"Developer Sought For Richards-Gebaur Airport"

Thursday, August 21, 2003

Developer Sought For Richards-Gebaur Airport
Port Authority Hopes To Identify Qualified Candidates By October
The Associated Press


KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Port Authority is seeking a developer
and planner to market the former Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport as an
international trade hub. 

That step is significant, supporters said. 

"You can't just sit out there with a plot of land and hope it (development)
happens," said Warren Erdman, vice president of corporate affairs for Kansas
City Southern. The company leases property at the former airport from the
Port Authority, and its rail operations are expected to play an integral
role for the expanded trade center.  

The railroad each year transports roughly 70,000 Mazda and Ford vehicles
through its International Freight Gateway at Richards-Gebaur. The company is
eager to see more tenants at Richards-Gebaur, Erdman said. The goal is to
obtain more freight business and expand into shipping intermodal containers.


Seeking a development firm is the biggest move at the airport since it
closed more than three years ago, said Tim Colon, the Port Authority's
development officer. 

He estimated that road improvements and other preliminary work could begin
by next summer. 

Development firms have until noon Aug. 29 to forward their qualifications to
the Port Authority. The Port Authority expects to identify the most
qualified candidate by October, but said it could take six months after that
to finalize a contract. 

Plans for an intermodal center at Richards-Gebaur have been in the works
since at least 1997, when the City Council endorsed the idea and directed
the Aviation Department to seek federal approval to close the airport. 

The airport, a former Air Force base, finally closed in January 2000. 

That angered nearby residents and business owners -- part of an opposition
group called Friends of Richards-Gebaur -- along with Grandview officials
and pilots. Pilots disliked losing the use of the airport, while other
opponents worried about the potential environmental impact of development at
the former airport. 

Lawsuits challenging the closure wound their way through the courts for two
years. In March 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal,
providing a victory to Kansas City and other development supporters. 

But opponents continue to watch from the sidelines, said James Case,
president of Friends of Richards-Gebaur. Organized opposition could restart
quickly if surrounding residents don't like development plans, he said. 

Case said the debate won't have to be as acrimonious as it has been in the
past, if officials are willing to listen to the group's concerns. 

That said, he doubts large-scale development will ever occur at
Richards-Gebaur. He thinks it is too far from downtown Kansas City to
attract tenants, a notion that proponents dispute. 

"They can blow all the smoke they want," Case said of officials' optimism
that the project is moving forward, "but I don't see the fire."


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