KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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The Port KC Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Monday to terminate negotiations with Kansas City-based Platform Ventures, a developer who wanted to purchase additional land.
Platform Ventures potentially sold one of its existing buildings to the federal government last year.
At issue is a parcel of land near Missouri Highway 150 and Botts Road in Kansas City, Missouri, dubbed 49 Crossing. The land is part of a multi-year redevelopment effort from Port KC to bring life back to the site near the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base.
Port KC sold some property to Platform Ventures in 2022 as part of the redevelopment project. Once Port KC handed over the property, it was up to Platform Ventures on whether to develop it and keep it or sell the property to another entity.
In October 2025, Platform Ventures says it was approached by a buyer with an unsolicited bid to purchase the roughly 900,000 square foot warehouse. Port KC later revealed the buyer to be the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the purpose was for use as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
The future use of the property became clearer in January when ICE agents were seen at the facility. Jackson County Legislative Chairman Manny Abarca went into the warehouse, where he said he was told by ICE agents they were touring the building for use as a 7,500-bed detention center.
ICE said after the tour that it did not have any new detention centers to announce at that time.
But the action of Kansas City-based Platform Ventures to sell the property to a buyer to use for a purpose that’s not aligned with redevelopment efforts in the area left Port KC searching for next steps.
The agency decided administratively it would no longer work with Platform Ventures, which was attempting to acquire more land from Port KC.
Monday’s vote by Port KC commissioners formalized that administrative policy.
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