Can DB Think?
photography by Daniel Dorsa
What’s the difference between Daytona Beach and Kansas City, Missouri? About 1,000 miles as the crow flies and an enviable urban renaissance that has local leaders thinking outside the local box.
So what does it take to be named by Forbes as one of the top ten downtowns in the country? Why did Under30CEO.com rank KC number 2 in the US for young entrepreneurs and how did the city score as the only US city on Frommer’s list of top 10 destinations of 2012? How do you top all this by having CNN Money pick you as one of America’s Best Places to Live in 2011?
In Kansas City, you roll up your sleeves, don’t wait for the next guy and get to work. You build a coalition of the willing, set high, yet attainable goals and dream big. As a business leader you make it your responsibility, bring your assets to the table and make a decision that you want to live, work and play in a place that will serve as a national example. You understand that while government is your partner, you must carry the load. You know that some choices won’t initially be popular, but in the end you do what is right for the greater good. You don’t give up, you don’t settle for mediocrity and you definitely don’t eat bad BBQ.
Few cities across the country are experiencing the renaissance that is occurring in Kansas City, Missouri and the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce invited area leaders to join them on an intercity visit to the Heart of America. Floridian View had exclusive access for this dynamic exchange.
The Chamber’s goal is for participants to interact with key business leaders, elected officials and influential decision makers from other cities that are tackling the challenges of improving their region. With the hopes of learning and “bringing back sensible, implementable solutions” – a trip like this offered an opportunity for candid conversation, reflection and viewing best practices at work. “I was at an International Economic Development Council conference in Ohio in 2010 and saw their team do a presentation. When I witnessed what they were doing with their branding in Kansas City, I knew that our community leaders had to see this,” says Larry McKinney, CEO DBRC.
KC, as it is known, has many similarities to our region. Their demographics and regional challenges are comparable to ours. While it is more populated and home to corporate giants such as Sprint Nextel Corp, H&R Block, AMC Theaters, Applebee’s and Hallmark – everyone in the group clearly understood that they were here to study policy, practices and programs that could be transposed and scaled to our community’s needs.
Over the course of three days, a diverse team of Daytona Beach representatives met with the Who’s Who of KC. As we entered downtown Kansas City, there was a sense of place that confirmed you had arrived. City block after city block, you could not help but notice the melding of contemporary and historic architecture through the use of vintage brick, metal and glass. It was obvious that city leaders had taken the time to carefully preserve and repurpose what was of historical value and re-imagine what was just old.
Standing as a modern marvel of the early 20th century, Union Station is the ultimate icon for a city paying homage to its heritage, but focused on its future. Opened in 1914 as the “Gateway to the West,” the majestic beaux-arts style facility has now been fully restored. A historic American crossroad, it now serves as an incubator where organizations like the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, The Kansas City Area Development Council and OneKC World Trade Center have successfully realized plans to rebuild a city. Among other agencies, attractions, restaurants and a functioning Amtrak station, Union Station is at the heart of the Kansas City boom past and present.
Mayor Sly James’ infectious smile and no-nonsense style greeted us at the chamber office where we shared lunch with the mayor, Chamber President and CEO Jim Heeter and Chamber Chairman Greg Graves. The collaborative chemistry between the people in the room was evident and refreshing. “We realized early in the process that if we were going to change Kansas City, the business community and individuals within it would have to take the lead,” commented Graves. The Chamber, which has a long history of very publically leading city initiatives, has placed itself at the center of the most recent KC comeback. While the chamber has been both celebrated and criticized along the way, it now shares great credit as a key player in the region’s revitalization. “Kansas City is experiencing opportunities. Why? Because our attitude changed from a city of, I don’t know if we can do that to - yes we can,” Mayor James says.
The Mayor stressed the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit in the process. “We are the city of entrepreneurs and we need to make sure that people know we are open for business.” It’s obvious that part of the success of this initiative had been due to the self-reliance of local corporations, their capacity to partner and their ability to tackle the issue as a strategic business plan, not a government redevelopment program. “Sure we made the process inclusive, we just didn’t spend excessive time over studying the issues,” said CEO Jim Heeter. “No big committees, we just got to work.”
Part of the Daytona Regional Chambers appeal in enticing participants to join the annual intercity visit to was to build relationships. The chamber’s goal was to generate a “more cohesive team working on behalf of the community” that will enhance the dynamics of problem solving and community visioning.
Each of these individuals personally or through their company paid $1,750 to participate in the 3-day exchange. Who are they?
