At a Glance

Sector:  Aviation / Transportation

Location:  Kansas City, MO

Delivery:  Public-Private Partnership

Scale:  1.1 Million SF Single-Terminal Airport | $1.5 Billion 

Result: Delivered Early and Under Budget | Largest Infrastructure Project in Kansas City History | Top 0.5% of Mega-Projects Worldwide for On-Time, On-Budget Delivery and Meeting All Stated Commitments (Independent Consultant Analysis)

The Situation

We were already working at the University of Kansas and flying in and out of Kansas City regularly. Over time, we had gotten to know the city, its people, and the challenges facing its aging airport terminals, a facility that had served the community well for decades but was increasingly strained by the demands of modern air travel and post-9/11 security requirements.

There was healthy skepticism within our team about whether a non-local firm had a realistic chance. But we believed in what we could bring to the table, and collectively decided to “shoot our shot.”

Winning the Work

We proposed something that we felt would resonate more deeply with the city. Instead of telling Kansas City what their airport should be, we decided to ask them, and then design an airport that reflected what they told us.

Around Labor Day 2017, we were waiting to hear back on our proposal. I'll never forget the moment I watched the announcement live on TV — the selection committee walked into the city manager's office, where there was an easel in the corner with a sheet draped over it. They pulled the sheet off, and our logo was on the board. That's how we found out we won, and honestly, none of us had expected it.

Navigating the Politics

Because the Aviation Department is a division of the city rather than an independent airport authority, the mayor and city council had to vote on everything, from the selection committee recommendation to every contract along the way. That structure meant the project carried a level of political complexity that went well beyond the typical development process.

The path to getting our contract approved was not straightforward. It was a challenging process that required patience and persistence, but it only strengthened our resolve and our commitment to demonstrating why we were the right partner for this project.

That early experience was invaluable. It reinforced something that would prove true throughout the life of the project: on something this visible, with this many stakeholders and this much public attention, you have to earn trust every single day. That mindset guided our team from that point forward.

Designing with the Community

One of the commitments we made from the beginning was that this airport would be shaped by Kansas City, not handed to them. We went into each of the six city council districts and held community design meetings in high school gyms and community centers, spending hours asking residents what mattered most to them. We compiled that feedback into a report and used it to directly inform the design of the terminal.

The results are visible throughout the building. Kansas City is known as the City of Fountains, and there are fountains in the terminal. The city has deep roots in barbecue, and so local restaurants replaced national chains. Restrooms, one of the most common complaints about the old terminal, were completely rethought with significantly more capacity and modern features like occupancy indicators for individual stalls. These weren't cosmetic touches added at the end. They were design decisions that came directly from the community and were carried through from the earliest stages of the project.

That level of engagement didn't stop with the design phase. Throughout the life of the project, our team regularly presented updates to city council subcommittees, participated in ongoing media coverage, and maintained constant communication with stakeholders across the city. From start to finish, Kansas City had a voice in what was being built, and the final product reflects that.

Delivering on Every Commitment

From the very beginning, we were determined that the benefits this project delivered to the local community would be just as important as the airport itself. In our industry, commitments around local business participation and workforce development are often treated by others as aspirational targets, something you spend some time on, but ultimately accept whatever the outcome is. We didn't see it that way.

We set targets for minority and women-owned business participation and exceeded both, not just in contracts awarded but in the actual workforce on the ground building the airport every day. We delivered on the Terminal Workforce Enhancement Program, which provided workforce training, job training programs, transportation to the job site, access to daycare, and on-site medical support for workers. These weren't line items in a proposal. They were woven into how the project was managed from day one, and our team held ourselves accountable to every one of them.

Those community commitments were part of a broader standard we held ourselves to on every aspect of this project. An independent consultant who specializes in studying mega-projects, defined as projects exceeding one billion dollars, analyzed the outcome against thousands of projects across the globe. Their conclusion was that fewer than half of one percent of all mega-projects worldwide are completed on time, on budget, and successfully deliver on the commitments that were made. The Kansas City International Airport New Terminal was in that half of one percent.

Calling an Audible

Kansas City announced it had won the rights to host the 2023 NFL Draft. The city manager invited us to his office the day of the announcement and asked when the airport would be open. We told him around Memorial Day 2023. He paused, and asked again. By the time he asked a third time, we understood what he was getting at: the city needed the airport open and running smoothly well before the Draft arrived in late April, giving enough time to operate under normal conditions before one of the biggest events in the country came to Kansas City.

Our team took it seriously. We wanted to help our partners in Kansas City hit this milestone, and we were determined to make it happen. We pulled the entire team together, laid out the new target, and got everyone to commit to an accelerated timeline that would have seemed unrealistic just days earlier. Through an incredible collective effort, the project was delivered in February 2023, months ahead of the original schedule and under budget. 

