Host Michael Mackie sits down with Jon Stephens, CEO & President of KC Port Authority to discuss the development of the River Market and Riverfront areas, their current and upcoming programs and future strategic plans. Jon discusses exciting new projects, like the transformation of the historic Scarritt Building into the upcoming UMusic Hotel, which will provide a unique experience for performers and hotel guests. He also discusses how the upcoming extension of the Streetcar to Berkley Park and expanding the riverfront trails from Rock Island Bridge to the East Bottoms will enhance accessibility and improve walkability to residents and visitors alike.
Michael Mackie:
Hi everyone. It’s Michael Mackie here, coming to you from KC Studio. KC Studio and kcstudio.org is the only regional magazine and website entirely devoted to covering all arts all the time. I’m excited to work with KC Studio on this special podcast that will provide valuable insights into how public transit and the World Cup are shaping cultural expression and events in the heart of our city. So thanks for joining us on this month’s stop of KC Studio’s Artful Connections Along the Streetcar podcast presented by Arvest Bank and sponsored by TIVOL. We’ll be featuring some of Kansas City’s finest cultural arts and civic organizations each month that are along the recently extended Kansas City Streetcar route that now goes from the riverfront to the Country Club Plaza and UMKC. Streetcar riders are now able to hop on the streetcar at any of the stops and ride to and from their favorite exhibits and events throughout the year. So please take a ride with us.
Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from Arvest Bank. Arvest Bank believes that financial confidence should be within reach for everyone. Whether you’re just getting started planning for your future or starting a new chapter, we are here to help you plan and meet your goals every step of the way. Because everyone deserves a financial partner who cares. Arvest Bank. We Believe. For more information, visit arvest.com or visit one of our 20 locations throughout Kansas City.
Hey everyone. I’m here today with Jon Stephens, president and CEO at Port KC. Port KC’s mission is to grow the economy of Kansas City’s Port District through transportation, global commerce and development. The organization’s vision is to be the premier port, providing efficient, effective, and innovative transportation and development solutions to compete nationally and globally. I know you are working on projects all over Kansas City, but today I want to focus on the riverfront development and is this true, you have 800 million, is that right? $800 million in development over the next 10 years going on.
Jon Stephens:
It’s actually closer to 1.2 billion now, Michael. But yes!
Michael Mackie:
Alright, well that one point what?
Jon Stephens:
1.2 billion.
Michael Mackie:
Okay. That 1.2 billion will complete the initial vision of the riverfront and include restaurants, shops, new streets, new housing units, office spaces. Man, the list goes on and on, and more attractions to draw visitors and residents alike. The Kansas City Riverfront development will be one of the premier riverfronts in the nation. Wow. A lot. That was a big intro, young man.
Jon Stephens:
It was a lot. It’s a lot.
Michael Mackie:
Well, first of all, I want to say thanks for being here. You have been been at Port KC for seven years now.
Jon Stephens:
Seven and a half years. Yeah.
Michael Mackie:
What have you seen in your seven years?
Jon Stephens:
Well, we have seen an incredible transformation of Kansas City. We’ve seen a riverfront that is thriving like never before, and a connected community, which is really what’s exciting for me.
Michael Mackie:
You are a Kansas City native, correct?
Jon Stephens:
I am. South Kansas City.
Michael Mackie:
Okay. You are a Hickman Mills native.
Jon Stephens:
Hickman Mills.
Michael Mackie:
You are an MU graduate?
Jon Stephens:
Yes.
Michael Mackie:
Okay. So from your perspective as a native Kansas Citian and you are leading the charge into all things riverfront, how would you say the development has boomed or blossomed over the last, oh, decade? Well, since you took charge.
Jon Stephens:
Right. Well, really the last few years, Kansas City already had some great momentum. I mean, there was a lot of buzz about Kansas City. Facts. But we hadn’t really seen all of that follow-through on that development. So over the last few years, we supercharged our riverfront. We looked at that riverfront and said, this has been in the planning for 30 years, and it’s been cleaned up and it’s all of these things. It’s ready. It’s ripe for its moment in the sun, and that’s now.
