Economic Development Series Destination Kansas City 2020 Edition | www.DestinationKansasCity.com The Heartland’s Hottest City DestinationKansasCity.com | Powered by Ingram’s A Supplement to Ingram’s Magazine They gave us the freedom to move forward. When you first open up a business, everything is new to you. You never know what to expect. You think you plan for everything, but there’s something that will come up that you just never have any idea about. Having Bank Midwest in our corner was absolutely critical. Especially providing all of our funding that we needed, so that we could encounter and meet the challenges of unexpected things that came up. Funding was definitely our biggest challenge initially. We went to other banks in the area and they didn’t want to look at us. We would submit financials and our business plan, but we wouldn’t get any traction from it, nor would they allow us to explain what we were doing, why we were different, and how this business would change the brewing culture in Kansas City. Bank Midwest was the only bank that sat down with us and worked through the whole process. They were amazing from the start. Bank Midwest is where common sense lives. -RH*LDPPDQFR&RĦ2ZQHUDQG&)2 &LW\%DUUHO%UHZLQJ&RPSDQ\ | %DQN0LGZHVW&OLHQW CONNECT WITH US Read the full story at bankmw.com/stories ©2019 NBH Bank. All rights reserved. Mc Dowell Rice Smith & Buchanan pc R. Pete Smith Kristie Remster Orme Thomas R. Buchanan Greg T. Spies Jonathan A. Margolies Chairman President Executive Board Members Stuart E. Ronald S. Jason L. James F.B. Susan Saper John B. Bodker Bronstein Buchanan Daniels Galamba Gariglietti Adam J. Gasper Michael J. Michael E. Patrick C. Joe A. Harter Scott A. Long Gorman Griffin Guinness Robert D. Hugh L. Rebecca D. 7L൵DQ\$ Ania Wlodek Maher Marshall Martin McFarland Moncrief John Mueller III William C. Odle Charles W. Louis J. Wade Colby L. Rieke Smiley Proudly Serving Kansas City Since 1947 605 W. 47th Street, Suite 350 | Kansas City, MO 64112 11903 W. 119th Street | Overland Park, KS 66213 (Appointment Only) www.mcdowellrice.com | (816) 753-5400 The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. 800.862.6670 Your most valuable asset is your story. UMB Private Wealth Management Your Story. Our Focus.® Private Wealth Management strategies from UMB are built to do more than help you reach your financial goals. They are built to give you confidence about your future with a personalized approach that’s focused around your plans, priorities and most importantly — your story. UMB.com/PrivateWealth Member FDIC Investment Management Services and Securities are: NOT FDIC-INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE DestinationKansasCity.com DestinationBuchananCountyMO.com DestinationSaintJosephMO.com DestinationCassCountyMO.com DestinationBeltonMO.com DestinationHarrisonvilleMO.com DestinationPleasantHillMO.com DestinationPeculiarMO.com DestinationRaymoreMO.com DestinationClayCountyMO.com DestinationExcelsiorSpringsMO.com DestinationGladstoneMO.com DestinationKansasCityMO.com DestinationKearneyMO.com DestinationLibertyMO.com DestinationNorthKansasCityMO.com DestinationSmithvilleMO.com DestinationDowntownKC.com DestinationJacksonCountyMO.com Destination DestinationBlueSpringsMO.com DestinationGrainValleyMO.com DestinationGrandviewMO.com DestinationIndependenceMO.com DestinationKansasCityMO.com DestinationLeesSummitMO.com DestinationLoneJackMO.com Kansas City DestinationOakGroveMO.com DestinationMissouri.com Q DestinationKansasCity.com Q DestinationKansas.com DestinationRaytownMO.com DestinationJohnsonCountyMO.com DestinationHoldenMO.com DestinationKnobNosterMO.com CONTENTS 2020 Edition DestinationWarrensburgMO.com DestinationWhitemanAFB.com DestinationLafayetteCountyMO.com DestinationConcordiaMO.com DestinationHigginsvilleMO.com FEATURES DestinationLexingtonMO.com 5 Welcome to Kansas City DestinationOdessaMO.com DestinationNorthlandKC.com 6 Did You Know? Tidbits About the KC Area DestinationPettisCountyMO.com 8 Why Kansas City? DestinationSedaliaMO.com DestinationPlatteCountyMO.com 10 Top Reasons to Choose Kansas City DestinationKansasCityMO.com 12 Must Dos in KC DestinationParkvilleMO.com DestinationPlatteCityMO.com 14 Epicenter of Sports DestinationRiversideMO.com 19 Greater Kansas City Economic Development Report DestinationWestonMO.com DestinationRayCountyMO.com DestinationLawsonMO.com DestinationRichmondMO.com REASONS TO CHOOSE DestinationSalineCountyMO.com 27 Transportation and Infrastructure DestinationMarshallMO.com 28 Prime Location 31 Cost of Living MORE ONLINE MO KS 35 Real Estate Values DestinationDouglasCountyKS.com 39 Education DestinationLawrenceKS.com DestinationFrankinCountyKS.com 41 Health Care and Community Services DestinationOttawaKS.com DestinationJohnsonCountyKS.com DestinationDeSotoKS.com BUSINESS CULTURE