Robin King - Center for Business Excellence
Liz Grindell - Interim CEO of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Ted Doran - Chairman of Halifax Area Ad Authority, Chairman of Team Volusia, Attorney
Larry McKinney - President & CEO
of the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber
Kelly White - Daytona Beach Zone 3 Commissioner
Suzanne Forbes - Chair Elect Daytona Beach Regional Chamber, CPA
Tom Leek - Chairman of the Daytona Beach
Regional Chamber, Attorney
Edith Shelly - Daytona Beach Zone 1
Commissioner, 2012 Mayor Candidate
Jim Chisholm - Daytona Beach City Manager
Arlene Smith - Daytona Beach International Airport
Cheryl Coxwell - Director, Government Affairs
International Speedway Corporation
Craig Wells - Peninsula Capital
Manuel Bornia - Editor, Floridian View Magazine
Each a leader in their own industry, however, it remains to be seen if the chamber’s mission of building a cohesive team will result from this exchange. During the trip, the optimistic and cooperative mood was palpable – everyone seemed to actually enjoy each other’s company. Would that excitement and spirit of cooperation merely fizzle away at Daytona Beach Airport’s return flight baggage claim?
Who from this team will take the lead? Who will bring forth the tangible concepts and ideas that were uncovered? Who has the will to actually take what we learned and make something happen? Will someone rise beyond the small town political challenges, take potentially unpopular positions and devote the time to see it through? Only these 13 people can answer that question.
While everyone waits for the other person to make a move, the opportunity clock ticks.
HOW THEY DID IT
While corporate KC is has an eye to the continued growth, a massive revitalization of their urban core paved the way for the numerous accolades and critical acclaim for the city. Credited with spearheading the project, former Mayor Kay Waldo Barnes oversaw a decade of redevelopment from 1997 to 2007. The first female mayor of Kansas City, Barnes was the architect of the public/private partnerships that resulted in many of the assets the city now touts. “We needed to move on multiple fronts at the same time. Our public private partnerships were crucial,” Barnes explains.
Barnes was the force behind the partnership that brought mega-producer AEG, which has in the past expressed interest in the Daytona Beach Ocean Center, to the table to build the $276 million Sprint Center which opened in 2007 with Elton John. AEG put up $53 million of the cost in exchange for the management rights for 35 years. Having hosted 8 of the top 10 worldwide tours the 19,000 seat award winning glass arena has nearly topped the Pollstar list as the second busiest arena, ranked number 7 among worldwide venues. While the initial vision of landing an anchor NBA or NHL team has yet to be realized, as young arenas go it has been successful. Operationally running in the black since day one, the city splits the revenue with AEG after the building exceeds 16% profits. Through a revenue sharing agreement with venue manager AEG, the city has received nearly $6 million in profit sharing.
As the city pursued the arena, they simultaneously brought forth a new convention center, a new performing arts center and a new retail/entertainment district that has transformed the entire downtown. Partnering with Baltimore based, Cordish Companies, city leaders developed a massive plan for their e-zone, The Power & Light District. For Cordish, most recently linked as a partner of the International Speedway Corporation on the postponed Daytona Live, Kansas City is their largest partnership in the country. With over $150 million in infrastructure investments from KC and $145 million in investments from Cordish, they transformed nine blocks and over a half million square feet in the heart of downtown into an entertainment epicenter.
The revitalization began at the historic AMC Mainstreet Theater. From here, you can see a glowing and vibrant district that is both modern and classic Kansas City. To make this happen, tough decisions were made. “The city bought or condemned 11 blocks of downtown,” says Stephen Sparks, a prominent area attorney who served as outside counsel to the city during the $2 billion downtown redevelopment plan. Approximately 40% of the property was purchase and 60% was condemned to amass the land required for the district. To date the city owns the land, leveled the old buildings, invested in infrastructure and allowed Cordish to develop a mutually beneficial vision. “People ask if you should use condemnation for economic development, we are an example of how to do that,” Sparks says.
Not without controversy, former Mayor Barnes is a visionary who accomplished big things, took risks and had the political stomach to see it through. “We had a bold vision. During a time when most cities were watching their property values erode, we invested in our city and built a lasting economic engine that our residents are proud of,” Barnes says. “We were able to transform the face of our downtown.”
While they have been successful in bringing over 8 million people to the area, sparking new business and changing the national image of the city, it has come at a price. With voter support, the Power & Light District was approved as a special tax increment financing (TIF) project. This program diverts new property, sales and other taxes generated at the development to pay the principal, interest and fees on $295 million in bonds issued by the city to build it. Since it’s opening, the city has had to dip into its general fund to the tune of millions of dollars because sales taxes in the entertainment district haven’t covered the debt payments to date. Even with new restaurant and hotel taxes, revenues have not reached full potential yet. “We see this as an investment. Our plans were made during a strong economy and had we opened in a normal economy, we would be generating normal revenues,” claims Sparks. Still early in the cycle of the TIF project, the recession has affected the city’s financial burden in the project but it has also given KC the advantage as the economy begins to grow.
“How we pay for growth always stopped us. We worked around it and figured it out. Now Kansas City has City has its swagger back and our downtown has changed the conversation about our region,” says Troy Schulte, KC City Manager.