Michael Mackie:
Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from TIVOL. For more than a century, TIVOL has helped Kansas City mark treasured moments and create cherished memories with fine jewelry of the highest quality. Visit us at our Country Club Plaza or Hawthorne Plaza locations or online at tivol.com. TIVOL is proud to be a sponsor of this special podcast and to celebrate our city’s vibrant arts community.
Speaking of, we’re about to be on the world stage. Nervous, excited, what are you?
Jon Stephens:
Excitedly nervous, Michael. Yeah, we are going to have all eyes on Kansas City from the world. The World Cup will be the biggest event that Kansas City has ever hosted in its history.
Michael Mackie:
You’re getting a lot of attention, certainly in 2026, but not just for the World Cup, but what else is buzzing about?
Jon Stephens:
Well, all the development, and there’s discussions about all the downtown redevelopment and the connectivity. Streetcar opened, the Main Street extension opened to just resounding success. People love it and we’re getting ready to open the riverfront extension as well.
Michael Mackie:
Let’s talk about art history. I know that it’s all about galleries and everything. What else is there to do down there?
Jon Stephens:
Sure. So we have really tried to create this environment that as everything comes online, there’s Origin Hotel. We put an incredible new modern beer garden in the park, two birds, one stone we put
Michael Mackie:
I see what you did there.
Jon Stephens:
Yeah, I know. We’ve put a climbing center in the park. Beach volleyball. Then the biggest thing, Michael, is we’ve connected all of this. Something that Kansas City has never had in its history is trails that really connect our neighborhoods and connect our communities. So now you can go from KCK all the way to CPKC stadium on the riverfront trails.
Michael Mackie:
Can we talk Rock Island Bridge? I mean it’s right there. What is that going to bring to the table? That’s a whole thing.
Jon Stephens:
It’s a whole other thing and we’re excited about it. That’s a project that people are like, what is this? They’re doing what? And now that it’s coming to life, it is another amenity that really is this sort of connective tissue to connect our neighborhoods and our community, and the West Bottoms is exploding too. We don’t want to leave that out. Those amazing old warehouses are just filling with lofts and shops and apartments and destinations, and we are connecting that to the Berkley Riverfront, which as you mentioned, 1.2 billion development. There’ll be 5,000 citizens living on the riverfront in Berkley Park alone in the years to come.
Michael Mackie:
So everybody always talks about the West Bottoms, but Berkley Riverfront is literally in between the East Bottoms and the West Bottoms. So what is going on? What’s new and exciting in the East Bottoms area?
Jon Stephens:
So, you have these two amazing destinations in J. Rieger, the slide, and right across the rail you have Knuckleheads, which is one of what, the 10 best blues music venues in the world. We are committed now to connecting the trails. People don’t know there’s a giant park, 900 acres along the riverfront in the East Bottoms. It’s just been ignored for decades. It’s just trees. We are actually connecting the trails to the levee to take people into the East Bottoms and we’re going to add amenities and maybe some more rural kind of activation. So trees and places where you could have picnics on a river, where it’s not all crazy and active, but it’s connected to J. Rieger and to these other things. The East Bottoms. I really think the East Bottoms in the next 10 to 15 years is poised for some big changes.
Michael Mackie:
Again, with the downtown area just so close by. I mean, I feel like it’s all coming together and there are so many things you can capitalize on. Correct?
Jon Stephens:
Right. I think a lot of communities say, well, we’re going to do this and then this, and then this. And Kansas City has been a victim of that. But now what we have done collaboratively is to say Crossroads, Downtown, Columbus Park, River Market, Berkley Park, this is all part of the larger whole. If’s all part of the heart of our city, and we are connecting those like never before and we’re excited to see what’s next because each one is building on the other. I mean, just recently we announced 16th and Broadway. This project, there’ll be a new 33-story residential tower right across from the Kauffman Center. These type of projects are building on one another. And while we have that momentum and then everything else that’s happening with culture, we want to continue that, and we need to see it through because the next generation and the next generation after that are going to benefit and celebrate what we do today.
