The Ripple Effect: State of Downtown 2025
By Imani Jackson, Administrative Assistant at Downtown Council of Kansas City
On December 3 at the Zhou Brothers Art Center in the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District, civic leaders, community partners, developers, and residents came together to celebrate downtown Kansas City’s continued momentum. The theme “The Ripple Effect.” In her keynote address, Lynn Carlton, National Practice Leader for Planning, Urban Design & Landscape Architecture with Burns and McDonnell, shared how strategic investment over time in the city’s core is sparking a new wave in growth, revitalization, and civic pride across the mosaic of 22 neighborhoods that make up Greater Downtown.
Highlights included major advancements in the 18th & Vine District’s Revive the Vine initiative with over $400 million in redevelopment, the creation of more than 10 acres of new green space through Roy Blunt Luminary Park and Barney Allis Plaza, and the growth of the UMKC Health Sciences District as a hub of research, education, innovation, and community well-being.
We heard powerful insights from our panel of local leaders, facilitated by Pat Contreras, Vice President of Business Development with McCownGordon Construction.
Panelists included:
- Mauli Agrawal, Chancellor, UMKC
- Tara Green, OJB Landscape Architecture
- Bob Kendrick, President, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
- Peter Sloan, Senior Designer, HOK
The conversation explored how design, cultural heritage, economic opportunity, and innovation can converge to shape the next chapter of downtown.
Thank you to our leaders, dignitaries, organizers, and especially our sponsors McCownGordon Construction, Metropolitan Community College, and Risk Strategies, whose support made this possible.
State of Downtown Report
At the event, the Downtown Council released the State of Downtown Report, our yearly research delivering the most recent data and key metrics available from the US Census, ESRI, and Placer.ai. This report examines the key drivers of Downtown vitality and investment – visitor metrics, employment, return to the office data, housing, retail, and development.
Downtown Kansas City is reinventing itself as a more resilient, diverse, and dynamic mixed-use community whose renaissance is expanding to surrounding neighborhoods. This report invites you to recognize the remarkable urban center that continues to drive our region’s economic and cultural prosperity. The information in this report tells a story of recovery and growth; employees are returning to the office, our residential population continues to grow, and our visitor market is strong. We hope you find this information useful as well as reflective of our passion for detailed research and optimism rooted in data.
You can access the report here. Please feel free to contact Tommy Wilson for additional information.
