KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A $500 million restoration and revitalization project in the West Bottoms launched on Wednesday.
It's a multi-phase project with both public and private funding that's expected to span 10 to 15 years before full completion.
It will add over 1,200 residential units, a public green space, and office, hotel and retail spaces to the neighborhood.
"This is walkable, this is connected, this is sustainable," Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas said. "This is frankly every buzzword we have talked about in local government for the last generation."
The city will start the initial phase by focusing on infrastructure improvements.
“If you walked around here today, you see kind of flooded streets, you see sidewalks that are in disrepair, you see water infrastructure that we have needed to improve for generations," Lucas said at the groundbreaking site. "This is us saying, ‘Yes, we will finally be accountable for that level of work,’ and I think that is what a good private-public partnership is.”
Developer SomeraRoad will follow with private development.
By spring 2026, the infrastructure phase should be completed in addition to two private projects, according to SomeraRoad Vice President of Development Grant Hromas.
Hromas said SomeraRoad has a good idea of who the first few new tenants will be.
"A lot of people in Kansas City are familiar with them — they're local names for the most part," he said.
Lucas said the project will be "transformative" for local businesses, and West Bottoms business owners agree.
Blip Roasters has sat on the north side of the West Bottoms for over 10 years. Owner Ian Davis supports the project.
"It's always exciting to see new development, new life, new energy come into the West Bottoms," he said.
Both SomeraRoad and Lucas agreed it's a priority to keep the historic architectural integrity of the West Bottoms. SomeraRoad said it will mostly repurpose historic properties.
Historic preservation is something West Bottoms Bicycles owner Jay Luschen trusts the developers with. He says some of the people working on the project are customers of his.
“We enjoy the atmosphere down here," he said. "It’s unique. Like I always say, the world doesn’t need another strip center store.”
Luschen is originally from Kansas City and opened his shop in the West Bottoms 7 years ago. He said he's watched the city develop over the years.
“I’m real proud of our downtown, too, of what it’s become," he said. "I think this will become another bonus to that.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
