Kansas City Convention Center Hotel Planned

Kansas City Mayor Sly James announced on May 11 the development of a $300 million, 800-room convention center hotel near the Kansas City Convention Center, with a projected 2018 completion date.

“Kansas City needs a major downtown convention hotel and has for several years,” Kansas City Mayor Sly James said. “America has fallen in love with Kansas City and wants to have its conventions and large meetings here. The proposed agreement is the right development at the right location with the right hotel operator, and now is the right time to do it.”

The proposed hotel would be built on property at 16th and Wyandotte streets, directly across from the Kansas City Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom. Hyatt has been selected to be the hotel operator.

Kansas City made a commitment a generation ago to be a premier meeting and convention destination. Yet, Kansas City’s national convention ranking has fallen since the 1970s as other cities have financed and developed attractive convention centers and supporting amenities.

While Kansas City has many assets to attract conventioneers, including a convenient midcontinent location, an established convention center with adjoining ballroom and meeting space and appealing nearby dining, retail and entertainment options, meeting planners say lodging is inadequate for anything other than small-to-medium-size meetings.

“This announcement is a game changer for the KC hospitality industry,” said Ronnie Burt, Visit KC president and CEO. “Over the last 10 years, Kansas City has lost out on hundreds of groups, representing millions of room nights and more than $3 billion in economic impact.”

“Our development group has put forth a proposal that brings Kansas City a convention headquarters hotel that is the final piece of the revitalization of our new downtown,” Burke said. “The mayor was firm in his commitment to only support a plan heavy on private investment with minimal public risk, and this proposal delivers on both points.”

David J. Tarr, senior vice president, real estate and development for Hyatt, said the company is pleased to have been selected as the hotel operator for the new Kansas City Convention Center Hotel.

“Hyatt has a longstanding relationship with Kansas City,” Tarr said. “The growth in downtown development has primed the city to regain convention and visitor business, and Hyatt is excited by the opportunity to participate in the continuing expansion.”

The convention headquarters hotel will feature approximately 75,000 sf of meeting, banquet and prefunction space, 9,000 sf of garden/terrace space, 15,450 sf of other retail, restaurant, bar and lounge space, a 9,913-sf recreational facility and a parking facility with 450–500 spaces.

The site maximizes and centralizes convention hotel meeting space in close proximity to the Grand Ballroom and related meeting space of the Kansas City Convention Center/Bartle Hall. It centralizes ballroom and meeting space to the east of the convention center, closer to many downtown amenities. The site is a short walk from the Power & Light District, Sprint Center and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Construction is slated to begin in early 2016 and be completed in 2018. For more information about Kansas City’s proposed convention center hotel or to see renderings of the project, visit www.HereToStayKC.com.