KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hunt Midwest plans to develop nearly 2,000 acres north of Kansas City International Airport into a new industrial park, the KCI 29 Logistics Park, with “about 20 million square feet of Class ‘A’ industrial buildings,” according to a grant application filed with the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The project, which is expected to begin construction as soon as next month and projects to be completed in August 2025, will “generate up to $2.5-billion in private investment,” according to the filing.
Hunt Midwest and the Port Authority of Kansas City, which has partnered with the real-estate development company on the project, expect the site to “attract national and international large-scale users.”
Both entities declined to comment for this story.
“KCI 29 is the largest mega site under single ownership in the state of Missouri and will likely be the most significant economic development project for the next 20 years,” the Port Authority said in a MO DED ARPA Federal Initiatives application. “Missouri is quickly becoming one of the prime logistics hubs of the nation and the KCI 29 Logistics Park is perfectly situated to meet the increasing logistical infrastructure demands of industries nationwide.”
The site would offer direct access to KCI’s cargo operations and continue the warehouse and industrial development along the Interstate 29 corridor near the airport.
The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council signed off on the master plan for the Platte County development in October 2022 and the Missouri Department of Economic Development announced a sizable grant for the project last week through its Industrial Site Development Grant program.
The $40 million grant awarded to the Port Authority will be paid for with federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The development will encompass 2,136 acres, including 1,846 acres of developable land, currently being used primarily as farmland from I-29 north to Missouri Highwawy 92 and between North Bethel Avenue west to North Winan Road. It sits north of KCI across I-29/I-435, according to the grant application.
Hunt Midwest’s website touts the project as even larger in scope, encompassing 3,300 acres as part of the state’s first mega site. The projected expansion would be northeast of the of the preliminary plat.
“As many corporations are re-shoring their operations back to the United States, the development is perfectly situated to provide supply chain and technology solutions and meet distribution and e-commerce needs,” the Port Authority said in its application. “Over 90% of the United States population can be reached within a 2-day drive from this location.”
The Port Authority also noted that “some national corporations have chosen to move into other states in the region like Kansas, Ohio, and Tennessee due to our state’s lack of a mega site like what is proposed at KCI 29 Logistics Park.”
Phase I construction is expected to begin for the sewer system and to extend Mexico City Avenue north to Missouri 92 this summer, according to a timeline Hunt Midwest provided the state Department of Economic Development.
The newly built section of Mexico City Avenue will bisect the industrial park north to south, while two new east-west roads also would be built — NW 136th Street, which would bisect the main section of the industrial park, and NW128th Street, which would serve as a southern boundary for the eastern section of the industrial park.
The economic-development grant will be used for site and roadway grading, concrete work, storm and sanitary sewer systems, waterline installation, electrical infrastructure, streetlights, traffic signals, erosion control and landscaping.
The Port Authority had requested $49.4 million from the state for the project.
The infrastructure build out, including a $30 million investment in land acquisition and Kansas City’s $96 million commitment to build a new wastewater treatment facility, is expected to cost more than $176 million overall.
More than five miles of streets, storm sewers and water mains will be required for the project along with more than 2 1/2 miles of sanitary sewer extensions.
The Kansas City Water Department, the city’s municipal water provider, has committed to building a new wastewater treatment facility near the northeast corner of the development. It will be paid for from KC Water’s Sewer Revenue Funds.
Letters in support of the project from state Sen. Tony Luetkmeyer, KC Water, City Manager Brian Platt, Platte County R-III Superintendent Dr. Jay Harris, Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker, Platte County Economic Development Council Executive Director Tina Chace and KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas contained strikingly similar, often identical, language that touted the project as a potential “major logistics hub for industries around the country.”
City Council members Teresa Loar and Dan Fowler also sent letters of support, according to the application, but those were not included in the documents KSHB 41 obtained via Sunshine Law request.
Hunt Midwest, a real-estate company owned by late Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt’s family, also owns and operates SubTropolis and the Hunt Midwest Business Center.
SubTropolis is the world’s largest underground business complex with nearly 7.8-million square feet of space for business and another 6.2 million planned square feet.
The Hunt Midwest Business Center has 1 million square feet of industrial space that is completed or under construction, hosting 110 businesses.
The KCI 29 Logistics Park would dwarf both existing business parks.
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