Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

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JBmidtown
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Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by JBmidtown »

I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread that could act as a clearinghouse discussion on the numerous needs, requirements and activity surrounding attracting major employeers to the urban core (and specifically downtown).

Obviously one of the missing pieces in downtown/Kansas City's renaissance is major employers relocating here. What are some steps you think the city should directly or indirectly take to attract employers? Are there any rumors for upcoming major announcements of relocation? Are we on the verge of spec office development? Etc.

I'm curious to hear anyone's thoughts or insights on the matter. Obviously this is the crucial missing piece in KC's forward momentum. The city has done well in attracting the startup crowd and piecemealing small employers but seems to continue to have difficulty getting a big catch such as a larger corporate HQ. What are the biggest roadblocks for catching this kind of employer?

Mostly I really want to hear all your juicy gossip on the matter. Is there any big announcements right around the corner? Discuss!
earthling
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by earthling »

Some of the challenges depending on employer...
- Some want large blocks of cheap nearby parking, especially more difficult with over 1K employers (essentially free in burbs).
- Some want larger floor plates (easier to find/build in the burbs).
- Metro wide transit not effective enough, though central city pretty good.
- Many metro employers are suburban minded or simply want office near where they live.
- Free parking, lots of available parking. Parking, parking, parking.

Until there is a mindset change on parking and car dependency, downtown will probably attract mostly smaller (under 1K) companies for a while. And companies that specifically want an urban environment. Large employers based in larger cities also more likely to consider downtown, companies that aren't specifically suburban minded that is - the Feds too.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by flyingember »

Our big problem is it's functionally as easy to drive to a suburban location as to go downtown today. I agree with the list earthling made so when a company doesn't need to make a decision around tradeoffs why would they?

We're still in a 1970s mindset on supporting the urban core from outside the urban core. Too many of the existing urban core jobs require a bus transfer for too many people coming from less than 5 miles away and that's inane. The downtown residential growth is amazing but job can't be built by serving 2-3% of the metro area well. We need to server 10-20% of workers well.

We need to think of the demand side of the equation as much as the supply side.

The next big step for downtown must be a push to make it be economically better and less stressful to get downtown from outside the urban core than to drive to any suburban destination.

This means cutting off ease of access to big roads that allow someone to bypass downtown. We can't build our way out of traffic and need to stop trying. If modot widens a freeway doesn't mean KCMO needs to widen all the collector roads to serve it.

Add true express bus with dedicated lanes on streets like Broadway, Barry, and Burlington so drivers see the bus go right by them while they wait in traffic. If the bus can get down N. Oak to downtown in 20% the time it takes a car to get from the same starting point to College Blvd the commute length suddenly becomes a variable people look at. Today the difference can be only 20% longer.

Couple this with a sales tax that makes the bus free for all. If getting to work also comes with no daily cost and zero or much less car expense, coupled with the demand for a higher KCMO minimum wage, you have a pairing that lifts up the everyone with a job inside KCMO as well as being beneficial for middle class workers above that rate. A great blue collar job in the Paseo Industrial or NE is just as valuable to KC as a professional job downtown. If a company wants to open a manufacturing facility off Front St because they have hundreds of qualified appliants who currently work in OP they could have their HQ in a downtown building.

We need to not think "what's good for downtown" in a literal sense but rather "what's good for downtown too"
Last edited by flyingember on Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by brewcrew1000 »

I really think one thing holding us back in terms of attracting large companies from out of state is brain power and close access to very good universities. I think our area schools are good for service type jobs like Insurance, Finance, etc but if we want to pull some big tech company from the West and East Coast I just don't think we have the Brain Power to do it unless everyone from those companies move with. I really wish we had a school like Wash U or KU was on the same level as Wisconsin or U of Texas, hell I'd even settle for a school like Creighton or Marquette in our urban core.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by chingon »

