Why Downtown KC?Employment Office Market Available Office Space Talent Development Quality of Life Resources

Why Downtown KC?

Why is Downtown Kansas City such an attractive location for businesses?

Thriving Business Center

Downtown is the prime driver of Kansas City’s economy, where 34% of all the City’s jobs are concentrated. Downtown has more than 110,000 wage and salaried workers, 26.5 million square feet of commercial office space and 240,110 square feet of coworking space, making it the largest business district in the region.

Growing Innovation Hub

Capital, accelerators, coworking spaces, universities, and an educated workforce convene in Downtown to create a vibrant innovation ecosystem. Downtown’s density allows people from corporations, research institutions, and startups to intersect on a daily basis, creating numerous opportunities for innovation.

Advancing Healthcare & Wellness

Downtown’s density allows for a concentration of resources and social services. Employees and residents have quick access to hospitals, urgent care centers, and health care. Nurtured by “social infrastructure” such as libraries, a flagship YMCA, schools, grocery stores, and parks – Downtown generates lifesaving networks of social ties that combat isolation and build community.

Exceptional Access to Talent

Downtown is uniquely positioned for outstanding access to the area’s talent pool of diverse, dynamic, and highly-skilled workers. With 30 colleges & universities within an hour of Downtown, businesses can recruit young, educated graduates.

Millennial Concentration

Downtown’s vibrant live-work dynamic makes it a magnet for young workers seeking an urban lifestyle. Millennials make up 43% percent of Downtown’s population – the largest concentration of millennials in the region.

Vibrant Environment

Downtown has become a thriving, modern, mixed-use district. Vibrant urban living and a broad range of housing types in historic neighborhoods are attracting residents and workers who want to enjoy Downtown’s expansive array of cultural, entertainment, dining and recreation options.

Unparalleled Connectivity

Downtown Kansas City is positioned at the center of a multimodal regional system, consisting of 38 bus routes, 3 bus rapid transit lines, and one streetcar route. Downtown is served well by a regional highway network, connecting seamlessly with five major interstates, providing direct access to the 5-county region with a labor force of more than 1.1 million people.

Downtown Employment

At the center of Kansas City’s economy is Downtown, where 34% of the City’s jobs are located with a strong concentration of the highest paying industry sectors. Throughout Downtown Kansas City, 36% of all jobs are in the Finance, Insurance, Health Care, and Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services; making diversification a defining strength of Downtown’s economy. Federal, state, and local government employment hold a 17% share of Downtown jobs. Together, these sectors comprise the prime occupants in Downtown’s 26.5 million square feet of office space.

Professional, Scientific & Tech Services

Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services is one of Downtown Kansas City’s leading industries sectors. This broad category of jobs includes accountants, architects, engineers, lawyers, scientific researchers, and advertisers.
National research shows this sector is expected to be the most resilient to the recession.

Health Care & Social Assistance

Downtown Kansas City is home to the UMKC Health Sciences District with more than 3,300 students and 12,800 employees, the highest concentration of health science workers in the region.
Downtown’s Health Sciences District represents a collaboration between the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Truman Medical Center, Ronald McDonald House, and local health departments, advancing health care, research, community outreach, and shared wellness.
Downtown Kansas City’s density allows for a concentration of resources and social services. Employees and residents have quick access to hospitals, urgent care centers, and health care.

High Tech

Kansas City is the 8th fastest growing market for tech talent in the country adding 6,040 degrees and 10,870 tech jobs in the last five years.
Kansas City is the 12th fastest growing market for software developers in the country in the last four years.
Kansas City ranks 15th in the country in tech talent jobs as a percent of total jobs at 5%.
Innovation drivers in Downtown include the UMKC Health Sciences District, Keystone Labs, LaunchKC Accelerators, Digital Sandbox, Rise KC, and Techstars Kansas City.

