Franchise Opportunities in Kansas City, MO

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Cruising with the windows down in Kansas City, a blur of cement, skyscrapers and lights flash by.

But soaring high above the city sits an unseen, elevated community with some Kansas City buildings housing secret greenspaces, venues and pools that hang just above our heads on unsuspecting rooftops.

“I would say it is a shock,” said Meredith Engles, community manager at The Grand Apartments located in downtown Kansas City. “I mean, that’s one of the fun things for us is taking people on tours, and whenever you open that door to the rooftop, just seeing the amazement on people’s faces, like they didn’t realize that was even there.”

Residences with rooftops offer attractions

Originally built in the early 1960s, The Grand Apartments was once home to a Traders National Bank, an attorney’s office and even a dentist office. But in November 2018, Engles said The Grand decided to purchase the property and undergo a $70 million renovation.

Among the amenities installed during the renovation included a 24-hour fitness center, an indoor dog park and paw spa, a digital sports lounge, coffee bar, theater vault, all topped off with the tallest elevated sun deck pool in the metro.

“We have the tallest rooftop pool in Kansas City, and what’s nice about our rooftop is it’s open year round, so our residents can have that outdoor space, they can get that fresh air, even in the winter time, when the pool should be closed,” Engles said.

Overlooking structures like the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Jackson County Courthouse, and Kansas City’s City Hall, the Grand rooftop offers a skyline view that extends far into the eastern distance, including Arrowhead Stadium.

“That’s something we obviously advertise on our website is having the highest rooftop pool in Kansas City, but that probably is something a lot of people don’t know unless they come and take a tour,” Engles said.

Just a few streets over, Two Light Luxury Apartments also maintains a floating sundeck, with an infinity edge rooftop pool overlooking the KC Live! Block. The elevated space includes lounge seating, green spaces, grilling stations, cabanas and fire pits.

“From the grand ceilings to the artwork, and then you come up and you see these 30,000 square feet of amenity spaces, but truly, the ‘wow factor,’ I think, are the views,” said Leah Maki, director of marketing for Cordish Living. “You get out onto our amenities deck and you’re overlooking the Power and Light District, and it’s that beautiful Kansas City skyline.”

Maki said 60% of their tenants come from outside the Kansas City area, something she attributes to Two Light’s luxurious amenity spaces. She said tenants who work from home want to rent in a place where their building amenities feel like an extension of their own living room.

“There are many apartment communities that may offer some amenity spaces, but I think that the way Two Light is set up, just having all the spaces on one level, just really makes a difference to our residents,” she said.

A block away, Power and Light Apartments’ rooftop beacon offers a 360-degree view of Kansas City, along with a reservable space for residents to entertain and sky gaze.

“The rooftop is my favorite amenity,” said Bettina Collins, leasing professional at Power and Light Apartments. “The beacon lounge, I can’t even describe it. But pretty much, what you can do in the beacon lounge is if you ever want to entertain and don’t want to use your apartment for that, you can reserve the beacon.”

The 1930s-era elevated lounge includes a mini fridge, ice maker, tons of counter space, a microwave, as well as Bluetooth devices and access to the rooftop terrace. On apartment tours, Collins said she always shows residents the rooftop first, which she said “wows” potential tenants every time.

“We’ve been part of the Kansas City skyline for years,” Collins said. “We have people that call, they want to do prom pictures up here.”

Bringing greenery to the city

Power and Light Apartments doesn’t allow outside tours of its rooftop, but public rooftop locations, like the Green Roof Park on Walnut Street’s parking garage, offer a taste of nature in a sea of skyscrapers.

Troy Branch, who once lived at One Light Luxury Apartments downtown, said the rooftop dog park helped him meet people in the community after moving downtown in November 2020.

“There’s really nothing else quite like this down here,” Branch said. “I mean, and not only is it a greenspace, but it’s pretty good-sized, and I think people are always amazed that this is on top of a parking garage.”

Branch said he would have never known the dog park was there if a neighbor hadn’t mentioned it to him.