Mirroring Daytona Beach, Kansas City’s convention business is in flux. With new facilities and expanded space, the KC convention center still lacks the hotel it needs to fully function. “We lose a lot of business because we don’t have a convention hotel,” says Oscar McGaskey Jr, Convention Center Executive Director. The eight-square-block facility has 388,800 square feet of exhibit space, 48 state-of-the-art meeting rooms, an adjacent 2,400 seat theater and an arena that seats more than 10,700. This year, however, the KC Convention Center has lost eight conventions, and it is still reeling from the loss of their largest gathering, the Wal-Mart manager’s convention, to Orlando.
Still, collaboration between the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association and Convention Center is strong to the degree that the CVA manages the convention center calendar. “Tourism is the best economic development you can do,” states CVA President and CEO, Richard Hughes. Analyzing the tourism market, Hughes argues that that it is no longer just about service, sales and marketing but “needing a mousetrap” to capture audiences. “Conventions don’t take place in the convention center; it’s everything that happens outside the rooms that people remember.”
The Kansas City Area Development Council, a distant equivalent to Team Volusia, is recognized as the most sophisticated player in the reactivation and rebranding of the region. “We are a very different type of development organization, we have big goals, but decided that we needed to market first,” commented Robert Marcusse, President and CEO of the KCADC. From the Emmy award winning documentary The Next American Dream, which has been viewed by 9.3 million viewers nationwide, to their KC Options magazine, the team has been instrumental in reshaping the image of the region
The agency spent an entire year studying how Kansas City was presented in feature films, the press, music and other media outlets. This critical study in perception, understanding brand and image is something that should be noted. Everywhere you go, corporate letterheads, promotional key chains, billboards and anything else they could think to print on, bares the brilliantly implemented brand, Think KC. Before entering the competitive sport of economic development, they had a clear vision and message by which to present themselves and the region. Putting marketing first has enabled this team to lead the way for economic development in the region. Unlike Team Volusia, which has been forced to spread itself across the entire county due to funding sources, a group that will focus on the Metro Daytona as the nucleus for regional redevelopment is needed. “While the growth of the overall region is critical, it is important to have a thriving nucleus first,” Marcusse says
KC wants to be perceived as America’s Creative Crossroads. With the opening of the $415 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the critically acclaimed Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The American Jazz Museum, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and countless galleries, concert venues and exhibit spaces – creativity and culture are definitely a force that has played a role in the rebirth of the city. When asked what the single most important factor in the continued growth of KC, city manager Troy Schulte wasted no time answering “The arts are the preeminent issue for us, it is our core fundamental asset.” Seen by many as a high brow luxury, arts and culture are part of the economic toolbox KC masterfully used to reinvent itself.
THE BIG 5
Despite their many successes, the leaders of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce recently announced an initiative that they hope will continue to revolutionize and redevelop their region. After months of dialogue and dozens of meetings, it was business leaders that set the course for the area’s continued growth. They asked themselves how they could change Kansas City over the next five years and came up with five initiatives below that will continue to redefine and reintroduce Kansas City on a national and international scale.
Here is where the chamber got it right. They took the corporate leaders they knew could get the job done and assigned them each as a “champion” of one of the initiatives. Already, most projects are underway, with leaders setting timetables, shaping budgets and identifying key partners. KC’s Big 5 raises important questions. What would our Big 5 be? Who would be our champions? Could the chamber board come together and get the political support to see it through?
1 ) A City of Entrepreneurs
“Kansas City is open for entrepreneurs…”
- Peter deSilva, Chairman & CEO| UMB Bank
2 ) Lead with Culture & The Arts
“There is a vibrancy that is almost electric”
- Leo Morton, Chancellor
University of Missouri-Kansas CIty
3 ) Building the Urban Core
“Harness individuals with tremendous passion, that feel it’s time for a change, that it’s time we address the whole issue
of poverty…”
- Terry Dunn, President & CEO
4 ) World leader in Animal Health Interests|
“Make what is good in our region even better…”
- Gary Forsee Former University of
Missouri System President
5 ) Focus on Translational Research
“what translational medicine does, is really
helps us figure out what works,”
- Dr. Patrick James Sr. Managing Partner
Quest Diagnostics
CAN WE DO IT?
The greater Daytona Beach area is lucky to have The International Speedway Corporation, Brown & Brown, NASCAR, Consolidated Tomoka, The Root Organization, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and several other corporations headquarter their national operations here. We are not void of the corporate leadership required to make change, but the question is whether the heads of these entities will realize that the future of our community actually depends on their taking a leadership role in making that change a reality. Can we think KC? Can those who experienced it, effectively inspire and communicate what we learned? Will the chamber take the lead role in focusing on the Metro Daytona nucleus first? Can a cohesive and universal branding effort be pulled together to be used by all of our area agencies, corporations and government offices? It’s just a matter of getting out of our own way and working hard.
Our community is at a crossroads of its own. New political leadership is on the horizon, we have an energized civic constituency and the beginnings of master plans to execute. While the traditional local media focuses on the problems of the past, one agency and a group of local leaders has the capacity help shape the future. For the sake of it, we hope DB can Think outside the box.