Michael Mackie:
You have a background in art history, in urban planning and tourism. It’s like the trifecta has all come together. Yes? Is this your dream job?
Jon Stephens:
I didn’t know that it would be my dream job. I actually have a journalism undergrad of all things, but then did art history with an emphasis in spatial design, public art and public space, kind of that urban planning. And it is where I really developed this passion. It started, I’m old enough where it was Legos and you started building things and you’re like, well, how do you put this together? And I learned long ago that places and buildings are only places and buildings, but they become places that you feel when you have art, culture, music, vibrancy. And so I’ve just fallen in love with this convergence of how can we add this unique beauty and art and culture to everything we do.
Michael Mackie:
I have a journalism and communications background.
Jon Stephens:
Hey.
Michael Mackie:
And look and here we are.
Jon Stephens:
Look where we are. Look where we are.
Michael Mackie:
Kids today.
Jon Stephens:
Exactly.
Michael Mackie:
What I want to know is how is mixing in all the entertainment events along with the cultural arts opportunities, how is that going to help with the redevelopment of the riverfront?
Jon Stephens:
Sure. So we didn’t set out, when we were looking to develop the riverfront, we did not set out to put a soccer stadium down there, but Chris and Angie Long, they are powerhouses, and they had a vision and they said, we have this amazing team. We want it to be in the heart of our city. And they’re incredible partners. And so we said, we’re not going to make a riverfront that is a sports entertainment district, but we’re going to make a riverfront that is a dynamic living, breathing place for everyone. And KC Current became part of that. Then programming in the park and now art murals, sculptures, all of these things are creating this neighborhood that is really something special.
Michael Mackie:
Bar K, I know Bar K exited stage left and now Steamboat Arabia will be leaving soon, but how does that factor in? There are plenty of more opportunities for growth. I’m guessing? Expansion?
Jon Stephens:
You can always mourn when things change, but change is inevitable. And the Bar K site, we are actively working to bring an incredible new use to that site. We’re working with our partners there, Steamboat Arabia in the River Market. The City Market and River Market are thriving like never before as well. I mean you go down there any weekend and it is packed. The programming, the music, all of that. So while the Steamboat Arabia is leaving, that opens up tens of thousands of square feet on this one end of our historic City Market to really look at how do we reimagine this and do something special.
Michael Mackie:
I’m putting you on the spot. What’s really on your wishlist?
Jon Stephens:
Ooooooooh.
Michael Mackie:
If you had your top two or three things that you could bring in, what would they be?
Jon Stephens:
I think the City Market right there would really benefit from a unique boutique hotel with a rooftop. I think we don’t have
Michael Mackie:
Right there as the streetcar drops off
Jon Stephens:
Right there as the streetcar drops off. So we’re looking at a lot of different options. I don’t want to make any declarations here, but I think those vibrant, unique spaces where people really engage, be it food, music, culture, and then Kansas City loves their rooftops, right?
Michael Mackie:
Facts! Again!
Jon Stephens:
And we go out when the weather’s nice like now or back in the winter, we want to make sure that those rooftops are active. And so we’re going to try to continue to do more.
Michael Mackie:
What are some of your favorite places to see and be seen while you’re down there?
Jon Stephens:
Oh, my gosh. Well, I already mentioned our beer garden, Two Birds. It is just a great space, and fun and vibrant It, it’s a modern space, but you’re right in the middle of a park, and it’s one of the few places where you get a drink or you can go up to the cocktail lounge on the second floor and look out and you see the river. You can watch the sunset. I love that. I attempt to run to stay in shape at my age. So I run the trails and we have our murals along the trails, and people have started just really using that. We had 600,000 visitors in Berkley Park alone last year.
Michael Mackie:
Wow. And festivals. Festivals galore.
Jon Stephens:
We do a lot of festivals. With all the construction, we’re not doing the big festivals that happened in years past, but we’re starting to kind of pierce that veil with all different types of small culture festivals, art, little art festivals, music, and we really want to continue to program it with smaller events that appeal to everyone, but consistently. So doing things consistently. We’re going to be in just another couple months before the World Cup, we’ll be doing another Mural Fest, and we’re excited about the programming of Mural Fest and how to add music and some things to that while all these artists are transforming the levy walls.