“We’ve met some people here that don’t live in that (One Light) building but they live in the neighborhood, and I think maybe they found out from other people that this was here, but it’s kind of a well-kept secret,” he said. “I don’t think it’s intended to be that.”

Branch said his family moved from Lee’s Summit, where they had a fenced yard, so having a green space where his dog can run around, play off-leash, and enjoy the weather has been game-changing.

“Otherwise, you don’t really have anything quite like this down here,” he said.

Green roofs benefit citizens’ social and extracurricular needs, but they also serve the needs of the environment.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2018 case study on Kansas City green roofs, integrating nature-based spaces into the urban landscape helps reduce stormwater runoff, lowers surface temperatures, increases building and energy efficiency, reduces air pollution, and improves psychological well-being through access to nature.

Kansas City Central Library’s green roof is just one of several in Kansas City that are open to the public, offering a life-sized chess set for citizens to play with, outdoor patio and seating area, as well as an expanse of native grasses and trees.

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts also maintains a private green rooftop space designed to retain water for its own needs, according to the EPA’s case study, where excess water enters underground channels for reuse and recycling. In fact, the amount of water saved through this process is estimated to be equivalent to 84% of the city’s annual irrigation demand, saving at least $56,000 a year in municipal water costs, according to the case study.

“The importance of it, obviously, we’re in an urban environment and we have a lot of things that we don’t take advantage of in an urban environment,” said Danny Roberson, director of real estate for Second + Delaware Apartments. “Greenspace and fencible spaces are two of the main ones, but as well as climate change is real and we need to start building our buildings differently in order to get people to start thinking differently.”

Second + Delaware Apartments in the City Market provides residents with a rooftop greenspace where tenants can reserve plots of land for gardening.

“The garden space has been a huge boom,” Roberson said. “We’ve actually had people come in here and tell us that they wouldn’t have lived anywhere else downtown because those downtown places don’t have the garden amenity, so obviously, it’s an outlier.”

With 276 units and 120 reservable gardening plots, Roberson said more than half of the building wants a gardening space, with at least 65 tenants currently on the waitlist.

Along with gardening plots, Second + Delaware maintains a rooftop solar panel array that helps cut utility costs. Roberson said residents’ utility bills are included in their rent, so they have a realistic way to budget, without unpredictable, added monthly costs.

“I think it shows that there’s a movement toward urban living, that it doesn’t have to be just one thing,” Roberson said. “You can incorporate a lot of best practices and a lot of suburban-like features that you can bring downtown and still give people what they want, and still have a lot of the urban, walkability downtown vibe that people are looking for, but still have some of the suburban lifestyle that people are looking for.”

For more information

Individuals interested in learning more about green roofs can visit Green Roofs for Healthy Cities – North America Inc.’s website. Those interested in learning more about rooftop apartments in the Kansas City area should visit LeasingKC.com.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals fired hitting coach Terry Bradshaw and promoted Alec Zumwalt to fill his role Monday in a shakeup of the coaching staff that they hope will wake up one of the worst offenses in the majors this season.

The Royals have scored 118 runs through their first 32 games, better only than the Tigers, Orioles and White Sox, and their 21 home runs trail only the Tigers and Red Sox for the worst total in the big leagues.

The Royals began the day 12-20 and 6½ games behind the Twins in the AL Central.

"Baseball is constantly shifting and we have to continue to self-evaluate and make sure we're giving our players everything they need to be successful at the highest levels," Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said in a statement. "Our results so far haven't matched what we're capable of, and we all share accountability in that."

Zumwalt was hired as a scout in 2011 but more recently has spearheaded a shift in hitting development within the Royals' minor league program. The results last season were evident in Bobby Witt Jr. earning the Minor League Player of the Year award from Baseball America and MJ Melendez taking the Joe Bauman Award as the minor league home run champ.

Both of those players are with the big league club this season.

Keoni DeRenne will remain the assistant hitting coach, and Mike Tosar the special assignment hitting coach.

"Changes like this are never easy and I'm grateful to Terry for his friendship and all he's done for me personally and for our team," Royals manager Mike Matheny said before opening a four-day, five-game set against the White Sox. "We can all do better, and that includes me. I'm confident that better days are ahead, and that Alec, Keoni and Mike will help us get there."