Relocations & Expansions

Companies that have recently announced a headquarters relocation, new office, or expansion in Downtown Kansas City within the past year include:

“We realized if we wanted to recruit young people, we needed to be in the Crossroads. The Crossroads Arts District is where young talent wants to be. We’re not only part of the neighborhood fabric, but a place where our team wants to come to work every day.”

Richard WetzelPartner, Centric

“Young talent doesn’t like 143rd and Lamar. They like Downtown. It’s been a really good change. The vibe is great and the energy is high.”

Jeff SpenserSr. Vice President, Holmes Murphy

“There’s so much activity in Downtown right now. It’s just incredibly exciting. And when we came across this location, we really just loved the views, the location and the opportunity to be right in the middle of the action.”

Chris GiulianiCEO, Spring Venture Group

“Since our move, we’ve acquired a lot more talent. We’re attracting the younger, new talent that wants an urban mix.”

Meg StapletonExecutive VP/General Manager, AutoAlert

“We started a very intensive search to find a location we thought fit well with our culture. We have a lot of young architects and we wanted to make sure we found a place that was of interest to them. Now they live in the River Market and take the streetcar here. It’s been fantastic.”

John SouthardPartner, Hollis-Miller Architects

“When we became aware of what was going on Downtown and made some visits down there, spent some time down there, and saw the opportunity, we just felt it met our mission of being unique in our industry, it met the brand image that we have, it met the energy of our company.”

Jeff SpenserSr. Vice President, Holmes Murphy

“When we considered our new office space, we wanted a location that would help better serve our growing client base in the region, and one that would be a collaborative, comfortable, and inspiring work environment for our staff. We are excited about our location because it’s within a reasonable commute time for all of our team, and there are plenty of walkable options for lunch or after-work activities. We also wanted our staff to be able to take advantage of transit options like the nearby streetcar stop.”

Agnus OttoSenior Area Manager, WSP

Largest Downtown Employers

Largest Tech Companies Downtown

Downtown Office Tenants

Downtown Kansas City has been the region’s commercial center and home to traditional industries like banking and law since its beginning. Now, Downtown is also becoming Kansas City’s center for creativity, innovation, and health care. This mix of companies, from entrepreneurial startups to corporate headquarters, and range of industries, from design+build, marketing, and technology, is making Downtown Kansas City a dynamic hub of creativity and a fertile ground for launching new ventures and growing existing businesses. A sample of Downtown Kansas City’s office tenants are displayed on the map below.

Industry Sectors

Below is a list of industry sectors with a strong, concentrated presence in Downtown. To the right is a map displaying some of the businesses within those sectors.

Architecture
Construction
Coworking Spaces
Engineering
Financial Services
Healthcare
Insurance
Legal
Marketing & Communications
Technology

Downtown Office Market

Check out highlights from our 2019 Downtown Office Summit.

Downtown Employees
110,615
Source: ESRI
Office Space
26.5M sf
Source: Colliers International
Office Space Under Construction
260,000 sf
Source: Colliers International
Coworking Space
254,610 sf
Source: KC Business Journal
Average Rent - Class A
$21.46
Source: Colliers International
Average Rent - Class B
$18.47
Source: Colliers International
Average Rent - Class C
$16.29
Source: Colliers International

Vacancy Rate - 2Q 2020 - All Classes

% of the City’s Office Space Downtown

% of the City’s Jobs Downtown

Top Office Space Leases – Downtown 2019

These relocations and expansions highlight Downtown Kansas City’s core competitive advantages: a location at the center of the region’s transportation network, providing both easy access to the region’s workforce and to Downtown’s significant cluster of young, well-educated workers; a dense concentration
of other professional, business, and financial services firms; and a diverse offering of cultural and retail amenities.

Downtown Coworking Spaces

Coworking has become a stronger force in Downtown’s real estate, with more than 254,000 square feet of the office market controlled by coworking tenants. The product offering has helped accelerate the growth of Downtown Kansas City, providing quick, easy, and quality options for companies, big and small, to test the market.