Michael Mackie:
What was the genesis of Mural? What was the genesis of Mural Fest?
Jon Stephens:
Well, it was a crazy idea that I had, and I said, why don’t we paint murals on these flood walls? And everyone looked at me like I was crazy. And then I am lucky enough to have an incredible, incredible team at Port KC. And they took this crazy idea and turned it into a reality. And now we’re coming into year three of Mural Fest of the Missouri River Mural Program. Year three, we’ll have 100 artists and it will add one mile of art to our riverfront, and that is one of the largest single-phase art programs in the country. So we’re really excited about that.
Michael Mackie:
How did that start? I mean, Kansas City is kind of a city of fountains, city of murals. Did it just sort of happen organically?
Jon Stephens:
We kind of came up with the idea and we said, well, let’s see how we do it. And I was lucky enough to be the board chair of ArtsKC
Michael Mackie:
Uh-huh?
Jon Stephens:
Great arts organization in Kansas City, and we said, well, the first thing we want to do is we want to make sure that our incredible artists in our community are paid for their work. So we assembled a little bit of money. We got some sponsors, and we went out and we said, we’re going to select five artists in the first year, and we’re going to just let them paint amazing, beautiful murals. Then the next year we said, let’s do 10, and then in year three now, we are getting a little crazy. And we said, let’s bring in a hundred. And we’re creating something new, that when people bike and run and visit, the riverfront is going to show Kansas City’s commitment to our arts and our culture.
Michael Mackie:
Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from Arvest Bank. Arvest Bank believes that financial confidence should be within reach for everyone. Whether you’re just getting started planning for your future or starting a new chapter, we are here to help you plan and meet your goals every step of the way. Because everyone deserves a financial partner who cares. Arvest Bank. We Believe. For more information, visit arvest.com or visit one of our 20 locations throughout Kansas City.
World Cup is coming. World Cup is looming.
Jon Stephens:
It’s right here. It’s right on top of us.
Michael Mackie:
Are we ready? Are we ready-ish?
Jon Stephens:
I don’t know that any community is ever ready. Ready-ready. I think the team at KC World Cup 2026 is dynamic and incredible. I think the community is as ready as possible. Having teams based here and having all of these matches. Something that people don’t talk about a lot is Kansas City is the smallest city of all of them to host the World Cup. So I like to say we are going to show Kansas City’s hospitality. The world is going to come away understanding like never before that Kansas City is on the map and a place to be. And to me, we are ready for that. What we need to be ready for, even more than that is what we do the day after the World Cup. And that is continue to tell our story to the entire world, continue to invite people in to show that we are an international city. Really honestly, just being honest here, really for the first time in our history, we’ve never truly been an international city. We’ve been a city with great international influences, but not truly a global city. After this World Cup, if we do it right, which I think we will…
Michael Mackie:
Oh, we will.
Jon Stephens:
We are going to be an international city. We’re going to be an international city that people say, I did not expect that place to be so amazing, and I did not expect the people to be so nice.
Michael Mackie:
What is this I hear about the, let me make sure I have this right. The UMusic branded hotel. It’s a new 167-room. I’m not familiar with it. So tell our readers, tell our listeners a little bit more about it.
Jon Stephens:
They can read about it too.
Michael Mackie:
Yes, they can read about it.
Jon Stephens:
No. The historic Scarritt Building at 8th and Broadway, it sadly has been vacant and empty. And like so many of our historic buildings, we are committed to bringing it back to life. And these incredible partners came to Kansas City, and Universal Music is, they’re the world’s largest music brand, music label and brand. You could look at almost every music celebrity in the world, and the majority of them are signed to Universal Music. Kansas City will be the second Universal Music hotel in the world.
Michael Mackie:
Where’s the first?
Jon Stephens:
It is in Spain.
Michael Mackie:
Oh! Look at us!
