Skeleton of the Missouri Innovation Campus is now complete
October 14, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Editor’s note: In response to readers’ desire for quick-hitting stories, Startland News is launching a new segment, “News Flash,” to enable more coverage. Let us know what you think!
A huge facility that’s dedicated to filling an area employment gap by educating area high school students with technology courses is beginning to take shape.
With the aim to connect tech and engineering firms with a locally-trained workforce, the Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit was topped off Thursday with the final steel beam on its frame, the Kansas City Star reports.
The $40 million project — led by the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, Metropolitan Community College and the University of Central Missouri — employs an accelerated model allowing high school grads to complete a bachelor’s degree in two years instead of four. It also will offer paid internships and mentorship program with more than 200 business partners.
Programs offered through the campus include courses in systems engineering tech, engineering tech, software development, computer science and design and drafting. McCownGordon Construction is serving as the general contractor for the 140,000-square-foot facility, which was designed by architects with DLR Group and Gould Evans.
The Star reports that when the facility located at 1101 N.W. Innovation Parkway opens in 2017 August, it’s expected to enroll more than 500 area students. For more on the campus, check out the gallery and video below.

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Founder Problems: Podcast captures the ‘messy middle’ you don’t see on entrepreneurs’ highlight reels
A new Kansas City-based podcast is skipping over the fairy tale stories of founding a startup; instead diving straight into the messy parts, the hosts shared. Founder Problems — hosted by local entrepreneurs Sarah Schumacher, Zach Oshinbanjo, and Lee Zuvanich — is embracing the aspects of starting and running a business that no one wants…
‘Invest with women we know’: This $1.4M wellness hub project is redeveloping one neighborhood from within
It’s an old real estate adage: “Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.” Longtime Kansas City commercial broker Sheryl Vickers said it also applies to business properties, “one thousand percent.” Like twin mid-century office buildings just over the Missouri/Kansas state line in Prairie Village. “I drove by it, what a sad state,” said Vickers,…
Digital health startup aims to save medical providers time while bringing down cost of AI tech
CarePilot is on a mission to bring AI and automation to smaller medical clinics that don’t always have access to cutting-edge technology, shared founder and CEO Joseph Tutera. The Overland Park-based startup’s ambient AI technology — designed to help those smaller practices operate more efficiently — captures patient-provider interactions in real time, automating administrative tasks…
Street art to stage: KC fashion designer styles iconic Jim Crow-era musical comedy without missing a beat
Designing for theater gives Whitney Manney the opportunity to be as big and loud as she wants, the street bespoke creator said. A new musical production of “Hairspray” puts Manney’s bold aesthetic through a new lens — and alongside a timely story of acceptance, diversity, and the power of music. “There is no such thing…






