When people experience Kansas City today, they see more than a skyline and street grid. They feel the energy of a city that rebuilt its core and reclaimed its riverfront. That feeling is not accidental; it is the direct result of thoughtful planning and design that shapes the overall urban core experience.
As a planning and urban design leader at Burns & McDonnell, I have had a front-row seat to Kansas City’s downtown transformation for more than 20 years. That work stretches from early stabilization efforts to today’s momentum of enhancing the urban core by continuing the positive redevelopment along the riverfront and investing in downtown neighborhoods.
Building on this progress, FIFA’s World Cup presence in the metro and the Kansas City Royals’ planned relocation to the Crown Center district are generating new excitement across the region. The move promises to create a powerful sense of place combining Crown Center’s commercial, artistic and cultural life with the city's love of sports to attract new residents and visitors to the area.
At the heart of any successful redevelopment is thoughtful master planning. The core tenet of a good master plan is understanding the connections between a place and the people who experience it. That relationship is what transforms a physical space into a thriving regional destination.
Two decades ago, downtown Kansas City was at risk of losing economic and cultural relevance. Office jobs were drifting south, key buildings sat underused, and the heart of the city lacked the residential energy and everyday amenities that residents and visitors now expect. As one of the authors of The Downtown Corridor Development Strategy, often referred to as the Sasaki Plan, the effort helped set a direction for how to rebuild the area and identified priority projects that could provide a higher return on investment.
Many of the early design and construction efforts focused on practical needs, including strengthening the residential base and creating a vibrant entertainment and dining area that would become the Power & Light District. Efforts also included opening an arena, attracting major employers downtown and laying the groundwork for a future streetcar line.
These catalytic projects started a chain reaction, with one bold move creating the conditions for the next. Each new development didn’t simply stand alone; it reset expectations, lowered barriers and created excitement for the next project. Over time, that accumulating momentum reshaped the heart of downtown. Empty lots were filled in. Dark buildings found new life. What began as a handful of strategic choices ultimately formed a linked progression of growth that changed the landscape and forged a downtown where people wanted to live, work and gather.
That development growth has reached the Missouri River in a way Kansas City leaders and its residents have talked about for generations thanks to Port KC and more recently Palmer Square Real Estate. CPKC Stadium opened at the east end of Berkley Riverfront Park, as the soccer home of the Kansas City Current, and is the first purpose-built stadium for a women’s professional sports team in the world.
But one stadium alone does not make a neighborhood. It is the creative assembly of residential options, storefront retail, active and passive open space, and access to public transportation that creates a thriving district.
Every day, I am inspired by the challenge of designing spaces that foster connection and bring people together. What changes a riverfront is what surrounds it: parks that are bustling on days without events, safe routes that welcome people on foot and by transit, housing and shops that look engaging, and public spaces that make the area feel like part of a city’s regular routine. That is the lens our team brings to our work: help plan the public realm, study and build connections, and design places that support daily use as well as big events and moments.
Over the past five years, our team has helped deliver more than a dozen projects in and around the Berkley Riverfront and Kansas City’s core, including:
Berkley Riverfront Connectivity Study. We developed strategies that tackled barriers and reimagined access to the riverfront and Columbus Park making it a walkable, cyclable and connected area that reconnected Kansas City neighborhoods to its river heritage.
Current Landing Riverfront Promenade. Designed as a pedestrian-focused promenade between a mixed-use development and a levee, this streetscape/event space supports performances, pop-up markets, outdoor dining, festivals and other large gatherings.
Founder’s Park at Current Landing. Conceived as a linear extension of Berkley Riverfront Park, Founder’s Park weaves trails, experiential zones and a pedestrian pier into a landscape that embraces the raw beauty and movement of the Missouri River, strengthening the connection between city and river.
Kansas City Streetcar Riverfront Pavilion. The CPKC Pavilion is a transportation gateway designed to support large crowds, turning an ordinary platform into a landmark arrival experience.
Another integral part of our downtown’s resurgence will be the reopening of Barney Allis Plaza as well as the eight acres of public realm improvements in Kansas City’s historic West Bottoms, adjacent to downtown. The West Bottoms’ development will create a vibrant public plaza and pedestrian-oriented streetscape that will include hundreds of new apartments, office space, new retail and dining, and a hotel. Developed by Somera Road, in close collaboration with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, the railroads, landowners and community stakeholders, our project team incorporated innovative stormwater strategies and designed a flexible civic space at its core, while keeping in line with the continuously evolving spirit of the West Bottoms.
Projects like these demonstrate what is possible when long-term vision and a broad perspective are paired with strategic investment and collaboration across sectors. As a member of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority and past chair of the Implementation Committee for the Downtown Council’s Imagine Downtown 2030 Plan, we welcome a broad perspective with an emphasis on catalytic projects that result in a downtown that works for everyone.
The next chapter of Kansas City’s core depends on how well we connect nearby neighborhoods like the West Bottoms, Columbus Park, the 18th & Vine District and other areas where Kansas City’s history and future meet block by block.
During my time working on revitalization projects in Kansas City, there are several principles I’ve embraced when embarking on monumental revitalization projects:
Learn from peer cities that have navigated rapid growth, taking lessons from successes and missteps, but creating solutions that are distinctly Kansas City.
Retain and grow jobs in the core where vital infrastructure already exists.
Consider housing options for people of all income levels.
Invest in public spaces that allow individuals and families to feel safe and connected.
By making well thought out, disciplined choices that strengthen connections, regions can grow in ways that resonate for generations. The choices that elevate everyday experiences are the ones that will help build thriving communities people enjoy and are proud of.