Check out 8 development projects that are shaping Kansas City’s future in big ways, leaving lasting impacts on the region and redefining our community.
2025 saw the continued growth and positive trajectory of the Kansas City market. This report highlights how the area continues to attract new residents, employers, retailers and capital.
In addition to strong fundamentals - affordable cost of living, strong school systems, a central location in the heart of America, a new airport, and world-class arts, sports and entertainment - powerful incentives are playing a role in attracting and facilitating this continued growth.
Kansas City’s unique geography, with the state line bisecting the market almost cleanly in half, has driven a “border war” that for years saw Kansas work to attract businesses from Missouri and Missouri working to attract businesses from Kansas. In 2019, the two states declared a truce and focused business attraction efforts outside of the region.
With Kansas offering a historic incentive package to lure the Chiefs across the state line and Lockton making the move from Kansas City, Missouri, to Leawood, Kansas, it appears that 2025 was the year that the six year truce ended.
The highest return on investment for public incentives has proven to be when new jobs are added from outside the region. To support future growth, we are hoping to see more announcements like Fiserv, an out of state employer with plans to bring 2,000 high-paying jobs to Overland Park, and fewer incentive packages focused on luring employers “across the street.”
The role of incentives to retain professional sports teams is well studied. If one team moving from Missouri to Kansas helps share this burden and ultimately leads to Kansas City keeping both the Chiefs and Royals at home, this is a positive outcome. The teams are part of the fabric of Kansas City and underpin the area as a “big league market.”
With the Chiefs heading to Kansas, our hope is that Missouri can not only retain the Royals, but for the team and state leadership to work collaboratively to bring baseball downtown where it can have the greatest impact on continued urban development and long-term momentum.