Office Projects Under Construction & Planned

Construction cranes and new development, visible everywhere, continue to transform Downtown Kansas City. Over the past 15 years, more than $8.9 billion dollars of major real estate development has been completed or is currently under construction. Within the office sector, more than 1.2 million square feet of space is under construction or currently being renovated. An additional 1.1 million square feet of office space is currently planned for the next two years.

13 Wyandotte

Platform Ventures plans to build 14-story office project at 13th & Wyandotte.
The 152,000 square foot office tower will include a 409-space parking garage.
The office building is expected to be ready for tenants by 2022.

Grand Place

Grand Place is being reimagined into a vibrant, mixed-use destination featuring 250,000 square feet of office space. The building will also house a European-style market.
Grand Place will be the first WELL Core certified project in KCMO, while also pursuing LEED gold certification.
Click here for available office space

Lightwell

Somera Road is renovating the 30-story, 657,000 square foot office tower into a new tech hub. New tenants include WeWork, PayIt, and Backlot Cars.
Recently signed Strang Hall, a 13,500 sf food hall with five chef concepts.
Click here for available office space

Paradigm Building

A new five-story, 65,000 square foot office building will be built in the historic River Market.
Located on the streetcar line and within walking distance of restaurants, entertainment, and the City Market.
Click here for available office space

Podium

The most prominent component of the mixed-use development will be a $150 million building along the Main Street viaduct. It would combine a 210,000 square-foot office tower, called “The Podium,” and a 150-room hotel.
The project will also include a neighborhood with apartments and townhouses bordering Walnut Street.

Strata

Strata will be a Class A, 16-story office tower built on top of existing retail in the Power & Light District.
Located on the streetcar line and within close proximity to entertainment and restaurants.
Click here for available office space

Waddell & Reed

Waddell & Reed will move their headquarters and more than 1,000 employees from Overland Park to Downtown Kansas City.
The 18-story, 260,000 square foot office building is currently under construction will be located at 14th & Baltimore.

Office Space

Downtown Kansas City has a wealth of office properties ranging from reimagined highrises and restored historical structures to repurposed manufacturing and warehouse buildings. With millions of square feet of space available, Downtown Kansas City offers an abundance of choice with the convenience of connected urban living.

River Market

Grace Real Estate Building
3,192 sf
511 Delaware

Central Business District

Crossroads Arts District

Greater Downtown Districts

Talent

Downtown Kansas City is uniquely positioned for outstanding access to the area’s talent pool of diverse, dynamic, and highly-skilled workers. With 30 colleges & universities within an hour of Downtown Kansas City, businesses can recruit young, educated graduates as well as offer a wide array of continuing education opportunities for their employees.

Fifty percent of Downtown residents have a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher, outpacing the Kansas City metropolitan region’s rate of 36%. Downtown has a highly educated and skilled working population for management, consulting, financial, legal, architectural, engineering, medical, creative, technology firms.

Downtown Residents - Bachelor’s Degree or Higher

KC MSA - Bachelor’s Degree or Higher

Tech Labor Pool - 5 Year Growth Rate

Tech Degree Completions - 5 Year Growth Rate

University Enrollment

The region’s 30 institutions of higher education collectively enroll more than 139,000 undergraduate and graduate students including 3,311 at UMKC’s Health Sciences District located in Downtown Kansas City. Fifty percent of Downtown residents have a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher, outpacing the Kansas City metropolitan region’s rate of 36%. Below is a list of four-year colleges and universities located within an hour of Downtown Kansas City.

Downtown Renaissance

More than $8.9 billion dollars of investment have transformed Downtown Kansas City.

Development Reports

Projects Under Construction

Over the past 15 years, more than $8.9 billion dollars of major real estate development has been completed or is currently under construction in Downtown Kansas City. Some of our significant projects currently under construction are highlighted below.

Ashland at River Market

KC Commercial Realty is building a 94-unit, market-rate apartment building near 3rd & Grand in the River Market.
The six-story residential building will be directly across the street from a streetcar stop and the City Market.

