Visit KC, Kansas City’s tourism and hospitality organization, announced plans today to move its offices to the Kansas City Power & Light District in early 2015. A block from the Downtown Streetcar, the company’s new street-level headquarters at 1335 Baltimore Avenue will be adjacent to the Hilton President hotel.
“It’s our honor to take an active role in the Downtown renaissance we have worked so hard to promote. Visit KC’s new home in the Power & Light District will be an open, inviting space in the heart of the city’s convention district,” said Ronnie Burt, Visit KC President & CEO. “With this new location, we have an exciting opportunity to elevate Visit KC’s presence in the community and increase interactions with visitors, stakeholders, clients and partners.”
Earlier this week, the organization announced plans to change its name from the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association, effectively immediately. Visit KC promotes and supports the local convention and tourism industry, which annually generates more than $4.6 billion in economic impact.
When it opens in early 2015, the lobby of Visit KC’s new offices will include a full-service visitor information center. The organization will be the first tenant to occupy the space, which sits diagonally from the iconic Kansas City Power & Light Building.
“We are extremely excited to be expanding our partnership with Visit KC and bringing them into the Power & Light District,” said Nick Benjamin, Executive Director of the Kansas City Power & Light District. “Visit KC has been one of our foundational partners since our opening in 2007, and we look forward to working even more closely with them over the coming years on our many shared goals. This is another significant step in the continued growth and expansion of the Power & Light District and Downtown. With OneLife Fitness opening in a few weeks, One Light Luxury Apartments a little more than a year from opening and this new addition of a 15,000-square-foot anchor office tenant at street level, Downtown’s future as a great place to live, work and play is looking very bright.”
Approaching its 100th anniversary in 2018, Visit KC is powered by a team of 40 employees and supported by more than 2,000 members of the local hospitality community. KC welcomes more than 22 million visitors each year, and the Visit KC team assisted with the successful execution of more than 200 conventions in 2013.
Since 1978, the group’s offices have been housed in City Center Square. Prior to that, the organization operated from several locations throughout Downtown, including a stretch in the historic Midland Theatre building.
Visit KC has secured Kansas City-based KEM Studios as the lead architect, while Greg Swetnam of Kessinger/Hunter serves as broker.
About Visit KC
Formerly known as the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association, Visit KC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ignite global passion for visiting Kansas City. Through marketing, sales and service of the convention and tourism industries, Visit KC supports a vital and growing component of the local economy—generating more than 45,000 jobs and $4.6 billion in economic impact annually. For more information about Kansas City, go to VisitKC.com.
About the Kansas City Power & Light District
The Kansas City Power & Light District is a vibrant eight-block neighborhood in the heart of downtown Kansas City that is redefining the City from its skyline to its sidewalks. The District links together the renovated Bartle Hall Convention Center, Sprint Center, offices, hotels, entertainment, cultural destinations and residential developments. The combination of entertainment, shopping, nightlife and residential with the District’s imaginative and innovative design, has created an intriguing 24/7 neighborhood. For more information, visit www.powerandlightdistrict.com or www.facebook.com/KCPowerLightDistrict.