One Kansas City Place is the tallest building in Missouri located in downtown Kansas City, bounded by 12th Street to the north, Baltimore Avenue to the west, and Main Street to the east. Built in 1988, the 190.1 m (624 ft) skyscraper was designed by Patty Berkebile Nelson & Immenschuh and replaced the Town Pavilion as the tallest building in the city.
One Kansas City Place is considered an architectural salute to City Hall, which is located 5 blocks east of Main on 12th Street.
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History
One Kansas City Place was constructed as the first part of a much larger project named Kansas City Place, which never was completed. The project was to include townhomes, office towers, and residential/hotel towers. The Kansas City Place project was originally proposed during the real estate boom of the 1980s. The plan was developed by Frank Morgan and his uncle Sherman Dreiseszun who had earlier built Town Pavilion that was completed in 1986.
The tower was proposed for the South Loop (So-Lo) area south of downtown's central business district. The project included a plethora of skyscrapers with uses ranging from offices to hotels and residential buildings. Unsubstantiated claims hold that a major cause of the project's failure to come to its full stature was the complaints of residents, claiming it would ruin Kansas City's skyline, which had remained largely unchanged for 30 years.
One Kansas City Place was to be the third-tallest of several towers constructed, though it is the tallest that was actually constructed. Today, it is one of the most recognizable buildings in Kansas City's skyline.
Morgan and Dreiseszun (operating as MD Management) would see some of their banks fail in the wake of the project in the Savings and loan crisis. They would be indicted on federal charges of bid rigging to get government contracts. Morgan would die in 1993 and Dreiseszun would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and pay a fine of US$375,000.
Lighting
At the four sides of its top, One Kansas City Place glows at night with red, white, and blue lights. Throughout the year, the colors change to red and yellow for important Kansas City Chiefs games, blue and white for important Kansas City Royals games, red for Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), and red and green for Christmas.
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Tenants
Bank of America maintains a large branch in the building's lower lobby. The building's largest tenants are Ernst & Young, an accounting firm, and Bryan Cave, a law firm based in St. Louis. Karbank Real Estate Company, a prominent industrial development and brokerage company, occupies the 39th floor. Great Plains Energy and subsidiary Kansas City Power & Light Co. have taken space in the building in 2009. Tenants are provided security by EHI through Securitas AB.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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