Bradshaw had been with the Royals system since 2000 and helped usher to the majors Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, two of the key players of their 2015 championship team. He also helped Whit Merrifield lead the American League in hits twice and Jorge Soler break the club's single-season home run record, which Salvador Perez matched last year.

"Terry is one of the finest men I've known in baseball," Royals president Dayton Moore said. "The Royals are a better franchise with and because of men like Terry. We thank him and his family for all they've done."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Union employees who work for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, are set to receive an average raise of 12.6% under terms of a new collective bargaining agreement announced Tuesday.

The new four-year agreement between KCMO and workers with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 500 creates a citywide minimum wage of $16 per hour for seasonal and part-time workers and $17 per hour for full-time employees.

Local 500 represents workers who resurface roads, maintain water treatment plants, work with the waste collection department and perform a variety of customer-facing jobs, including customer-service reps, taxpayer specialist and ambulance billing clerks, according to a release from KCMO.

In addition to the average 12.6% wage increase, the new CBA also establishes annual “step” increases for municipal workers’ salaries.

"Today, I hope you recognize that this is a small token of our appreciation with many, many, more to come," Mayor Quinton Lucas said in announcing the new labor deal. "And what I hope that what we see over the next several years isn't that we fall behind, once again, but that we become leaders in our region, in our country in terms of how we look out for our workforce with pay increases at high levels that make sure we represent all of you."

AFSCME, which is part of the AFL-CIO, is the largest union for public employees in the country.

The KCMO City Council approved the deal, which union members recently ratified. It runs through April 30, 2026.

“This is a step in the right direction," Local 500 President Reginald Silvers said. “The goal is recruitment, retention and training, and we have solved some of those problems with these negotiations. Local 500 is grateful and appreciative.”

Kevin O’Neill, a councilman who represents the 1st District At-Large, called the new CBA “a great start but nowhere near the finish line.”

Particulars of the new contract with unionized city workers includes “market-based salary adjustments,” which take effect Aug. 1, and 3 to 4% annual increases each of the next three years.

Each December, workers with at least five years of service also will receive a lump sum “longevity pay” bonus.

The deal also includes shift differentials and allowances for overtime meals and tools.

“We've been working closely with Local 500 leadership to find ways to better support and celebrate our hard-working front line essential city employees,” City Manager Brian Platt said in a statement. “These significant increases to salaries and benefits will improve our ability to attract and retain the best talent which will also ultimately improve service delivery.”

Non-union employees also are in line for revised, higher pay grades based on years of service effective Aug. 1 after a review of market data to ensure competitive salaries as a way to bolster employee retention.

Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo — Community members are working to help Kansas City area mothers keep their babies fed, amid a nationwide baby formula shortage, and after Saint Luke’s Heart of America Mother's Milk Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, closed down earlier this year due to staffing issues.

“Like many areas of health care, the pandemic created a critical gap of qualified potential employees — staffing of the milk bank required individuals with highly specialized training and expertise to help ensure the rigorous quality and safety standards were met," Saint Luke's told KSHB 41 News. "This shortage and the availability of other Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) milk banks led to the decision to close."

Despite the permanent closure, Saint Luke's says families in Kansas and Missouri are being taken care of, thanks to milk banks across states like Oklahoma and Colorado.

"Saint Luke’s continues to partner with HMBANA to supply breast milk for NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) babies and continues to connect donors and milk depots with other HMBANA milk banks to ensure moms in the region can still donate breast milk for babies in need,” Saint Luke's said.

Becky Mannel, the Executive Director of Oklahoma Mothers Milk Bank, says the KC region’s milk bank closure was unique, since that's never happened before.

“They made the decision to shut down and so we had already been working closely with the Kansas City milk bank to cover the gap for them,” Mannel said.

Mannel says demand is being met, but the ongoing formula shortage is putting pressure on her team. Call volume has increased, and her milk bank and others are in need of more breast milk donations.

