KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After years of discussion and debate, Kansas City voters have decided to build a new single-terminal at KCI.
"The voters of Kansas City have sent us a very clear message again that they are excited about the direction the city is going and they want us to keep that momentum going," said Mayor Sly James, who was a big supporter of the proposal.
A majority of Kansas City, Missouri voters voted “yes” to ballot question 1 on Tuesday, which authorizes the city to construct a new passenger terminal at KCI using funds from the airlines and airport-generated revenue.
The new single-terminal will now replace the current three-terminal layout at KCI, which the airlines and city officials have called “outdated.”
Edgemoor Real Estate and Infrastructure, the lead developer for the airport project, will be responsible for covering any costs that exceed the project’s budget. But first, the city must negotiate a memorandum of understanding and then a final contract with Edgemoor.
Geoffrey Stricker, Edgemoor’s managing director, told 41 Action News last week the company expects to be finished with the single-terminal by November of 2021, which would be built on the site of KCI’s Terminal A.
Stricker said Edegmoor already has a timeline in place, which includes finalizing the airport’s design throughout the spring as well as working on any environmental work. By summer 2018, he said, financing would be put in place and construction would start in the summer or early fall.
During construction, Terminals B and C would continue to operate as usual until the single-terminal is completed.
According to a rendering released by Edgemoor on Oct. 5, the $1.3 billion project is expected to feature two concourses with 35 gates. Passenger arrivals and departures would be located on separate levels and there would more more parking across the street.
Following the result on Tuesday night, passengers arriving on late flights at the airport were overheard cheering “It passed!” and “New KCI!”.
With the sign of support by voters for a new terminal, the city will now work on finalizing its contract with Edgemoor.
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“The first step is a memorandum of understanding,” explained city councilwoman Jolie Justus. “That allows us to set forth as a council and as a city our basic expectations."
Justus told 41 Action News that the council will bring up contract talks with Edgemoor at its meeting on November 30th.
Developers for the airport will also set out to formalize the city’s vision for the new terminal during open house meetings with the public in late November and December.
Edgemoor’s managing director, Geoff Stricker, said on Tuesday night he looked forward to hearing more input on the project.
“Kansas City has had great momentum over the last decade and this is one more step continuing the great momentum for Kansas City,” he explained.
Jolie Justus said the open house meetings would be scheduled at locations at all city districts within KCMO.
Moving forward, Justus told 41 Action News that the new terminal would likely help attract more people and events.
“This could help bring Amazon and the potential headquarters here, a World Cup, large conventions, big employers coming in,” she explained.