Beyond Opening Day

The new terminal opened to passengers on February 28, 2023, the same day the old terminals B and C closed their doors for the final time. The impact on the region was felt almost immediately. In 2024, Kansas City International Airport set an all-time passenger record of 12.1 million, surpassing a mark that had stood since the year 2000 and confirming what the city had bet on years earlier, that a modern terminal would not only handle existing demand but unlock new growth. In September 2024, monthly passenger traffic crossed one million for the first time in the airport's history — and by that fall, KCI had logged six consecutive months over that threshold.

The new terminal was built for this kind of growth. With 40 gates and room to expand to 50, the design created the operational flexibility for airlines to add routes and use larger aircraft, which they did. Service from Kansas City now reaches more than 50 nonstop markets, and air cargo volumes have grown more than 14 percent year over year. The 6,200-space parking garage, recognized by the American Institute of Architects with its highest honor in 2024, has eased one of the most common pain points travelers used to face.

The broader economic impact has been even more significant. According to an independent 2024 study, the airport now generates roughly 6.3 billion dollars in regional economic activity each year, an increase of 25 percent from the same study conducted a decade earlier. Nearly 40,000 jobs across the Kansas City region are connected to the airport, generating 1.8 billion dollars in annual payroll and 276 million dollars in state and local tax revenue across Missouri and Kansas. As Mayor Quinton Lucas has put it, the airport has become the economic driver for the entire region.

What was built in Kansas City was not just a new terminal. It was the kind of civic infrastructure that, when done right, opens up possibilities a city did not even know it had.

Recognition

The Kansas City International Airport New Terminal has received over 30 awards since opening in February 2023, including:

Design & Construction:

• DBIA — National Project of the Year (2025).

• DBIA — Best in Process, Progressive Design-Build (2025).

• DBIA — Project/Team Merit Award, Aviation (2025).

• DBIA — Trailblazer in Inclusive Growth (2025).

• DBIA — Mid-America Region Project of the Year (2024).

• DBIA — Mid-America Region Commercial Excellence Award (2024).

• AGC — Baldwin Group Build America Award, Design-Build Building $100M+ (2025).

• ASCE/AEI — Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (2023).

• ENR — Award of Merit, Airport/Transit (2023).

• SEAoNY — Structural Engineering Excellence Award (2023).

• AIA — Honor Award, Garage at the New Terminal (highest recognition in AIA awards program).

• American Concrete Pavement Association — National Award for Excellence.

• CID Coverings Installation & Design Awards — International Commercial Tile Installation of the Year (2024).

Airport & Travel Industry:

• Prix Versailles — World's Most Beautiful Airports List (2024).

• J.D. Power — #3 Large Airport in Annual Customer Satisfaction Study.

• Airport Business — Project of the Year (2024).

• Uber — Airport of the Year, Smartest Space Award.

• Airport Experience News (AXN) — Best Local Inspired Store, Medium/Small Airports.

• Airports Council International North America — Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence (highest honor for airport concessions).

• Airport F&B + Hospitality International Awards — Regional Winner, Americas & Caribbean.

• The Moodie Davitt Report FAB Awards — Global Airport Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year.

• Great Lakes Chapter AAAE — Commercial Airport Project of the Year, Architectural.

Community & Diversity:

• P3 Bulletin — Social Impact Award (2024).

• Profiles in Diversity Journal — Top 10 Innovations in Diversity (2020).

• Mid-America Regional Council — Regional Leadership Award (2024).

• Kansas City Business Journal — Capstone Award, Judges' Special Recognition (2024).

• The Builders — Building Excellence Award, Project of the Year (2024).

Sustainability:

• LEED v4 Gold BD+C: NC — first terminal/concourse project in the U.S. to achieve this certification.

• IES — Illumination Award (2024).

The Bigger Picture

When we think about what made this project special, it always comes back to Kansas City itself. From the very first community design meeting in a high school gym to the day the doors opened, the people of this city shaped what their airport became. Not our architects working in isolation, not a developer imposing a vision, but residents and community leaders telling us what mattered to them and trusting us to follow through.

That trust was not given lightly, and we never took it for granted. Every decision, from the local restaurants that replaced national chains to the workforce commitments that put Kansas City's own people to work building their airport, reflected a shared belief that this project belonged to the community first.

By any measure, this was a landmark project. The largest single infrastructure project Kansas City had ever undertaken - a $1.5 billion investment that was ultimately delivered early, under budget, and meeting all the community benefits committed to from the start, placing it in the top half of one percent of mega-projects worldwide. With all of that, it would have been easy for a project of this scale to lose sight of the people it was meant to serve. It never did. Kansas City trusted us with something historic, and together we built something none of us could have built alone. The airport belongs to the city now and that is exactly how it should be.