Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring a conversation with Tracey Lewis, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City, also known as EDCKC.
Eric Wesson, founder and publisher of The Next Page KC, a newspaper focused on the Black community, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing.
Lewis, a native of Boston, talks about how easy it was to fall in love with Kansas City, which, he says, has the right amount of large city experiences as well as family and career experiences – without some of the negatives like gridlock traffic. He describes Kansas City as the “core Midwest,” addressing a large central region that spans from Minneapolis to Dallas with a culture that is less aggressive than some (like Columbus or Indianapolis) and a bit more resistant to change.
Consider the airport as an example: he recalled the difficulty in convincing people of the need for a new airport, but now that it’s done, he notes how locals love to brag about it.
Lewis also notes pointedly that economic development has been slow in the core of the city, especially in the urban areas of the East Side.
“We have to do more to support the Third and Fifth districts,” he said. “The entire city has to do more to support the East Side.”
The closing of the SunFresh grocery at Linwood Shopping Center, he said, marks the loss of an anchor to that area. He noted there were challenges in operating a large store, with a requirement for volume, in an area that may not have fully valued it and continued to travel west for its grocery shopping. The East Side still suffers from the challenges of flight from years ago, he said.
He also cautioned that development takes a long time, as an example citing former Mayor Kay Barnes’ vision for downtown’s Power and Light District that dated from 1999.
He pointed out that the East Side has experienced decades of disinvestment and now will need to see decades of new investment. This investment should not rest only on the shoulders of the city, Lewis said, it also has to also be supported by the business community.
Lewis noted that EDS holds the role of developing that holistic community gathering – of city, business, and neighborhood leaders – to focus attention and support on the East Side and the Prospect Corridor. The EDC can help find innovative ways to evolve and develop the community, including through a series of projects like:
- ProspectUS plan – a transit-oriented strategic plan for the Prospect corridor.
- The developments at 18th and Vine, including the expansion of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and hotel.
- The recently launched AmeriCold facility, a $100 million investment bringing nearly 200 jobs to south Kansas City. Lewis noted this facility will attract other types of industry nearby, stimulating additional development.
- Housing developments, including the strategy to redevelop Columbus Park with tax-increment financing.
Lewis also discusses the positive opportunities of the Central City Economic Development Sales Tax District. Despite nearly eight years of little action, Lewis is optimistic that the Mayor, City Manager, Council and EDC are now pulling in the same direction and new investments will materialize.
Listen to the full conversation here: https://youtu.be/rF8mYHbvupQ