DestinationGardnerKS.com DestinationLakeQuiviraKS.com 43 Productive Work Force DestinationLeawoodKS.com 44 Business Climate and Economic Conditions DestinationLenexaKS.com DestinationMerriamKS.com 46 50 Largest Private-Sector Employers DestinationGladstoneKS.com DestinationMissionKS.com DestinationOlatheKS.com LIFESTYLES DestinationOverlandParkKS.com DestinationPrairieVillageKS.com 49 Quality of Life DestinationRoelandParkKS.com 51 Hospitality and Tourism DestinationShawneeKS.com DestinationShawneeMissionKS.com 53 Entertainment and Culture DestinationSpringHillKS.com DestinationStanleyKS.com DestinationStilwellKS.com RESOURCE LISTS DestinationLeavenworthCountyKS.com DestinationBasehorKS.com.com 55 Top Area Convention and Meeting Facilities DestinationFortLeavenworthKS.com 56 Economic Development Agencies DestinationLansingKS.com DestinationLeavenworthKS.com DestinationTonganoxieKS.com THE THRIVING COUNTIES OF THE GREATER KC REGION DestinationMiamiCountyKS.com DestinationLouisburgKS.com 57 Get to Know the 10 Counties in Missouri and the 6 in Kansas DestinationOsawatomieKS.com DestinationPaolaKS.com DestinationWyandotteCountyKS.com DestinationBonnerSpringsKS.com DestinationEdwardsvilleKS.com Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com DestinationKansasCityKS.com OFFICIAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT PARTNER OF THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Securities and advisory services off ered by CommunityAmerica Financial Solutions, LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC) Not NCUA Insured | No Credit Union Guarantee | May Lose Value DESTINATION KANSAS CITY MARKET OVERVIEW Welcome to Kansas City: Transformation in Progress AS THE NAVIGATION TOOL ON THE DASHBOARD LIKES TO SAY, “YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION.” In this case, Destination Kansas City, Ingram’s one-of-a-kind that rivals anyplace besides Detroit. We’re a multi-state health- annual update on all things related to business in this thriving care services and research magnet where new frontiers are be- and economically diverse slice of heaven. By immersing yourself ing probed every day. in it, you will become well-acquainted with what makes this We’ve got fresh air, plenty of land, easy access to outdoor region tick, what will define it in the coming years, what gives amenities, pro football, baseball and soccer, fine arts, finer it such an impressive quality of life. And when you’re done, you dining, top-tier Division I and small-college sports, some of just might wonder, as we often do, why Kansas City isn’t top of the best high-speed Internet service you’ll find in this country, mind for more executives around the country who are looking terrific schools and universities across the K-20 spectrum, for markets to relocate or expand operations, or for talented ridiculously affordable housing—it’s hard to think of something young workers looking for the perfect location to build their nest. we don’t have that business executives are looking for. Because this place has it all. Mountains? They’re OK as far as they go, but one’s perspec- Idle boast? Hardly. Just look at the sectors that have a big tive on elevation changes radically the first time the brakes go footprint here. We’re ground zero in the nation’s agricultural out on the down-slope. Beaches? We average more than 215 value chain, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of square days of sunshine a year, and we’re pretty sure there’s never miles of high-quality crops, tasty beef, pork and poultry, and been a confirmed shark attack in these parts. Culture? Well, food processing and marketing organizations with global we’ve seen what it looks like in some of the really big cities, reach. Kansas City ground zero in logistics, warehousing and and it doesn’t look very cultured to us. distribution—located smack-dab in the middle of the country, This publication will explore many of our advantages in with either coast equally accessible, and with the rail, roadway greater detail. We encourage you to read it with an eye toward and air freight assets needed to connect points A and B. improving the performance of your own company, and for the We’re making a national splash, in some cases, a global quality of your own life. This region certainly provides you with one, in health-care information technology and fintech. Kansas the ammo to do both. City is a manufacturing powerhouse with automotive output So welcome to your Destination: Kansas City. Regional Publications Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Joe Sweeney | [email protected] Editorial Director Dennis Boone | [email protected] Managing Editor Dawnya Bartsch | [email protected] Vice President of Sales Michelle Sweeney | [email protected] Contributing Writer Ian Ritter | [email protected] Art Director