Children’s Mercy Research Institute

Children‘s Mercy is building a nine-story, 375,000 square foot research building - the Children’s Research Institute.
When fully staffed, the building will house 3,000 employees dedicated to research.

City Club Apartments

The mixed-use project is located on Main Street between 19th and 20th streets. It will include 283 apartments, 11,000 square feet of retail space, and an underground parking garage.
One of the ground floor retail tenants will be DGX - Dollar General’s urban concept store.

Flashcube Apartments

The Flashcube building is being renovated into a mixed-use project featuring 184 apartments and office space.
The building will be home to an 18,000 square foot coworking space from Plexpod.

Grand Place

Grand Place is being reimagined into a vibrant, mixed-use destination featuring 250,000 square feet of office space. The building will also house a European-style market, private dining, spa, and more.
Grand Place will be the first WELL Core certified project in KCMO, while also pursuing LEED gold certification.
Click here for available office space

Lightwell

Somera Road is renovating the 30-story, 657,000 square foot office tower into a new tech hub. New tenants include WeWork, PayIt, and Backlot Cars.
Recently signed Strang Hall, a 13,500 sf food hall with five chef concepts.
Click here for available office space

University Health Building

The University Health 2 building is 80,000 square feet and will accommodate women’s care and primary care services currently in Truman Medical Center.
The building will also be home to a full-service Walgreens and a Roasterie coffee shop on the ground level.
University Health is affiliated with Truman Medical Center (TMC), providing outpatient services for the hospital and staffed by its physicians.

Waddell & Reed

Waddell & Reed will move their headquarters and more than 1,000 employees from Overland Park to Downtown Kansas City.
The 18-story building, 260,000 square foot office building will be located at 14th & Baltimore.

Downtown YMCA

The YMCA will incorporate the front facade and lobby of the historic Lyric Theater at 10th Central and build a 42,000 square foot addition behind it.
The new facility will offer family pool, lap pool, medical clinic, gymnasium, and suspended indoor track.

Downtown KC

Check out all the exciting districts, neighborhoods, and attractions in Downtown Kansas City!

Development Completed or Under Construction
$9.1B
Source: DTC Research
Development Planned
$2.6B
Source: DTC Research
Residential Population - 2020
30,876
Source: US Census & DTC Research
Projected Residential Population - 2025
38,937
Source: US Census & DTC Research
Housing Units
17,681
Source: DTC Research
Housing Units Under Construction
2,225
Source: DTC Research
Housing Units Planned
2,786
Source: DTC Research

% of Millennials in Population

% Increase in Population since 2010

Projected % Increase in Population - Present to 2025

Experience Downtown Kansas City

Downtown Kansas City has become a thriving, modern, mixed-use district. Vibrant urban living and a broad range of housing types in historic neighborhoods are attracting residents and workers who want to enjoy Downtown’s expansive array of cultural, entertainment, dining, and recreation options.

Growing Residential Population

Downtown Kansas City emerged as a location of choice for recent college graduates, drawn by job growth and easy access to restaurants, nightlife, entertainment, healthcare, and other urban amenities.
Population growth has been driven by 20 to 34 year olds, who comprise 43% of residents in Downtown Kansas City as compared to 22% in the region.

Thriving Arts Scene

Downtown is the regional center for art, culture, and entertainment with an exciting offering of art galleries, museums, theaters, and performing arts venues.
First Friday, attracting tens of thousands of people each month, boasts local artists, galleries, makers within a festive atmosphere that includes street performers and live music throughout the Crossroads Arts District.

Premier Events

On average, there are hundreds of events every month in Downtown Kansas City. Large Downtown events and festivals include 18th Street Fashion Show, Big12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, Celebration at the Station, City Market, Boulevardia, Downtown Dazzle, First Friday, Fringe Festival, Irish Fest, Middle of the Map Festival.

Culinary Excellence

Downtown Kansas City is the region‘s finest culinary destinations, offering a great assortment of restaurants, outdoor cafés, rooftop bars, and cuisines from all over the globe. It’s a foodie’s paradise.
Downtown offers fine dining, fast casual fare, and chef-driven food halls. Local award-winning chefs stand alongside young entrepreneurs and national brands.