“One of the challenges, especially with our current formula shortage and formula crisis, is with babies in the community that may have a medical need for milk, so certainly the demand has been skyrocketing,” Mannel said. "We need more donors so that we can continue to meet that need, and as we expand to hospitals in the Kansas City area and Kansas and Missouri, then we need more donors from those areas as well.”

The Human Association of North America Association says inquiries from parents wanting to fill the formula gap are up 20% in recent days.

The Human Milk Banking Association says they are working with KU Health System to set up depo sites, but for right now their official sites are the Andrew County Health Department in Savannah, Missouri, and the Flint Hills Mothers Milk Depot in Manhattan, Kansas.

Dr. Lauren Hughes with Bloom Pediatrics and Lactation in Roeland Park heard about the closure of the St. Luke’s Milk Bank and decided to start her own. Dr. Hughes' bank is not affiliated with Human Milk Banking Association of North America, but she’s a lactation consultant and screens mothers who want to donate milk and conducts several lab tests to ensure the milk is safe to use.

“This has been the two conundrums of 'I have too much milk, or I don't make enough milk, or I don't have any milk,' and this way we can either use a middleman and combine those two sides,” Dr. Hughes said.

Milk with Dr. Hughes can be purchased at $1.50 an ounce. The bank has been open for less than a month and already 250 ounces of breast milk have been collected.

Dr. Hughes says families who have infants under three months or a baby with a compromised immune system are given priority. Nonprofit milk banks also prioritize families, but if parents are interested in trying breast milk, they can call milk banks to see if they are eligible.

“It is a way you can feel more comfortable that what you're getting is safe breast milk and does not have anything dangerous but it is available to anyone in the community,” Dr. Hughes said.

Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

The 2022 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Buffalo Bills against the defending champion Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12 featuring the Denver Broncos at the Seattle Seahawks.

The final regular-season games for the 2022 season will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

Here's what's in store for the Chiefs:

Schedule

Sept. 11: at Arizona

Sept. 15: vs. L.A. Chargers (TNF)

Sept. 25: at Indianapolis

Oct. 2: at Tampa Bay (SNF)

Oct. 10: vs. Las Vegas (MNF)

Oct. 16: vs. Buffalo

Oct. 23: at San Francisco

Oct. 30: Bye

Nov. 6: vs. Tennessee (SNF)

Nov. 13: Jacksonville

Nov. 20: at L.A. Chargers

Nov. 27: vs. L.A. Rams

Dec. 4: at Cincinnati

Dec. 11: at Denver (SNF)

Dec. 18: at Houston

Dec. 24: Seattle

Jan. 2: Denver

Jan. 7 or 8: at Las Vegas

Strength of schedule: T-5th, .533

Chiefs | Tickets

Biggest takeaway

This is a difficult schedule. Measuring by opponents' expected wins, the Chiefs have the toughest schedule in the league, by far. A slow start, as the Chiefs had last year when they began 3-4, won't cut it this time. The problem with getting out quickly is that the Chiefs open with three of four on the road, including a game at Tampa Bay, and then come home to play the Bills. The Chiefs need to be on point from the start to successfully navigate this stretch.

Revenge game

Beating Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football in Week 4 won't make up for Brady's 3-0 record against the Chiefs in the postseason, including a victory in Super Bowl LV. But it will provide the Chiefs a measure of satisfaction, particularly since Brady and the Bucs dominated the game in that Super Bowl following the 2020 season. A win would also allow Patrick Mahomes to even his career record against Brady at 3-3, with all of the victories coming in the regular season.

What the oddsmakers think

The oddsmakers have the Chiefs' win total at 10.5. The Chiefs have won at least 12 games in each of the past four seasons. But they haven't played a schedule quite as difficult as the one they will face this season, after each of their AFC West rivals loaded up through free agency and trades. The Chiefs can hit the over if they survive an opening six-game stretch that includes two division games plus matchups with the Bills and Bucs.

Bold prediction

The Chiefs will go 5-1 in AFC West games. They'll split with the Chargers -- each team winning on its home field -- but will sweep the Broncos -- making it 15 straight wins in the series -- and the Raiders.