"They buy up all the politicans & basically cram this down your throat," Alex Jones of www.infowars.com
Briefing #1 Smartport
KCMO Resolution
RESOLUTION NO. 060343
Declaring the name of the inland Mexican customs facility to be built in the West Bottoms area to be the Kansas City Customs Port.
WHEREAS, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Mid-America Regional Council and the Kansas City Area Development Council created Kansas City SmartPort, Inc. (Smartport) to explore ways in which Kansas City can position itself as an international trade processing center with the capability of serving as an inland port; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City in conjunction with SmartPort, promoted Kansas City as a strategic hub for trade between the U.S. and Mexico, has secured the support of both Mexican and U.S. Customs officials for the construction of a customs facility in Kansas City to be built on a City-owned site on the east side of Liberty Street between 14th and 15th Streets; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. That the inland Mexican customs facility to be constructed on the Liberty Site is hereby named the Kansas City Customs Port.
KCMO gives 50- Yr Lease to Mexico
"This spring, city officials signed off on a 50-year lease for the Mexican facility, with an option for 50 more years. . . . The council earlier this year earmarked $2.5 million in loans and $600,000 in direct aid to SmartPort, which would build and own the inland customs facility and sublet it to the Mexican government through agreements with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. . . . The Mexican government would have no significant investment and would occupy the customs facility operation rent-free. . . . SmartPort set up the deal to avoid imposing any expenses on Mexico above its ordinary border costs. . . . SmartPort meanwhile is seeking a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to purchase high-tech gamma-ray screening devices for drive-through inspections of truck cargo. . . . Confusion and secrecy have been hallmarks of the ambitious project. At the outset, Gutierrez and others have said the customs facility would be sovereign Mexican soil similar to a foreign embassy. This has changed." Posted by the Kansas City Star, 7-18-06
KCADC confirms Smartport
The Kansas City Area Development Council has directly confirmed that the Kansas City SmartPort intends to build a Mexican customs facility to facilitate out-going traffic headed to Mexico. . . . The Kansas City SmartPort brochure could not be more explicit: 'Kansas City offers the opportunity for sealed cargo containers to travel to Mexican port cities with virtually no border delays. It will streamline shipments from Asia.'" Posted by Jerome Corsi, Human Events, 6-26-06.
KC to give $3 MILLION to Mexico
... the Mexican government will be in Kansas City's West Bottoms. The city will spend $3 million to build a Mexican customs house on Liberty Street
"The 21st century will have a different concept about borders that we have previously had," Mexican foreign minister Geronimo Gutierrez said.
KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported that Blunt and city leaders want to build a Mexican government customs house, called SmartPort, in the city's West Bottoms.
The $3 million project would make Kansas City an inland port
Richards Gebauer - Briefing #2
Moving goods and building business along the
corridor: the Richards-Gebaur case Experts in the industry classify the Richards-Gebaur project as one of the most complex real estate transactions of the decade. For the first time, the five key players involved in converting the former 1,400-acre Richards-Gebaur Air Force base into an intermodal facility and industrial park shared the same stage. Representatives were present from the City of Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City Port Authority, Kansas City Southern, Hunt Midwest Enterprises and CenterPoint Properties. All are at the front lines of this complex transaction to plan and manage redevelopment efforts of an Air Force base into an international trade-processing center. “Richards-Gebaur is a success story,” said Warren Erdman, Kansas City Southern.
“It’s a story of persistence,” said Wayne A. Cauthen, city manager, City of Kansas City, Mo.
Richards Gebauer 1941- 2007
1941 Grandview Airport opened
1955 The airport became a U.S. Air Force base
1957 The airport became “Richards-Gebaur,”
named in honor of Kansas City residents John
Francisco Richards II (an airman killed in
World War I) and Arthur William Gebaur Jr.
(killed in the Korean War)
1976 The Air Force base was deactivated from
active duty
1991 The Air Force reserve station was closed
2000 The airport was formally closed
2001 The City of Kansas City, Mo., adopted an
international master plan
2004 The City arranged for the Port Authority to
manage the development
2007 The Port Authority signed a redevelopment
and sale agreement with CenterPoint
Properties, a seasoned intermodal developer,
to plan and manage the redevelopment of
the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force base
into an international freight gateway. Plans
include the existing rail facility and adjacent
industrial, distribution, light manufacturing
and warehouse facilities.
Richards Gebauer Briefing #3
“Washington D.C. did not want Kansas City to close the airport, but it had to be a win-win situation for the city, the federal government and the property managers,” Cauthen said.
It was a four-year stint of negotiations during which time and emotions ran the gamut from hope to
irritation to frustration to confusion and back to
hope again. Because of the nature of the property,
negotiations included eight federal agencies,
several state agencies, officials from of the City ofKansas City, Mo., Kansas City Southern railroad and numerous existing tenants.
“There were key issues here,” Cauthen said. “We
always had to ask ourselves with every step we took, ‘is it the right thing to do?’ And we couldn’t be too mired into our own way of doing things. Everyone— each government entity and the surrounding communities—had to benefit.”
The months and years of negotiations are over; the
first phase of the process, officials navigating the parleying of ideas, has ended. Now the property redevelopment stage is in effect.
The Port Authority, in partnership with CenterPoint Properties, a Chicago-based Real Estate Investment Trust, and Hunt Midwest Enterprises, respected nationally for its underground facilities, currently are in the initial phase of property redevelopment.
CenterPoint, a seasoned intermodal developer, has
to its credit a model intermodal facility in Chicago,which is the largest development in that city. Cauthen sees the development of Richards-Gebaur as the economic engine of Kansas City. The Richards-Gebaur International Freight Gateway will include the existing rail facility as well as adjacent industrial, distribution, light manufacturing and warehouse facilities.
In time, it will add more than 4,500 new jobs to the area. “This is the most unique redevelopment on the planet,” said Lee Derrough, Hunt Midwest Enterprises. “It’s a unique form of real estate.”
Derrough is experienced in the strengths of mining
and producing underground property, and said that
Kansas City area’s Bethany Falls limestone makes the underground facility possible. He expects that Kansas City will be a transfer point for goods coming in from a 500-mile radius.
“We can distribute goods within a 500-mile market
place or interchange it to another carrier,” Derrough said. “Kansas City is one of the fastest-growing distribution points. This facility will only add to that. The way logistics work, you look for the shortest path, incur the least cost and find the shortest transit time,” Erdman
said. Kansas City ranks No. 1 in rail tonnage in the nation and is the No. 3 truck center in the nation. Richards-Gebaur International Freight Gateway is already a success story. It facilitates more than 70,000 automobiles passing through annually as a result of a contract signed by Richards-Gebaur and Mazda North America. Kansas City Southern operates a sophisticated rail distribution hub on the property. “We’ve helped Mazda lower transportation costs and
secure the future of its Claycomo manufacturing plant and local employees,” Erdman said.
While this intermodal facility element of Richards-Gebaur is highly successful now, the underground storage aspect will take more time.
Fred Reynolds, senior vice president of CenterPoint Properties, said the initial development phase will take about 10 years.
“We have to get the rock out first, set up a processing plant and go through an entitlement process,” Reynolds said. The underground will provide distinct advantages. “This space provides a constant temperature and a 50-80 percent savings on energy,” Derrough said. “You’re protected from floods, tornados and all
weather elements. Basic human numbers point to the
success of the project.” The Richards-Gebaur case is based on partnerships,negotiations, persistence and now a strong future for the area. The end results will provide a strong local
tax base, good jobs for local workers and high growth export and import rates.