Award-Winning Education

Downtown Kansas City is home to Crossroads Charter Schools, a network of three tuition-free charter schools offering award-winning K-12 education.
Metropolitan Community College offers degrees and certificates in healthcare, education, graphic design, music, criminal justice, and cybersecurity.
The UMKC Health Sciences District is a premier academic health district engaging in cutting-edge biomedical research and educating the next generation of healthcare professionals.

World-Class Healthcare

The highest concentration of health science workers and services in the region. Downtown is home to the UMKC Health Science District with more than 3,300 students and 12,800 employees.
The District represents a collaboration between the UMKC, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Truman Medical Center, Ronald McDonald House, and local health departments, advancing health care, research, community outreach, and shared wellness.

Beautiful Parks & Open Space

Downtown Kansas City’s walkability, bike lanes, open spaces, and parks build exercise and recreation into everyday life, improving physical and mental health.
Downtown’s walkability score is 96 and offers an exceptional quality of life for its employees placing jobs, housing, restaurants, entertainment, and parks within steps from each other.

Downtown Neighborhoods

Downtown Kansas City is a collection of vibrant districts with great housing options in charming, historic neighborhoods, each with its own unique character and atmosphere. Downtown neighborhoods offer easy access to jobs, cultural venues, great shopping, and day-to-day amenities by foot, bike, public transit, or car. Each neighborhood offers diverse choices for residents of all ages and at all stages of life.

18th & Vine Jazz District

Kansas City’s historic jazz district is home to legendary smoked meats, the renowned Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and celebrated live music clubs.
It’s this combination of barbecue, baseball and bebop jam sessions that melds together for one sweet melody.

Central Business District

Dense, diverse, and dynamic, the Central Business District is the heart of Downtown. Sitting at the center of the streetcar system and possessing a numerous selection of restaurants, bars, theaters, and retail options, the district truly is life at your doorstep.
The area is home to great hotels and attractions. Daily visitors and frequent conventions keep the neighborhood buzzing.

Crossroads Arts District

Once vacant warehouses now house carefully curated galleries in the Crossroads.
Residents and visitors can take in the arts as well as enjoy award-winning restaurants, breweries and speakeasies.

Crown Center

Crown Center is the hub for housing, shopping, dining, entertainment, and family friendly attractions.
Living within the Crown Center districts put you within walking distance of Hall Department store, Union Station, the National WWI Museum and Memorial, and Kansas City’s annual Irish Festival.

River Market

Nestled just south of the Missouri River is the historic and charming River Market. The City’s oldest neighborhood offers a diverse area abundant in local and international flavor.
Sample cuisines from across the world and navigate through farmer’s market stalls stocked with fresh produce.

West Bottoms

Once home to the Kansas City Stockyards, large industrial buildings now remain as reminders of the past—and indicators of what’s to come, as many now house residents, bars, antique shops, and retailers.
During the first weekend of the month the West Bottoms is home to the largest vintage and antique market in the country.

Westside

The Westside neighborhood has benefited from pioneering urban dwellers of various ethnicities making it one of the more diverse areas of Downtown. The homes in the neighborhood feature a wide range of architectural styles from historic Victorian and colonial to post modern.
The neighborhood features an eclectic mix of local artists’ wares and antique items nestled among popular food spots.

Contact Us

The Downtown Council also offers a range of services and materials to help commercial real estate brokers, companies and other stakeholders understand Downtown Kansas City’s revitalization and premier work environment. Please contact us to see how we can help you or for any additional questions.

Downtown Resources

Business Engagement

Whether it’s a Downtown tour, help finding the right location for your business, a space to debrief with clients, or conducting employee/welcome orientations, the Downtown Council is here to help. Please contact us to see how we can help you or for any additional questions.

