Ingram's December 2022

I N T H E N E W S

Tidbits of Business News from Around the Region

MISSOURI

KANSAS DOUGLAS COUNTY Business Protest

They ranked No. 17 and No. 22 on Ingram’s 2022 list of the region’s top law firms; with 50 local attorneys and 95 nationally, that local ranking is on track to hit No. 10.

CLAY COUNTY Hunt Bags Big Tenant

A month after a prominent Lawrence bar shut its doors in protest over city policies on homelessness, city leaders have agreed to consider spending $8 million in federal pandemic relief funds on various projects—more than half of it on so-called “tiny homes.” Roughly $4.66 million would be dedicated to those small modular homes. In November, Johnny’s Tavern closed its North Lawrence location in protest over a homeless camp on adjacent land. The tavern first opened there in 1953. Inspired in part by a rebuilt KCI, Air Canada will resume service in June with jets considerably larger than the models in use before service was discontinued. The airport is scheduled tomove airlines to the new single terminal facility in earlyMarch; when service resumes betweenKC and Toronto, flights will accommodate 76 passengers, up from50, and will include a dozen business-class seats. They will continue to operate under Air Canada’s U.S. affiliate, Jazz Aviation. Correspondent News Updates from the Capital cities Washington | PPP Chickens Come Home to Roost A House subcommittee report says processors and application screeners for the SBA’s hurried Paycheck Protection Program approved tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent loans, in many cases after ignoring or disregarding warnings from customers and employees. The panel, led by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., is pointing the finger at fintech companies that disbursed billions in relief loans under a program designed to keep people employed during the first months of the pandemic in 2020. Traditional lenders, opposed to giving fintechs greater access to government-backed lending programs, say that fraud is the tip of the iceberg, and reason to limit their lending authority. Jefferson City | ‘24 Budget Outlook Hints of Slowdown The broad outlines of fiscal-year 2024 spending for Missouri are already coming into focus with release of the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimate for the year, pegging it at $13.1 billion in general fund revenues. That would represent a growth rate of about half the 1.4 percent projected for 2023, suggesting the state is anticipating a broad economic slowdown next year. State budget experts produce the estimate as a basic assumption—but not the only one—that the governor’s team and legislative leaders will explore as they try to craft a balanced annual budget. Topeka | KPERS Dodges Major Hit on FTX Collapse The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX cost its 50 largest investors $3 billion, but the state pension fund in Kansas wasn’t anywhere near the top of that list. While the fund did have money in the failed enterprise, the $187,400 at risk represents just a minuscule 0.0008 percent of a nearly $25 billion portfolio. Pension-fund officials say any loss stemming from the yet-unresolved shakeout of FTX’s bankruptcy would represent no threat to the stability of the state’s investments. PLATTE COUNTY Air Canada’s Return

Hunt Midwest has secured a big tenant for its new, 478,000-square-foot Logistics IV building: UPS. The package-delivery company has leased 210,600 square feet, just under half of the building in the 2,500 acre Hunt Midwest Business Center, an industrial park at I-435 and Parvin Road. Hunt has already started letting bids for Logistics V, andwill start construction on the final phase of the park—featuring 2.2million square feet of industrial space—in 2023. Officials of Port Authority of Kansas City have authorized up to $12.5 billion in industrial revenue bonds for two Northland technology parks, one in Clay County and the other in Platte County. The bulk of that, $10 billion, would be directed to Rocky Branch Creek Technology Park, a data center campus covering 360 acres near I-435 and U.S. 169. The $2.5 billion would aid in development of KCI 29 Logistics Park, with a much larger footprint—2,136 acres— combining both industrial and office uses. Streetcar-Line Living Mac Properties plans to leverage the extension of the Downtown streetcar to produce a 318-unit apartment project at Main and Armour, adding two new build- ings and repurposing the one that previously was home to a U.S. Bank branch. The pro perty fronts Main Street, where the line is currently being extended to near the UMKC campus, and is just blocks from ArriveKC, the largest project of its kind near the route, with 373 planned units at 31st and Baltimore. Law Firms Merging Two prominent commercial litigation defense firms will merge starting Jan. 1, likely creating one of the 10 largest prac tices in the KC market. The new firm will retain the brand of Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice as it incorporates members from Foland Wickens Roper Hofer & Crawford. JACKSON COUNTY $12.5 Billion in IRBs

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Kansas City’s Business Media

December 2022