KC company tied to site of rumored ICE facility says ‘negotiations are complete’
The Kansas City company tied to a large warehouse reportedly visited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and targeted for a possible detention facility in the city put out a statement Friday afternoon saying that “negotiations are complete.” The statement notably did not specify if those negotiations were with the Department of Homeland Security or not.
In light of social media rumors that DHS officials would be touring a site in the area, Jackson County Legislative Chair Manny Abarca visited a large warehouse building off Highway 150 and Botts Road, in Kansas City’s far south near Belton and Grandview, on Thursday morning. An industrial park has replaced the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base there.
Abarca said he confirmed with DHS agents on site that ICE and the DHS are planning to construct a detention center, allegedly with capacity for 7,500 detainees.
Television news coverage and videos posted by activists online appear to show activity at a large warehouse at 14901 Botts Rd., which appears to be empty. Footage captured by KSHB-TV shows someone wearing a uniform that says “POLICE ICE.”
A letter on Thursday from the Port Authority of Kansas City, a public agency that provides financial incentives for big projects in Kansas City, pointed to Platform Ventures, a development firm based in Kansas City. Port KC has been involved with redeveloping the former base into an industrial warehouse park.
Platform Ventures put out a statement on Friday. The statement doesn’t name a specific building but references a large, vacant industrial warehouse on the Richards-Gebaur site, which the company said is owned by an investment vehicle managed by Platform Ventures.
According to Platform, the company was approached in October 2025 with an unsolicited offer to purchase the vacant warehouse.
“PV has a fiduciary duty to evaluate every sale or lease proposal involving this facility, as we do for all properties in our portfolio,” the statement said. “In this case, all negotiations are complete.”
The company said it does not question prospective buyers on their intent after a sale closes and that it will not engage in public conversations involving speculation over future uses.
Platform Ventures’ statement does not specifically mention who made the unsolicited offer to buy the warehouse.
On Thursday, the Kansas City Council passed a five-year moratorium on permits and licenses non-city detention facilities aimed at blocking any future ICE facilities in city limits. Mayor Quinton Lucas said that “ensures our focus stays on building businesses, homes, and schools, not large-scale detention centers.”
Councilmember Nathan Willett told The Star he doubts if the city ordinance could be enforced and hold up in court.
What we know about the building
Port KC said in its letter on Thursday that it entered into a development agreement with Platform Ventures in 2022 to build multiple industrial buildings on the site. That plan was meant to bring logistics and manufacturing jobs to the area, Port KC said, adding that the project has been highly successful with manufacturing and logistics companies coming in.
But, the agency said in the letter, it has limited ability to disallow the sale of a facility owned by a private entity.
“Under no circumstances would Port KC offer any development support to a use that is not consistent with our mission to bring quality industrial and logistics jobs to the community,” the letter said.
Records show that Port KC issued $80 million in bonds in 2022 for what’s known as “Building 7,” a roughly 920,000-square-foot industrial facility. The project was announced as speculative, meaning it was being developed without a particular tenant.
Bonds are not, themselves, taxpayer money and are privately financed by investors, like a loan. The Kansas City Business Journal reported in 2021 that the financing plan for Building 7 could include property tax and sales tax breaks.
The exact terms for the Building 7 deal were not immediately available, but in a typical Port KC deal, the developer is the one responsible for paying back the bonds.
Past reporting shows that Platform Ventures is a big player in Kansas City real estate and development and has been tied to high-profile projects like the redevelopment of the old Kansas City Club building downtown that houses Hotel Kansas City.
City records show a request for a zoning verification letter at 14901 Botts in November The Star has requested a copy of that letter.
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 1:42 PM.