Jon Stephens:
And the first in the United States. It will be a destination high-end hotel with incredible music and arts experiences. So nightly live music, but also concerts. It will be a place where when you’re headed to one of the big venues, say Arrowhead, or for maybe like a Taylor Swift show or something, or you’re headed to T-Mobile Center or you’re headed to The Midland, any of those places, the artist will most likely also be appearing or doing events at the UMusic Hotel. And that’s just part of the entire project.
Michael Mackie:
There’s two phases, right?
Jon Stephens:
Two phases, which will be an apartment tower attached, which will be phase two, which will be blending of that historic arts, music culture of the historic building with a modern, new artistic expression of our skyline.
Michael Mackie:
Are we talking three, four, or five years? What’s the game plan for completion?
Jon Stephens:
We’re talking a couple years for the hotel, and then kind of depending, probably not long after, the residential component coming online.
Michael Mackie:
Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from TIVOL. For more than a century, TIVOL has helped Kansas City mark treasured moments and create cherished memories with fine jewelry of the highest quality. Visit us at our Country Club Plaza or Hawthorne Plaza locations or online at tivol.com. TIVOL is proud to be a sponsor of this special podcast and to celebrate our city’s vibrant arts community.
Now that the streetcar has expanded or is expanding or will expand or will continue to expand, well, how is that going to affect or how is that going to complement, I should say, the whole riverfront area?
Jon Stephens:
It is going to support everything. As we’ve said, that the opening of the streetcar down to The Plaza and UMKC has been an incredible success. And we are on the cusp of opening the streetcar extension to the riverfront. It will come right into the middle of Berkley Park, just feet from all of this that is exploding down there. That’s going to open here soon, and it is going to be able to bring thousands more people in a seamless way to the riverfront and complement the biking, the walking and kind of the general thing. And then we are adding, to talk about arts. We didn’t want, we think of the river differently than other places in our community. And I like to say it’s been neglected for a century, so let’s really zhuzh it up a little bit. Let’s add, let’s go a little above and beyond. So while all the streetcar stops are beautiful and great, and well-maintained, and they do Art in the Loop and there’s art on ’em and all of that, we went a little further. So what is going to be opening at the Berkley station, at the Riverfront station will also be a $5 million arts canopy that covers the whole station that is under construction and will be open soon.
Michael Mackie:
When you were snooping around how you wanted the riverfront to look or come across, did you create this from scratch? Did you kind of snoop around? Were there any other riverfronts that you were like, oh, that’s kind of nifty? Not that you stole ideas, but that you just sort of coveted how they did it.
Jon Stephens:
Yeah, I would love to say, oh, this was all just a brainchild. But no, we looked, myself and our team and our partners look to the entire world for inspiration, but we want everything we do to be uniquely Kansas City. So the inspiration of our riverfront is actually a lot of the design and the core architecture is The Wharf district in D.C., one of the most successful riverfront developments of the last 50 years right there in D.C.
Michael Mackie:
I had no idea. I was literally just there.
Jon Stephens:
It’s hugely successful.
Michael Mackie:
I was just there and I had no idea that it was, wow.
Jon Stephens:
Hugely successful. We use that not as a cut and paste, but as a, we want this to feel like this. We want the energy that they’re having here. Let’s bring that energy. And so we brought our own architects, our own designers, our own kind of style of Kansas City. And what you’re seeing at Berkley Riverfront coming out of the ground and already open is an iteration of that.
Michael Mackie:
What are your plans coming up for the World Cup and the hundreds, tens, hundreds of thousands of visitors who are coming to the city?
Jon Stephens:
Well, our friends at KC Current and Palmer Square, the first phase of the Current Landing project is wrapping up and will be completed. The exteriors will be completed, there’ll be public activation, there’ll be events, video board activation in the park. And then the teams that are staying here, there’s a few famous people, like the most famous soccer player in the world will be maybe going on strolls around the riverfront while he’s here with Lionel Messi.
Michael Mackie:
You have a lot to look forward to. What’s the plan of attack for 2027, 2028 and beyond?