Business Attraction Presentation

The Business Attraction presentation deck provides a brief State of Downtown report, summary of Downtown’s renaissance, as well as a snapshot all the amenities available to employees within a short walk or streetcar ride from their office. The presentation also addresses parking, safety, and projects in the development pipeline.

Research & Reports

Our Research & Reports page provides a number of reports, plans, as well as our State of Downtown Dashboard to help you better understand the Downtwon environment and ongoing renaissance.

Downtown Parking Maps

Our Downtown Parking Maps display all the parking garages and the number of available parking spots in the River Market, Central Business District, and Crossroads Arts District. The maps also display attractions, hotels, and parks as well as the KC Streetcar route and stops within each district.

Downtown Retail Directory

Our Downtown Retail Directory provides a comprehensive list of all restaurants, bars, coffee shops, hotels, apartments, retail shops and services located in Downtown Kansas City.

Downtown Dining Map

The Downtown Dining Map provides a comprehensive list all the restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and attractions by Downtown district/neighborhood. The map is updated annually by the Downtown Council, Visit KC, and the KC Streetcar.

Downtown Events

Employees can stay updated on all the fun events and activities happening every day of the week in Kansas City’s vibrant Downtown.

Business Resources

Financial Incentives

BUILD Program

The BUILD program is an incentive designed to reduce necessary infrastructure and equipment expenses if a project can demonstrate a need for funding. An eligible business must invest a minimum of $10 million appropriated to the necessary industry sectors and create a minimum of 500 jobs.

Chapter 100 Bonds

Chapter 100 bonds may be issued by the City to assist with the construction or rehabilitation of eligible commercial facilities. To affect property tax exemption, the City will take titular ownership of the business assets, therefore, providing property and/or sales tax exemption for up to 10 years.

Chapter 353 Program

The Chapter 353 Program was created to assist in the removal of blight by providing local property tax abatement to projects located within an Urban Renewal Area (URA). Assistance may be provided in the form of real property tax abatement on improvements up to 75% for a 10-year period and 37.5% for a 15-year period.

Enhanced Enterprise Zone

Designed to encourage job creation, the Enhanced Enterprise Zone (EEZ) provides state tax credits and local property tax abatement to new or expanding businesses located within an EEZ. Eligible businesses may receive a standard 50% property tax abatement for improvement made to real property.

Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority

The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) has served as the City’s urban renewal agency since 1951. Authorized by Missouri state statutes, the LCRA encourages redevelopment through the removal of blight and blighting conditions within designated Urban Renewal Areas.

Opportunity Zones

The Opportunity Zones program encourages long-term investment and job creation in low-income areas of the state, by allowing investors to re-invest unrealized capital gains in designated census tracts.

Historic Preservation Tax Credits

The State of Missouri provides state tax credits equal to 25% of eligible expenses for the rehabilitation of approved commercial and residential historic structures. This program has been critical to the revitalization of Downtown through the redevelopment of housing, offices, and hotels.

Missouri Works

The purpose of the Missouri Works program is to facilitate the creation of quality jobs by targeted business projects. Program benefits include the retention of the state withholding tax of the new jobs and/or state tax credits, which are refundable, transferable and/or saleable.

New Market Tax Credits

Federal New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) may be available to eligible businesses providing non-traditional financing for capital investments made by businesses and for development in distressed areas.

Planned Industrial Expansion Authority

The Planned Industrial Expansion Authority (PIEA) provides incentives encouraging the investment and removal of blight and blighting conditions within PIEA Plan areas. This incentive has played a critical and important role in the revitalization of Downtown Kansas City.

Tax Increment Financing

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a financing tool that allows future real property taxes and other taxes generated by new development to pay for the cost of construction for public infrastructure and other improvements. This is designed to encourage the development of blighted areas.

Interested in moving Downtown?

The Downtown Council of Kansas City is happy to help you locate the right office or retail space, provide demographic and development information, conduct Downtown tours or employee/welcome orientations. We are here to help, please contact us below.

Tommy Wilson, Business Recruitment

Downtown Council

The Downtown Council (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.

About Us

Subscribe to our Newsletters