Kansas City Power & Light District
The Kansas City Power & Light District is a dining, shopping, office, and entertainment district in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, United States, developed by The Cordish Companies of Baltimore, Maryland, and designed by Beyer Blinder Belle and 360 Architecture. The district comprises nine blocks on the south side of the downtown loop. It is located between Baltimore Avenue to the west, Grand Boulevard to the east, 12th Street to the north, and Interstate 670 to the south.[1] The $850 million mixed use district is one of the largest development projects in the Midwestern United States,[2] and is anchored by the renovated Midland Theatre, Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet Cinema, and the world headquarters of H&R Block.[3] The district was originally projected to generate enough tax revenue to pay for the bonds that were issued to finance it, but the city has instead relied on its general fund and refinancing to make debt payments.[4][5]
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| Location | 50 East 13th Street Suite 200 Kansas City, Missouri 64106 |
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| Coordinates | 39°05′52″N 94°34′56″W / 39.09778°N 94.58222°W |
| Owner | The Cordish Companies |
| Type | Mixed-use retail, entertainment, office, and residential development |
| Capacity | nine city block area |
| Construction | |
| Built | 2005 - 2008 |
| Opened | First tenant opened November 9, 2007 |
| Website | |
| powerandlightdistrict.com | |
In 2009, the Power & Light District was the recipient of the Urban Land Institute Award of Excellence[6] for its impact on the revitalization of downtown Kansas City.
Location
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The Power & Light District is immediately to the west of the T-Mobile Center. The district was named after the art deco Kansas City Power and Light Building. The headquarters of the Kansas City Power & Light Company (a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy) is located on the northern side of the district. A one-block entertainment area within the district is called Kansas City Live!, which contains two floors of bars and restaurants, and a large, partially enclosed courtyard and concert venue.[7]
Kansas City Live!
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At the center of the Power & Light District is Kansas City Live!, a one block area devoted to live music and entertainment venues. It hosted American Idol in 2008,[8][9][10] and many professional sports viewing parties for years.[11] The roof system, produced by Structurflex, is made of an Ethylene TetraFluoro Ethylene (ETFE) single-skin membrane. Construction of the roof began on August 17, 2007.[12]
The ground floor of the Kansas City Live! block focuses on bars and restaurants, including McFadden's Sports Saloon, Flying Saucer, Cleaver & Cork, The Dubliner, Johnny's Tavern, Pizza Bar, and County Road Ice House, which is a locally owned partnership between Back Napkin and Joes BBQ. The second floor of Kansas City Live! houses the night clubs and entertainment concepts, including Mosaic Ultra Lounge, Angels Rock Bar, Howl at the Moon, PBR Big Sky, Shark Bar, and No Other Pub, which is a partnership between Cordish and local MLS soccer team Sporting Kansas City.
Notable tenants
edit- B&B Theatres Mainstreet Theater - renovated historic theater, shows current movies in six theaters; located at 14th and Main (opened May 1, 2009)[13]
- H&R Block - world headquarters (opened October 2006)
- Hilton President Kansas City - 213-room refurbished historic 1926 hotel, featuring the Drum Room (reopened January 5, 2006)
- Midland Theatre - 3,500-person capacity concert and live music venue (reopened September 2008)
- PBR Big Sky - country and western bar located at the north end of the Kansas City Live! block at 111 E. 13th St. (opened April 10, 2008)[14]
Residential
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Within the Power & Light District, Cordish plans to build four high-end residential towers. On April 22, 2014, Cordish broke ground on the first apartment tower called One Light Luxury Apartments. One Light opened 80% leased on December 8, 2015.[15] The tower is 25 stories tall and connected to the nearby Cosentino's Grocery store[16] and OneLife Fitness gym. Two Light Luxury Apartments opened on May 4, 2018. The 24-story luxury apartment building features 296 units, each with floor-to-ceiling windows.[17] Two Light also includes a 438-space garage, 3,100 square feet (290 m2) of boutique retail space, and 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of coworking office space, Spark KC.[18] Three Light's 301 foot tower was completed in September 2023[19] with 25 stories and 288 units.[20]
Festival license
editIn 2005, the Cordish Company successfully lobbied the Missouri General Assembly for a new law pertaining to any "entertainment district" in Downtown Kansas City to allow patrons to remove any alcoholic beverage from any establishment in the District and carry it openly throughout the portions of the District not open to vehicular traffic, if the beverage is in a plastic cup marked with the logo of the establishment at which it was purchased.[21][22][23] This is one of few places in the United States with such an open container allowance.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Map of the Power & Light District". Mapquest.com. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ "The Cordish Company Announces Lead Design Team for Kansas City Live!". Kansas City infoZine. July 21, 2004. Archived from the original on August 10, 2004. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ HOK. "H&R Block World Headquarters". www.hok.com. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ Horsley, Lynn (February 7, 2015). "Despite large Power & Light District crowds, taxpayers are still on the hook". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ Kite, Allison (February 11, 2021). "Kansas City spent millions to subsidize Power & Light. Amid COVID, it might refinance". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence History". Urban Land Institute. October 6, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ "Power & Light District". www.powerandlightdistrict.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ "Hometown Fans Turn Out for Their 'Idol' Hopefuls". The Ledger. May 13, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ ""American Idol" Season 7 Finale". CBS News. May 21, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "David Cook Hometown, Blue Springs to Participate in American Idol Season Finale" (PDF). City of Blue Springs, Missouri. May 21, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "World Cup watch parties spread across the US". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ "Power & Light District Construction Reaches Next Step". MyFox Kansas City. August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
- ^ "All digital, plus drinks: State-of-the-art Mainstreet theater opens Friday - Kansas City Star". www.kansascity.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009.
- ^ "Ridin', Ropin' & Wranglin'.. PBR Big Sky Opens Today". Kansascity.about.com. April 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ "Kansas City's One Light apartments make a downtown statement". kansascity. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ Alonzo, Austin (March 14, 2014). "Work on Cordish's One Light apartment tower will begin in April". Kansas City Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.
- ^ Davis, Miranda (May 8, 2018). "Take a look inside Two Light and its luxury apartments [PHOTOS]". Kansas City Business Journal.
- ^ "Two Light will include coworking space". Kansas City Business Journal. January 30, 2018.
- ^ "Three Light Tower". www.skyscrapercenter.com.
- ^ Harlow, Kristin (September 19, 2023). "Cordish Opens Three Light Luxury Apartments in Kansas City's Power & Light District".
- ^ Section 311.086, R.S.Mo.
- ^ "Sections 10-134 and 10-135, Kansas City Code of Ordinances". Library3.municode.com:80. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ Rick Alm, "Drinking to be allowed on street in Power & Light District", The Kansas City Star, July 27, 2005