KCRag Forum

McCownGordon will move Downtown
McCownGordon Construction LLC will move to a now-empty building at 422 Admiral Blvd. after buying the building on Feb. 25, the company's CEO said Tuesday.


Pat McCown said he expects to move around the end of the year to the north end of Downtown. Timing will depend on economic incentives the company receives, McCown said.

He said he's encouraged about getting help after having met with officials of the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City in January.

McCownGordon now leases office space at 1 W. Armour Blvd. in midtown Kansas City, where the company has been since its founding in 1999. McCown said he also had considered moving to Kansas City, Kan., but decided to stay in Kansas City because of work the company does for the city, most notably as construction adviser on the Bartle Hall expansion.

From 35 to 40 people work at McCownGordon's headquarters.

Ed Elder, a broker with Grubb & Ellis/The Winbury Group, represented McCownGordon in its building purchase. Pat McGannon of Kessinger/Hunter & Co. represented the building's seller.

The transaction's terms weren't disclosed.

McGannon wrote in an e-mail message to The Business Journal that the building was built in 1919 as a Ford dealership. The three-story structure was used for nearly 79 years by Holland Nameplate, which has moved to North Kansas City.



© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.

KCtoBrooklyn wrote: If this is a complete tear down and new build, it should be larger.

mister816 wrote:i would assume that it would be easier to purchase an empty lot somewhere else along the streetcar line than to purchase an existing building and tear it down. Guess my assumptions are wrong.

beautyfromashes wrote:Star article says they will ask for incentives. Personally, I think on the streetcar line = no incentives. There shouldn't be a need.

beautyfromashes wrote:If that piece of property is blighted, then so is every other property in the entire city.

McCownGordon Construction celebrated the start of a $10.5 million renovation project that will convert a three-story building at 850 Main St. into its new headquarters Wednesday.

“We wanted a home right in the heart of downtown Kansas City that would position our firm for the next 20 years,” CEO Ramin Cherafat told an audience gathered for the groundbreaking event.

The 45,000 square-foot building had been owned by the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and previously was occupied by Catholic Charities.

The renovation design by Helix Architecture + Design will remove the existing facade and replace it with glass. The firm, which employs 275 people locally, plans to relocate there in early 2019.
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