Jon Stephens:
Like everything, when I joined Port KC as a Kansas City native, I love the city so much, but one of the things that has been a challenge in Kansas City historically is we roll out beautiful renderings, we say we’re going to build all this for our city, and then we don’t follow through always. And I don’t ever want to be negative, I always want to be positive. But one of the promises I made to the public when I was lucky enough to be offered this position and join was when we show renderings, when we say we’re going to do something, you’re going to have it built. It’s going to open. So the key for us is keep the momentum going. People are craving moving to Kansas City. The influx of population is happening. We want to keep that going. We want to give them incredible places to live, options to live. And we want them when they come here and they move here, we don’t want ’em to say, well, this is a great place for a job. We want ’em to say, this is my place, this is my home. I feel welcome here. And we’re building everything around doing that.
Michael Mackie:
It’s obvious that the cultural arts scene sort of plays an important part with the huge epic. Would you like to share any upcoming or future plans that the riverfront has sort of on tap?
Jon Stephens:
Some maybe I can share and some I can’t. I think you will see much more live music programming in the months and years to come. You will see, as I mentioned, the Riverfront Pavilion and the station, which will be, I think a world-class piece of art. We’re adding an incredible civic piece of art, a sculpture in the park, and we’re going to continue our mural program and our arts program. We’re going to start finding ways to tactically inject art throughout our neighborhoods in the months and years to come.
Michael Mackie:
What else, friend? What else haven’t we talked about? Obviously you have a great team backing you.
Jon Stephens:
Have an incredible team of people, Port KC. These are some of the smartest, most dedicated people. And you opened with that long introduction about what Port KC does. Ultimately, Port KC is here to work throughout Kansas City, Missouri, to find ways to bring new jobs, new development, new programs, innovative things. I challenge my team every day. I was like, just be problem solvers for our neighbors and friends. And that’s what we try to do every day. And we have projects from all the way in South Kansas City all the way up to around the airport and everywhere in between. But we have a real special passion for this central core, because every neighborhood in our community is important. From east to west, everyone is important and people will find their place and we want ’em to be connected. But ultimately, if our heart isn’t strong, the rest of our community won’t be strong. So we want to make sure that we continue to keep this heart strong because that is the connective fiber that connects every neighborhood and every community in our entire region.
Michael Mackie:
I absolutely love your space. I love your digs down there.
Jon Stephens:
Thank you.
Michael Mackie:
Who was the genius who came up with the actual shipping container in the middle of Port KC in the middle of your office building?
Jon Stephens:
So we think globally, but we are hyper-local. Everything from roasting of our coffee beans that we have in our office. There is a great small architecture firm called KEM STUDIO. They’re down in the West Bottoms. The team there was the one that listened to the vision and they said, you know what? Why don’t we take shipping containers and loft them up and make them a loft in your office?
Michael Mackie:
I mean, why not?
Jon Stephens:
And we said, you can do that. And they said, we will do that. And we said, let’s go. And we love the space, but we love, more importantly, we love showing it off and opening it up. I think we do probably about 80 to a hundred events a year free to the public with people coming into our office and we want to do more.
Michael Mackie:
You are incredibly busy. You’re about to be so much busier. So I just want to say thanks for taking time today to join us on Artful Connections Along the Streetcar podcast.
Jon Stephens:
Fantastic. Michael, thank you so much for having me on.
Michael Mackie:
Thank you so much for joining us today on our monthly stop of the Artful Connections Along the Streetcar podcast presented by Arvest Bank and sponsored by TIVOL. You can find this podcast and our future stops wherever you find your favorite podcast. As a reminder, this is Michael Mackie for KC Studio, Kansas City’s only full-time magazine, website and e-newsletter with professional journalists covering the cultural arts region. Go to kcstudio.org to check out all our upcoming arts events, our latest podcast and to sign up now to receive your free, yes, just like the streetcar, your free magazine six times a year in your mailbox, or to receive our weekly newsletters at kcstudio.org/subscribe. Thanks for riding with us during this month’s episode.
