KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Platform Ventures issued a statement Friday about a building it owns in south Kansas City, Missouri, which may serve as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility.
The massive building sits empty at 14901 Botts Road.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees ICE, were at the building Thursday.
Jackson County Legislature Chairman Manny Abarca told KSHB 41 that DHS officials confirmed they were there to tour the site for a potential 7,500-bed detention center.
Their presence at the site and other recent events, including the fatal shooting by an ICE agent of Renee Good, a woman who used to live in KCMO, brought national scrutiny to ICE.
While many questions remain about the fate of the south KCMO building, Platform Ventures sent KSHB 41 a statement Friday.
"Platform Ventures (PV) was approached in October 2025, with an unsolicited offer to purchase a vacant, industrial warehouse currently owned by an investment vehicle managed by PV at the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base."
"PV has a fiduciary duty to evaluate every sale or lease proposal involving this facility, as we do for all properties in our portfolio. In this case, all negotiations are complete. PV does not question prospective buyers on their intent after close, and we will not engage in public conversations involving speculation over future uses."
This statement spurred questions over the current ownership of the building and if it was sold.
KSHB 41's Braden Bates looked into the Jackson County property records. A check online showed Port KC listed on the records.
A Port KC spokesperson said it's only listed because it controls the taxes, but Platform Ventures is the owner.
With a potential sale in question, KSHB 41 went to the Jackson County Assessors Office to see if the records were updated.
The assessor's office staffer said they only get an update after a sale closes.
Platform Venture's statement ends by saying "PV does not question prospective buyers on their intent after close."
This is something we're actively working to clear up.
Port KC sent KSHB 41 a statement Thursday about its involvement with the building's construction and plans for its use.
"Port KC has been made aware of rumors regarding an industrial building at 4001 E 149th Street at the former Richards-Gebaur Airbase. The building, and the land it’s on, are wholly-owned and managed by Platform Ventures, a Kansas City-based real estate company."
"In 2022, Port KC entered into a development agreement with Platform Ventures to build multiple industrial buildings on the site. The development plan was intended to bring logistics and manufacturing jobs to an area and community of need. The reclamation of the former airbase has been highly successful, with several manufacturing and advanced logistics tenants occupying buildings alongside a modern intermodal hub."
"To be clear, the building referenced was built and occupied solely as an advanced logistics and industrial facility. It is wholly owned by a private entity. Port KC has very limited ability to disallow a sale of the facility. Under no circumstances would Port KC offer any development support to a use that is not consistent with our mission to bring quality industrial and logistics jobs to the community."
"We will continue to monitor any proposed sale or use of the Platform Ventures facility that would change its use."
"The reclamation of the former airbase has been a success story because it is a hub of manufacturing and private logistics development. It is our intent to ensure that the area, now named 49 Crossing, stays true to the vision of being an innovative jobs hub."
On Thursday, KSHB 41 anchor Sarah Plake spotted men in ICE uniforms standing outside the building.
"They are national, regional, local teams that are looking to open an ICE facility," Jackson County Legislature Chairman Manny Abarca told KSHB 41's Sarah Plake. "Something that will have a regional impact that's pretty dramatic."
Abarca knows that because he said the ICE agents came up to his car, telling him he wasn't allowed to be on the property.
He recorded the interaction on his phone and posted the video to his X page.
Folks, I shared the below video in nearly the moments it happened:
— Manny Abarca (@MannyAbarcaIV) January 15, 2026
I was informed that ICE/DHS was touring a potential “mega detention facility” in south #KansasCity and decided to stop by.
As I was observing, from my truck at a taxpayer subsidized facility; I was swarmed by… pic.twitter.com/PF6g52gO6s
Plake spoke to Abarca after he came back from inside the building.
"It's a little overwhelming. They're talking everything that was suggested - 75, 7,600 beds," Abarca said. "It's federal contractors who are touring to see how they can build out. It's an atrocity, right? And that reality for impacting both regional Kansas City, Jackson County, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa. It's a Midwest facility we're talking about, at least. So, what we're seeing happen here is a new wave of investment into these types of facilities."
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