"There’s a new body of research that’s come out analyzing billion-dollar-plus projects. The proportion of them that are completed in a way that meets the promised benefits, happens on time, and arrives at or under budget, is less than one percent. So you’ve done something special here that we’re all going to need to learn from in this country."
- U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
The 1.1 million-square-foot project was delivered ahead of schedule and on budget while providing a significant economic boon to the local community. At $1.5B, the new terminal is the largest single infrastructure project in Kansas City history. Through intentional scheduling and planning, the team was able to keep the project on time and on budget through a global pandemic and ensuing supply chain issues.
The new 40-gate facility, which wholly replaces Kansas City’s existing terminal buildings, features two levels, one for departures and one for arrivals, with clear wayfinding and sightlines, as well as an adjacent 6,200-space parking structure to provide a seamless transition from parking to gate. Community engagement was critical from the project’s outset, with the project team hosting hundreds of project presentations and dozens of community design workshops and open house sessions to inform the community about the project and solicit their input on the new terminal’s design and amenities. The result is a modern, convenient, sustainable, and inclusive facility that is uniquely Kansas City and meets the diverse needs of travelers in the region.
More than 240 Kansas City-area firms contributed to the project, which generated over 6,500 design- and construction-related jobs. From the outset, Edgemoor committed to reaching transformative levels of participation from both minorities and women, spurring economic growth in the region. The team implemented a series of programs to remove barriers that typically impact disadvantaged businesses from securing contracts and developed a first-of-its-kind workforce training program to build capacity in the local construction market. The workforce training program created a pathway to careers in the construction trades for 200 men and women who went on to work more than 200,000 hours on the new terminal, earning more than $6.5 million in wages and benefits.
Through the team’s intentional procurement strategy, 133 minority- and women-owned Kansas City-based firms were awarded contracts on the project totaling more than $320 million. In 2020, Profiles in Diversity Journal ranked the new terminal project among its Top 10 Innovations in Diversity award winners for keeping diversity, inclusion, and human equity at the forefront.
The project recently achieved LEED® Gold certification, making it the first LEED v4 Gold BD+C: NC terminal/concourse project in the Midwest, and the second in the nation.
