2013 KC Downtown Development

Fixed-rail streetcar line approval for Downtown Kansas City makes impact leading the new year!

The most significant news for the Downtown Submarket came in mid-December 2012, when Kansas City voters approved a $.01 sales tax increase and a property tax increase to fund a fixed rail streetcar line. The property tax sunsets in 25 years and impacts only those properties within the defined Downtown Streetcar District.

The approval will result in residential property taxes increasing by 8.7% while commercial taxes will increase by 5%. The two-mile line will run from Union Station to the River Market principally along Main Street. This initial spine is considered a starting point only, with the hope of extending service to UMKC to the south and with east/west lines along major connective corridors. Funding will come from multiple sources including federal grants of $18 million, an annual contribution from the city of Kansas City, Missouri, the sales tax increase and property taxes.

The streetcar line is a major component in advancing Kansas City’s position for convention, sporting and entertainment travelers. Streetcar supporters have high hopes of bringing more traffic to the doors of businesses in the Crossroads and Downtown districts. The streetcar line is also another tactic to bring and keep young professionals/entrepreneurs downtown and make the area more vibrant.


Though the streetcar has been a hot topic among local current events, it is not the only potential growth component KC has going. Downtown Kansas City has several other exciting projects on the horizon:

• Downtown Condominiums  
• Education Components
• National World War I Centennial Observance at Liberty Memorial
• Kansas City Police Department Campus

Kansas City Police Department’s new South Patrol campus

Click here for more information on Kansas City's Downtown development in the BRES Market Report.

Contributing Author:

Matt Levi, CCIM
Vice President,
Block Real Estate Services
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