Seems like that theory is pretty easily shot-through by successful cities that don't have "good" schools in our near them and by unsuccessful cities that do have "good" schools in them and near them.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by brewcrew1000 »

chingon wrote:Seems like that theory is pretty easily shot-through by successful cities that don't have "good" schools in our near them and by unsuccessful cities that do have "good" schools in them and near them.
Any examples? - Successful cities without good schools would probably be every single large city in Florida but I actually consider every city in Florida an illusion and somewhat unsuccessful in having a robust/well rounded economy.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by earthling »

Having a major urban research university would certainly help. Especially important for any research related industries KC is pursuing (smart city, tech, animal health). KC does pretty well growing white collar jobs w/out it but could struggle drawing research related companies to area. KU/K-State/MU help draw animal health but anything else could be more of a challenge. UMKC should further embrace KC's Smart City efforts and develop stronger programs towards it, seek grants, etc.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by kcjak »

brewcrew1000 wrote:
chingon wrote:Seems like that theory is pretty easily shot-through by successful cities that don't have "good" schools in our near them and by unsuccessful cities that do have "good" schools in them and near them.
Any examples? - Successful cities without good schools would probably be every single large city in Florida but I actually consider every city in Florida an illusion and somewhat unsuccessful in having a robust/well rounded economy.
Portland, Denver, San Antonio, Charlotte
JBmidtown
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by JBmidtown »

San Antonio is successful? I mean, my hipster/artist/musician friends say it's getting all the spillover from Austin but that's HIPSTERS not white collar workers.
mean
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by mean »

San Antonio is the worst, but at least they have Whataburger and Taco Cabana.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by beautyfromashes »

mean wrote:San Antonio is the worst, but at least they have Whataburger and Taco Cabana.
Why the hell do we not have TC yet?!?
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by flyingember »

chingon wrote:Seems like that theory is pretty easily shot-through by successful cities that don't have "good" schools in our near them and by unsuccessful cities that do have "good" schools in them and near them.
I would call a university as providing a modifier. Their involvement takes any efforts and raises them up.

A good example is the UMKC introduction of bus service via the student pass. This effort raises up existing efforts to encourage transit use. It's small but pro urban core.

But if the university doesn't have good organizations to partnership in common goals, if the university isn't focused on the urban environment, you don't have the same impact.

But you could say the same thing of any organization. Universities are different in this aspect because with many disciplines they can have an impact on many different areas in a city. KCAI has never had an impact much beyond the art community because of their single focus.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by FangKC »

earthling wrote: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:55 am Some of the challenges depending on employer...
- Some want larger floor plates (easier to find/build in the burbs).
...

Until there is a mindset change on parking and car dependency, downtown will probably attract mostly smaller (under 1K) companies for a while. And companies that specifically want an urban environment. Large employers based in larger cities also more likely to consider downtown, companies that aren't specifically suburban minded that is - the Feds too.
These architects popularized the open office. Now they say ‘the open office is dead’
...
But for the actual office workers using open offices, the experience has been less than ideal. They’re noisy and lack privacy, they reinforce sexist behavior, and they even make people quit their jobs.

Now, as the pandemic leads many companies to dramatically rethink how their offices function, Clive Wilkinson Architects has laid out a redesign strategy to achieve a more diverse, more multifunctional office. It starts with ditching the open floor plan.
...
https://www.fastcompany.com/90626329/t ... ontent=rss
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normalthings
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by normalthings »

Closed offices require more space. Would be interesting to see employers expand their footprints again.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by earthling »

The office demands are different now and might not be like 2017 when the post-pandemic dust settles. In KC's case, would think parking is still the major reason many metro companies lack downtown interest, moreso than floor plate size being a factor. However for companies that embrace a large % of WFH employees long term and rotate them into office, parking might be less of a concern.

Continue to build up and make downtown/central corridor a more desirable place to live and maybe more companies will follow. But it will easier to attract many more small companies than a few >1K.

