$527 million development project breaks ground in West Bottoms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - It’s the first step of a long journey but a half-a-billion dollar project to transform the West Bottoms is underway.

Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas, City Manager Brian Platt, and other city leaders ed project developers and the infrastructure company, I-Solutions, at the site on West 11th Street Wednesday morning for the groundbreaking event.

“The West Bottoms has not been at the development level that it’s needed to be for probably the last 80 years,” said Lucas.

That changed Wednesday morning with the official start of the 10-15-year project that will have increased office space, more than 1,200 apartment units, retail locations, hotel rooms, and a public green space.

“We’re targeting spring of 2026 for both the completion of this space and infrastructure and our initial delivery of two projects,” said Vice President of Development for SomeraRoad Grant Hromas.

READ MORE: ‘Won’t be overlooked for long’: $500 million project set to bring West Bottoms back to life

Hromas credited the city‘s national exposure, thanks in part to the Chiefs’ success and the FIFA World Cup coming, as significant reasons to renovate the hundred-year-old buildings.

“We‘ve been working on this project at SomeraRoad with a lot of our partners, including the city for 4-5 years at this point,” he said. “It‘s genuinely been a long time coming. There’s a sense of relief and excitement from our end.”

Lucas believes this new development will bring more people to explore the bottoms.

“It will get people to go to the coffee shop, it’ll get people to go to the whiskey house, and I think that’s going to be a positive for every business that’s here today and the businesses that will be here in the future,” he said.

One of those businesses that could be impacted is Fetch KC which is across the bumpy street from the site.

Co-owner Stephanie Miller said they see their regulars often as it is a designated retailer and see many more on the First Fridays of the month. She thinks more development means more people visiting her more often.

“The West Bottoms Flats were a really good addition, we got a lot of new customers from that so having more people living down here and just having more foot traffic down here will be really good,” she said.

There are some concerns though with the first phase of renovations being outside her front door. The city will start improving the infrastructure of the roadways and water systems starting next week.

Miller said the team at SomeraRoad let her know they will keep 11th Street open for the businesses but is worried about how that will look for her staying open.

“We’ve been driving our cars through craters and lots of roadblocks that way just as far as streets and sidewalks and things go so we’re just excited for that part of the development,” she said.

Lucas emphasized the significance of improving the area with hundred-year-old buildings by saying, “Density in a city is vital. Density in a city is good and activity in a city is exceptional.”

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