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A Port KC meeting agenda item details that Platform Ventures intends to sell a warehouse facility to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Last week, KSHB 41 cameras were rolling as ICE agents and officials with the Department of Homeland Security toured the empty warehouse near Missouri Highway 150 and Botts Road in south Kansas City.
The new details are part of the agenda packet for the Port KC Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, Jan. 26.
Port KC staff is recommending that the board terminate all negotiations with Platform Ventures regarding the sale of more property at 49 Crossing. The industrial building sits at the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base.
In the agenda packet, Port KC staff detailed the current situation:
“During the course of negotiations, Port KC learned that Platform Ventures intends to sell an approximately 1,000,000 square foot industrial facility at I-49 Industrial Center to the federal government for use as a detention facility by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
That sale is inconsistent with the intended industrial use that was represented to Port KC and which would have benefited the public good through increased tax revenues to the relevant taxing jurisdiction, the creation of new jobs, and the remediation of blight. The sale of land that might be used in land in a manner that is inconsistent with Port KC’s statutory mission and community expectations is not in the public interest.”
KSHB 41 has reached out to ICE and to Platform Ventures regarding the new details from Port KC's agenda item.
ICE said in a statement last week to KSHB 41 that it had "no new detention centers to announce at this time."
Last week, Platform Ventures sent KSHB 41 a statement about the facility.
"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."
Following that October offer, KCMO records show an engineering firm requested a Zoning Compliance Letter from the city regarding the property located at 14901 Botts Rd.
Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. sent the letter in November.
Zoning Compliance Letters are typically sent to the city to find out whether a "proposed use or business is allowed by a property's current zoning," according to the city's website.
The City's Planning and Development Office then replies with a letter that contains the following:
- Zoning district and permitted land use(s)
- Zoning overlay districts, special character districts, and/or national and local historic preservation districts
- Active zoning violations
- Active building code violations
KSHB 41 News reached out to Partner ESI for a comment.
We also filed records requests with the city to find out who Partner ESI is requesting the zoning information for.
According to its website, Partner provides commercial zoning assessments in the United States.
It "helps clients identify potential risks and gives them the tools necessary to make informed decisions about their transaction requirements."
Hours after ICE officials toured the warehouse on Jan. 15, the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed an ordinance that put a 5-year moratorium on non-municipal detention facilities within the city.
RELATED | Can Kansas City, Missouri, block a federal ICE detention center?
The south Kansas City warehouse toured by ICE officials does not appear to the the only location in the Kansas City area that could be home for a detention facility.
U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R - 4th District, Missouri) said last Friday that he is "ready to assist" efforts to help ICE build a detention center facility somewhere in Cass County.
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