Wyandotte County is in the midst of a development boom, but a couple of anticipated projects are delayed, a delayed project is restarting, and a couple of anticipated projects have become a firm no-go.
KCKCC Downtown Campus
The construction of the new Kansas City Kansas Community College campus in downtown KCK is being delayed due to required remediation concerns on the site.
Construction crews broke ground in fall 2023 on the 100,000-sq.-ft. education and wellness center at the corner of Seventh Street and State Avenue. In addition to the community college, the building was a partnership with Swope Health and Community America Credit Union.
RELATED STORIES: Read more about what’s coming in development in KCK in our article “Wyandotte Wins – Development Boom.”
“We had some delays with some of the items we found underground that needed remediation,” KCKCC President Greg Mosier said. “It set us back just about a full year.”
The $75 million project now is on track to be substantially complete by May 2026, and KCKCC would begin welcoming students to the campus for the fall 2026 semester.
Rock Island Bridge
Also delayed, again, is the opening of the redeveloped Rock Island Bridge, a project that will change an abandoned bridge over the Kansas River into the country’s first “destination” bridge.
The Rock Island Bridge was originally set to open in spring 2023, but again this year the project has been delayed, with a tentative opening in September or October.
Wyandotte County has invested in the bridge, which is being developed by a nonprofit organization. The U.G. is chipping in $2 million for the estimated $15 million project and will be reimbursed for its contribution through a 22-year Community Improvement District with a 2% sales tax.
American Royal Moving Ahead Again
The State of Kansas and the Unified Government have come through for the American Royal after a lack of funds brought the project to a standstill in February.
Last month the state and the county approved a revised development agreement and sales tax revenue (STAR) bond that grants the nonprofit $155 million to cover roughly 42% of the total project cost.
The food and agriculture nonprofit broke ground on the project in western Wyandotte County in 2023 after first announcing its move from Missouri to Kansas in 2016.
With the new financing, the American Royal can resume construction on its $375 million campus that includes a large barn and roughly 400,000-square-foot exhibition space, three arenas (two indoor arenas, and an outdoor arena), and an education and welcome center that will focus on food and agricultural education.
Total Stop
In case you missed it, the Lanier Development project in downtown KC that was planned on the site of the shuttered Reardon Convention Center is a firm no-go after developer Willie Lanier Jr. failed to start construction on the site by the required start date under his latest development agreement.
The Minnesota Avenue Triangle Project announced last year is also a no-go. Developer Flaherty & Collins pulled out of the $145 million+ two-phase project at Fourth St. and Minnesota Ave. citing a gap in funding needed for the project.
