After years of planning, the SouthPointe at 63rd development project finally broke ground on Monday, Jan. 29.

Located ~10 minutes south of downtown at the intersection of Route 71 and 63rd St., the ~31-acre site has been vacant for years due to blight. Heather Brown, Managing Projects Director of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, said the original plans to build a grocery store + retail shops were abandoned.

“Many of the homes were demolished by the developer improperly, resulting in environmental contamination,” she said.

Afterward, a legal battle and lots of cleanup brought us to today.

Current plans

The new neighborhood will combine green urbanism with transit-oriented development, meaning it will be environmentally friendly while providing easy access to transit.

The mixed-use development will include:

Multi-family units: 240 apartments + townhomes in total. Homes will be reserved at multiple income levels — market-rate, workforce and affordable.
Office, retail, and big named businesses: Watch out Country Club Plaza — a new outdoor, walkable plaza flanked with entertainment and retail will soon be here.
A 114-room hotel: This extended-stay hotel will be close to attractions like Starlight Theatre and the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium.

This hotel will be just a four minute drive to Starlight Theatre + the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium. | Rendering by SouthPointe LLC

The development is broken into four phases. Phase one — the building of a 140,000-sqft office-retail space, mixed-income multi-family building, and a hotel — is projected to be completed by the end of this year. The rest of the project will be finished by 2032.

Keep up with the project's progress by checking out the website for updates.