KSHB 41 News anchor/I-Team reporter Sarah Plake has been tracking this story since mid-January. Have a tip? Send Sarah an email.
—
Platform Ventures announced Thursday that they have chosen “not to move forward” with the sale of a building in south Kansas City, Missouri, to the federal government.
Earlier this year, Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were seen touring a 900,000-square-foot warehouse near Missouri Highway 150 and Botts Road, which was part of the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base.
KSHB was there on Jan. 15 when Jackson County Legislative Chairman Manny Abarca went inside the building, afterward saying DHS officials told him the warehouse could be used as an ICE detention facility.
At the time, Platform Ventures, which acquired the building from Port KC in 2022, said they received an unsolicited bid in October 2025 for the property. The Kansas City-based firm said it had a fiduciary duty to review the offer, but declined further comment.
Documents from Pork KC, posted online in late January, revealed ICE was interested in acquiring the property.
On Thursday, Platform Ventures broke its month-long silence, claiming it only learned that the prospective buyer was the federal government until after negotiations were over.
“Platform Ventures is not actively engaged with the U.S. Government or any other prospective purchaser involving a sale of its property at the I-49 Industrial Center. While typically we do not comment on potential transactions, baseless speculation, inaccurate narratives and serious threats toward our leadership, our employees and our families have prompted us to issue this statement."
“As we stated previously, we were approached by a third-party private enterprise for this transaction and entered into preliminary negotiations consistent with the fiduciary duties owed to our investors. As negotiations concluded, we learned the purchasing party was the U.S. Government. Over the course of the building sale process, we determined that the terms no longer met our fiduciary requirements for a timely closing. Therefore, we chose not to move forward.”
Homeland security officials said in January that they did not have a new detention facility to announce at that time.
On Thursday, following Platform Ventures' announcement, ICE officials did not respond to KSHB 41's request for comment.
Thursday's announcement by Platform Ventures not to proceed with the sale is the latest of several apparent deals across the country that have been scuttled by local opposition.
Community groups, such as DecarcerateKC, have been protesting and rallying since the news broke, urging Platform Ventures not to go through with the sale.
"This moment speaks volumes to people coming together across Kansas City," Amaia Cook, executive Director of DecarcerateKC, said. "We showed that when we are united and when we're fighting for people, we win."
Port KC, which gave Platform Ventures $80 million in tax breaks to develop the warehouse, said it is relieved to hear of Platform Ventures' decision.
"We want this used for the purpose that it was built for," Jon Stephens, President and CEO of Port KC, said. "And when people sat here four years ago and said, 'We want to partner with Port KC because we want to bring manufacturing jobs,' we wanted them to fulfill that obligation."
Stephens said they found out about the ICE rumors when everyone else did, on Jan. 15.
"I'll say we were incredibly troubled by the lack of communication regarding this building, and we were troubled by just the unknowns, the lack of clarity," Stephens said.
Stephens said he still has not heard from Platform Ventures' leadership, brothers Terry and Ryan Anderson, to this day.
"In all the other dozens of transactions Port KC has been involved in, there is usually a clear public communication pathway," Stephens said. "Everything from legal documents coming back, a lot of clarity, you know what the dates are. It's all pretty organized and structured. So, to have none of that happen certainly raised a lot of concern in my mind and was highly unusual."
As for the claim that Platform Ventures didn't know who the buyer was until after negotiations ended, Stephens said he can't speculate.
"I've been in this industry a long time. I've done a lot of deals in real estate. Nothing about this followed normal communication, normal course of action," Stephens said. "As far as the legal or transactional process, as I said, we received none. So, we don't know, and I could never begin to speculate. So, I think at some point, we just have to listen and say, 'Okay, that's where they are, that's what they believed, and hopefully they move forward."
With that in mind, Stephens said it is a "wait-and-see" situation when considering any future partnership with Platform Ventures.
"I'm hopeful at some point we'll have a conversation," Stephens said. "I would like to learn what their thoughts are, what their plans are, and hear from them. But we have not heard from them."
Abarca said the DHS officials told him the building at 149th & Botts was not the only site they scouted for possible detention centers.
An ICE spokesperson has not responded to KSHB 41's request for information about the locations of other potential sites.
On the same day as ICE agents were seen outside Platform Ventures' warehouse, the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed a five-year moratorium on non-municipal detention facilities in the city. Leaders in Jackson County and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, explored similar measures.
Mayor Quinton Lucas issued a statement Thursday morning saying he was aware of Platform Venture's release.
"While Kansas City welcomes any news suggesting the halting of a planned conversion of a warehouse for goods and products into a human encampment, I will continue with our legislative and legal efforts to ensure no warehouse or similar facility in Kansas City or nearby is converted to a mass encampment warehouse of persons that is offensive to the dignity and human rights of those whom would be detained within it," Lucas said.
The location of the warehouse has long been within U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II's (D - 5th District, Missouri) district. On Wednesday, Cleaver and fellow Kansas City-area Congresswoman Rep. Sharice Davids (D - 3rd District, Kansas) sent letters to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for more information.
"During my years of public service, I have never been approached and stopped by random citizens on the streets, at events, and in the airport more than I have been about the ICE detention center reportedly headed to our community," Cleaver said in his letter.
On Thursday, Cleaver's office released a statement that said, in part: "While this specific proposal will not move forward, my concerns about the expansion of mass detention and the lack of transparency surrounding immigration enforcement decisions have not changed. Congress has a constitutional obligation to serve as a check on the executive branch, and I will continue pressing DHS for answers wherever due process, human rights, and fiscal responsibility are at stake."
Davids expressed similar concerns in her letter and issued a statement on Thursday.
“This site was intended to support economic development and job creation — not to house a massive ICE detention facility that would strain infrastructure, divert resources from local law enforcement, and undermine public safety," the statement read, in part. "I’m glad to see this proposal halted and will keep working on thoughtful immigration policies that provide a clear pathway to citizenship, secure our border from violent crime and drug trafficking, and do not overwhelm our systems.”
While the region's two congressional Democrats are active in their opposition, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R - 4th District, Missouri) has expressed support for opening an ICE detention center in Cass County, south of Kansas City.
On Thursday, Alford sent KSHB 41 a statement: “As we said in our recent letter to the Department of Homeland Security, the Fourth District would welcome federal law enforcement facilities. Between the I-70 and I-49 corridors, there are numerous suitable sites in my district. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue to work with the Trump Administration to ensure it has the resources needed to repatriate criminal illegal aliens to their countries of origin. We will always stand with law enforcement from ICE to our local police officers.”
Earlier this month, representatives from CoreCivic received initial approval from the Leavenworth Planning Commission for a special use permit to convert their facility in Leavenworth into a 1,000-bed ICE detention facility. The measure still requires approval from the Leavenworth City Commission.
In its Thursday statement, officials with Platform Ventures spoke about its founding in Kansas City by owners "born and raised in Kansas City."
"They built it from the ground up over nearly two decades. Today, Platform Ventures' portfolio of companies proudly employs over 350 local employees - skilled tradespeople, union members, and other professions - who live and work in this community. The momentum in Kansas City is real, and we are proud to play a role in it. We remain focused on protecting and serving our investors' interests. And our commitment to Kansas City remains unchanged."
Platform Ventures did not respond to KSHB 41's request for an interview.
—
