtown Community Services Center at 8th & Paseo.
Downtown Political Action Committee
The Downtown Political Action Committee (PAC) educates state and local candidates about the importance of challenges and opportunities in Downtown Kansas City and endorses candidates who support those issues.
DTC I Inc.
DTC I Inc. was created by the Downtown Council (DTC) 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 Public Library.
DTC Community Development Inc.
DTC Community Development Inc. (DTCC), a 501(c)3 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 a flagship YMCA.
Power House Properties KC
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 Downtown Council (DTC) works closely with the City of Kansas City, Downtown stakeholders and our members on initiatives aimed at enhancing the vitality of Downtown Kansas City. All of our current and ongoing initiatives are listed in our Strategic Workplan.
The Downtown Council hosts its Annual Luncheon every January to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year and set a course for the season ahead. Highlights include a keynote speaker, presentation of the J. Philip Kirk, Jr. Award and the Urban Hero Award.
The Art in the Loop Foundation seeks to play a proactive role in bringing attention to Downtown Kansas City, Missouri as a place where exciting, innovative, and accomplished contemporary art is not just happening but is, in fact, helping to define the city’s identity.
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.
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, 75,000 square-foot community center. The Downtown Council will serve as the developer in the public interest through DTC Community Development Inc.
The Downtown Council has partnered with the City and various Downtown Stakeholders to study the feasibility and economic impact of decking Interstate 670. The report below envisions a linear park spanning several blocks over Interstate 670 that would reconnect the Central Business District with the Crossroads Arts District in Downtown Kansas City.
LaunchKC is a civic engine in the Kansas City startup scene. It is committed to elevating Kansas City into one of the nation’s top 10 most livable, viable cities for entrepreneurs to be successful and to celebrate the community’s assets. In its first three competitions, LaunchKC awarded $1.5 million in grants to 29 entrepreneurs at Techweek Kansas City.
The Downtown Council, in partnership with Downtown stakeholders, are studying the economic impacts of redesigning, reducing, or possibly removing Interstate 70 in the North Loop of the Central Business District. The North Loop is part of the Interstate System constructed in the 1950s and acts as a major physical divide between neighborhoods.
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 Library leased the building for several years and in 2009, purchased the properties from DTC LLC. 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.
In 1998, the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District was redeveloped to include the American Jazz Museum, Negro League Baseball Museum, new mixed-use construction, and more than 800 apartments. In 2007, the Downtown Development Group (DDG) contracted with the Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation to provide development services to the District. In the first year of the partnership, the DDG secured a $1.8 million HUD grant and secured a $250,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant.
The 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 including 187 that were served through permanent housing programs and the Community Kitchen has served more than one million hot, nutritious meals.
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.
The DDG was asked to assist in the development of a state of the art headquarters and teaching facility for the Kansas City Ballet. The Ballet selected the 90-year-old environmentally contaminated building that had been a former power plant and abandoned for 35 years. The renovated building provided a state of the art facility for the Kansas City Ballet while retaining its students and staff in Downtown. Historic Tax Credits accounted for $12 million of the total project budget.
DTC Membership
Membership to the Downtown Council is open to any individual or business that is committed to the vitality of Downtown. If you are interested in becoming a member please fill out the form below.
Get Involved
As a member of the Downtown Council (DTC), you will have unique opportunities to shape the future of Downtown Kansas City. Your business’ involvement can range from staying informed to participating in long-range planning sessions and initiatives.
Open to Everyone
Downtown Council membership is open to all individuals, nonprofit organizations and any size business committed to the vitality of Downtown Kansas City.
Current Members
Downtown Council members range from small businesses to large corporations; businesses headquartered in Downtown and those located in the suburbs.
Community Improvement Districts
The Downtown and River Market Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) are private nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to maintaining a safe, clean, and green Central Business District and River Market neighborhoods.
Downtown Community Improvement District
The Downtown Community Improvement District (DCID) started in 2003. The DCID has been the catalyst for Downtown’s $7.5 billion dollar revitalization with a simple but ambitious mission: clean, safe, and attractive.
River Market Community Improvement District
The River Market Community Improvement District (RMCID) was established by property owners in 2006. The RMCID’s mission is to keep Downtown’s historic River Market neighborhood clean and safe.
CID Leadership
Pictured left; front row: Santos Ramirez, Director of Operations; Keith Libeer, Safety Supervisor; and back row: Mark Rowlands, Director of Contracts; Ronell Bailey, Safety Supervisor; Art Chatman, Landscape Supervisor & Fleet Manager; Justin Tatum, Communications Manager; Sean O’Bryne, Executive Director; Alex Bland, Maintenance Supervisor.
The CIDs’ public safety ambassadors are an effective deterrent to crime and a welcoming presence in the Central Business District and River Market neighborhoods. The safety ambassadors patrol on foot seven days a week, wearing distinctive uniforms and equipped with two-way radios, first-aid gear, maps and more. They are equally prepared to administer first aid, provide directions, radio police or provide outreach to homeless individuals.
The CIDs’ public maintenance ambassadors clean sidewalks, parks, and streetcar stations seven days a week so the Central Business District and River Market neighborhoods remain clean. The CIDs’ ambassadors have zero tolerance for graffiti. Specially trained teams use solvents and high-pressure washers to blast graffiti from the ground floor of building walls, light poles, signs and street furniture while protecting architectural surfaces.
Our CID landscape ambassadors work year-round to make the Central Business District and River Market welcoming, brighter, safer and more accessible. Trees, greenery, parks and open space relieve the urban landscape, provide recreational opportunities, help control stormwater runoff, improve the environment and provide shade and relief from summer heat. Trees and plantings are maintained by our ambassadors.
CID ambassadors play a central role in the Downtown Council’s commitment to caring for the homeless and hungry populations of Downtown. The DTC partnered with reStart and NourishKC, to open the Downtown Community Services Center (DCSC) at 8th and Paseo. Our public safety ambassadors provide on-site security at the DCSC.
In May 2016, the Kansas City Streetcar started its run through several Downtown attractions, districts, and neighborhoods. Since its grand opening, the Community Improvement Districts partnered with the Kansas City Streetcar Authority to place public safety ambassadors in each streetcar to provide safety and hospitality services to riders.
In 2017, the Community Improvement Districts partnered with EB Systems to provide smart tablets to each public safety ambassador in the Central Business District and River Market. The CIDs’ dispatcher will be able to locate each ambassador to expedite nearby resources to incidents more efficiently. In addition, each tablet can access bus and streetcar schedules.
The Downtown and River Market Community Improvement Districts partner with the Full Employment Council and the local Goodwill organization to secure ambassador interns. Through their Occupational Skills Training Programs, the CIDs are able to increase their manpower with seasonal interns at no cost to ratepayers.
The Downtown and River Market Community Improvement Districts provide the following marketing and communications services to ratepayers and visitors; communication through blog posts, e-newsletters, and social media channels as well as the production of the Downtown retail directory, parking maps, and annual reports.
