What to know about the new 25-story tower set to join Kansas City’s downtown skyline

A squat parking garage will soon make way for a new addition to the Kansas City skyline.

Officials unveiled plans for the future 800 Grand tower, a 25-story, 385-foot-tall mixed-use building on the north part of downtown at the State of Downtown event Wednesday evening. 800 Grand, at 800 Grand Boulevard, is expected to attract new residents and amenities to downtown with more than 300 residential units and 24,000 square feet of retail space.

Over a year in the making, planning for the new tower remains underway and construction could begin in 2025 following city approvals. Developers see the project as a way to help fully build out an underused section of Grand Boulevard and put a new face on downtown.

“We’ve been watching Kansas City for the last several years and waiting for the opportunity to enter the market in a big way,” said Ryan Sullivan, chief development officer of California-based developer BR Companies. “And we believe 800 Grand is that opportunity.”

City Manager Brian Platt said the tower will be additive, unique, special and, above all, Kansas City.

“It brings so much new amenities and opportunities to all of us, not just in downtown, but across the city,” he said. “But it folds in and it weaves in the neighborhoods and the environments around us.”

Near Main Street, 800 Grand residents would have access to take the streetcar down to the Plaza or up to a KC Current game on the fully-built out line, which remains under construction for expansion further south and north to the riverfront.

This story was originally published November 21, 2024 at 12:48 PM.