Latest Design for "New" KCI (Kansas City, Center: how much, houses)

[Okey Dokie]

Terminal A is the likely destination of the new KCI - KansasCity.com

[jaxontwinz]

Good news, KC really needs this. My only complaint is that it is still 15-20 minutes away from the city. BUT a new airport could be so beneficial to the area, both in the Northland specifically AND the entire metro. The article said it could open as soon as 2016? That's awesome news to hear, I hope this goes well and really spurs other "next step" development in KC.

[lovekcmo]

KC should have done this 30 years ago-is it too late though in the game to make a new terminal now? I mean, by the time they get this built-Southwest will be entranced in Denver and St Louis for the midwest area-they won't need Kansas City at that time, oil will be who know's how much, air travel may be in decline by then. Plus, why build a new terminal with less than 50 gates? It's seems too little too late. I still think there should be some way they could make terminal B with 30 gates all available for Southwest to use. When Braniff II shut down-they were running around 90 flights a day. Another thing I hate about KCI is that long drive into it off I 29. If they could move a terminal to Hwy 152 it would be closer by about 5 miles to the city.

[RichMonk]

Will it attract more flights? That is all I care about. Capacity doesn't seem to be an issue at KCI, the problem is the availability of flights being abysmal. Make it an airliner friendly airport and shuffle us cattle around with our cheap tickets in hand.

[kcmo]

KCI is getting expensive. It's odd that even though Southwest dominates it, that prices are getting so high to fly into KC. It's like turning into an Omaha or OKC with very few non-stops to cities other than hubs (DFW, DIA etc).

I think it has everything to do with the terminal situation.

I flew into KC this weekend BTW. No problems and KCI is not far from the city at all. The suburbs start pretty much just southeast of the field and they are nice suburbs which is often not the case around big airports. The growth in the Northland is pretty incredible. Downtown is very close to KCI with great uncongested highways. The location is fine. (again, if you fly a lot, don't live in lee's summit or overland park and complain about where the airport is). I don't complain where Dulles is. Talk about far, geez.

I spent a few days in KC and every time I go there, I come away less impressed with the metro area as a whole. Went to the speedway area and maybe I have just been out here too long, but that area is just culture shock to me. Never seen so many trailer park looking people in my life. People running from one chain place to the next in a remote development in the middle of nowhere in nascar and kansas college gear. I don't know if a place could be more opposite of where I would want to spend time. But lots of people like it I guess.

Downtown, Crown Center, Westport, Plaza were all hoping and busy. Downtown is amazing now especially when you look at how far its come and the haunted houses in the west bottoms is just so crazy and cool. I don't think there is anything like that on that scale any place else. Very neat thing for KC to have. The sprawl, blight and crazy travel times of driving through miles and miles of sprawl and often crap to get around the metro is a pretty big turn off though. I thought IKEA was going to a decent location, but after spending time driving around the metro. I can't believe they could not have found an empty lot or redevelopment to put that on before tearing down a brand new shopping center. With all the under utilized, empty or run down land in metro kc, they have to build it on top of a new mall (that would likely eventually get tenants.)

Way off topic sorry...