BTW Flex space (WeWork, Plexpod, etc) is least impacted office segment nationally. Might be something for downtown to focus on rather than too much focus grabbing companies over 1K. And if Class B/C demand starts to diminish, convert to residential.

https://www.cbre.us/research-and-report ... -Workspace
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by flyingember »

normalthings wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:07 am Closed offices require more space. Would be interesting to see employers expand their footprints again.
There's designs that aren't that far off of cubes in terms of space requirements

https://www.starrco.com/modular-office-buildings/

https://www.cubicles.com/shop/modular-office-walls
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normalthings
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by normalthings »

DLR Group is designing a new office for Kimley Horn at 805 Penn. $430,000 permit value.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by dukuboy1 »

I agree that have a high end, renowned research university would be very helpful. We have strong schools with great departments but not the complete package like a Wash U has or UNIV of Chicago. We do have some wildly talented industries here in KC; World Class Sport Architecture firm, 2 of the best engineer firms in the US, as well industry leading health care tech companies. I think having a school to attract more of those minds, not just students but faculty would be s huge catalyst for taking another step in KC’s successes
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by earthling »

To re-iterate KC's need for a new Big 5 Strategy... Now that a new airport is actually happening, transit improvements in right direction, downtown/central corridor on a decent roll (even E Side seeing more than expected share), a new Big 5 focus for local EcoDev groups should include boosting UMKC into a research university - along with addressing crime/violence as #1. And with the recent tight housing market, KCMO should make lemonade out of lemons and find a way to encourage rehabbing E Side homes into both affordable housing and market rate to attract a broader mixed demographic, as then basic services and more should eventually follow.

For downtown, at this point focus on more housing and the jobs/broader services should follow mostly on their own when the timing is right.
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Re: Attracting Employers Downtown (and Urban Core)

Post by FangKC »

earthling wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 6:30 am ...
And with the recent tight housing market, KCMO should make lemonade out of lemons and find a way to encourage rehabbing E Side homes into both affordable housing and market rate to attract a broader mixed demographic, as then basic services and more should eventually follow.
...
Northeast Alliance builds new 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath sustainable house that they are selling for $125,000. They hope to do multiple builds at a time to reduce costs.This is on-site building. I would hope that at some point, we can develop an industry of pre-assembled sections brought to sites that would further reduce costs. Landing a pre-fabrication home factory would benefit the community, add jobs, and reduce the cost to construct housing.

When we think of affordable housing, we must also think about what it costs the homeowner in utilities. This can be a significant portion of their costs as well. It also reduces the demand for new energy.

Sustainable house one step closer to completion
Mattie Rhodes Center’s Northeast Alliance Together (NEAT) is anticipating the completion of its first net zero single family affordable home in the 100 block of North Topping.
...
The architects and engineers are working up projections for utility estimates based on current utility costs, insulation and other factors. Wagner said the project will be audited for energy efficiency and related costs so that they will know what to expect for similar future builds.

Some residents of Northeast have speculated that the house, which was listed for $125,000, was overpriced for the street.
...
“We’ve got a lot of vacant lots here, and as I always say, ‘affordable housing ain’t cheap,’” Wagner said. “It is more expensive than rehabbing for sure, but in comparison to building a new house anywhere, this is one of the cheapest builds you’ll find in the city. Until someone decides to totally subsidize it, we price it at a rate that is still very affordable.”


In many ways, this house was an experiment. Wagner said Mattie Rhodes’ long-term plan is to approach creating affordable housing through new builds, rehabilitation of existing houses, and eventually multi-family housing. To save on cost and time, Wagner said it’s important to get to a place where they can work on more than one at a time, while also being cautious not to gentrify the neighborhoods or push out current residents.


CoBuild General Contractor Tate Williams, a Pendleton Heights resident, works with non-profit Emerging Builders, a program that provides on-the-job construction training and educational opportunities for women and people of color (POC), and RK Contractors, which focuses on hiring Middle Eastern refugees and immigrants.
...
northeastnews.net/pages/sustainable-hou ... ompletion/

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandho ... 1498-18571

https://archive.curbed.com/2020/3/2/211 ... build-cost
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