Did Kansas City Election Season Politics Pause Northland Development?!?

Behind the scenes, insiders are asking important questions about a promising new project near New KCI that has been abruptly put on hold this week. 

More to the point . . .

KANSAS CITY NORTHLAND DEVELOPMENT HITS THE SKIDS AND INSIDERS WONDER IF CAMPAIGN SEASON FLEXING ISN'T PART OF THE DELAY!!!

First . . . Let's cover the back story . . .

Check a few deets on the project in question from our friends at the Platte County Landmark . . .

The Ambassador Building is a 260,000-square-foot, six-story, Class A office building featuring flex space for a single private office, up to 30,000 square feet of available space.

A family partnership group, led by Richard Chaves Jr., acquired the Ambassador Building and adjacent land with initial plans to develop a park-and-ride facility, similar to those the family operates in other parts of the country. Plans for the park-and-ride quickly grew into a full mixed-use development plan.

“We believe the Ambassador Building and surrounding land is a prime location for our mixed-use development,” Chaves, Jr. said. “The new terminal project, nearby data center and continued residential growth in the area makes this development a much-needed addition to the area.”

Chaves, along with several family members, recently relocated from their Dallas home to Kansas City to focus on the project.

Follow along closely . . . 

- This week the Ambassador development didn't garner approval by way of curious objection at city hall and a conveniently timed memo urging council to hit the brakes.

- Northland council members believed they had the votes lined up to finish this mostly mundane project and the council session ambush was a surprise. 

- Coincidentally or not, Richard Chaves, Jr is the main backer behind KC Northland Strong . . . A group offering resistance to the current administration by way of support for a council slate.  

 Now . . .

Of course we can't say for certain if the political ambitions of Mr. Chaves have put his project in danger. But, behind the scenes . . . Readers can imagine the kind of speculation at work.

And so . . .

The main takeaway here is that skeptical souls contend that doing biz in KCMO likely comes with a political price tag and a lot of companies might not realize this potential cost. 

Even the mere thought of this type of "pay for play" consequence threatens to drive more companies away from Kansas City . . . And we can't say that we'd blame anybody for that decision.

Of course, here at www.TonysKansasCity.com we'll merely assume that hearts are pure at 12th & Oak and NOBODY would engage in this kind of dangerous development double dealing . . .

Sadly, we'll have to wait until AFTER the election to know for certain if it was all just a coincidence.

Developing . . .