How Rock Island Bridge is turning 3 million pounds of steel into KC’s next entertainment hub
November 4, 2023 | Taylor Wilmore
When the in-the-works Rock Island Bridge opens in 2024, the hulking infrastructure renewal project will become Kansas City’s — and America’s — first “destination landmark bridge,” said Mike Zeller.
And the effort pointedly capitalizes on one of the metro’s most overlooked assets: its rivers.
Mike Laddin and Mike Zeller, Flying Truss, at the Rock Island Bridge, November 2023; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
“We’re maybe the biggest river town in America that hasn’t really figured out how to get our arms around our rivers,” said Zeller, CEO of Flying Truss, which is leading the Rock Island Bridge project — a public-private partnership that also taps into philanthropic and corporate funding.
This historic railroad bridge will be reimagined as a gathering space and entertainment hub with music, dining, coffee shops, bars, trailhead services, and more. It is expected to boast 35,000 square feet of usable space — all elevated 40 feet above the Kansas River.
New cantilevers and bumpouts add significant stretches of “land” along the bridge’s 702-foot length, making the structure longer than the St. Louis Arch is tall.
“It’s a public crossing, a trail, and it’s also a community space,” Zeller said. “It’ll have seating for hundreds of people, people can come out here and gather kind of like Union Station.”
Image courtesy of Flying Truss
Built in 1905 by the Rock Island Railroad for transporting livestock and freight, the bridge has been out of service since the 1970s.
Click here to read more about the history of the bridge.
The Rock Island Bridge project — in the West Bottoms, near the Hy-Vee Arena — aims to not only reactivate the bridge, but use the structure as a catalyst for economic development and revitalization along the waterfront, as well as a means to physically connect Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.
Rock Island Bridge, November 2023; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
A day out on the bridge
The redevelopment project is expected to offer the nation’s first entertainment district on a bridge by adding shops and restaurants overlooking the river, with a pedestrian path connecting to Kansas levee-trails system and the Greenline Trail.
RELATED: Not excited about these 3 Downtown KC projects? ‘You need to have your pulse checked’
“What can you do for entertainment? The answer is, Saturday morning, maybe fishing catfish, and, Saturday afternoon, maybe the farmers market, or doing something else on Saturday night downstairs, while there’s a wedding upstairs and live music,” said Mike Laddin, CFO of Flying Truss.
Flying Truss also is collaborating with such community and business partners as Brad McDonald with ZipKC, who plans to build towers for activities like zip lining across the river.
“You can rent kayaks and canoes down here. So, you could show up on Saturday morning with 10 of your friends and then go up to Bonner Springs,” said Zeller. “You can zip up there and then get in the river and paddle down, and have dinner here and catch a concert. We don’t have to drive to the Ozarks.”
Free Wheels for Kids, an organization dedicated to getting more children on bikes more often and safely, will also be located and operating at the bridge, he said.
“They teach kids how to fix bikes, give them free bikes, and organize bike rides. They want to have a bike check-out here,” said Zeller. “It’ll help activate the trails.”
Levee trails along the Kansas River waterfront, near the Rock Island Bridge, November 2023; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Boosting local economy
This bridge is projected to bring a rising tide to Wyandotte County economically, Zeller said.
Apartments under construction along the Kansas River waterfront, near the Rock Island Bridge, November 2023; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“The Unified Government gets a beautiful connector for their trails,” he said, noting Eastern Wyandotte County gains more entertainment options through the effort, as well as a financial boost.
“In several communities that have access to outdoor activities, income goes up, their health goes up, crime goes down, families are more stable,” said Zeller.
“The burden [for maintaining Rock Island Bridge as an asset] doesn’t go back to the taxpayers,” he continued. “With some of the profits from the enterprise, we clean and take care of the decks and clean the bathrooms. It’s self supporting.”
The venture yields returns for investors, while also providing a unique addition to Wyandotte County and the broader Kansas City metropolitan area, activating the riverfront and standing as a pioneering project on a global scale, Zeller said.
Watch a video from Flying Truss below about the Rock Island Bridge, then keep reading.
National attention
Laddin highlighted the Rock Island Bridge’s inclusion in a recent Lonely Planet travel feature as notable national recognition for the bridge. The travel guide designates Kansas City as one of just two must-visit cities in the United States, in part because of the forthcoming Rock Island Bridge opening.
Click here to check out Lonely Planet’s pitch for traveling to Kansas City.
“It’s not only going to be a regional best city destination, It’s going to be national. People are going to read the Lonely Planet about what we’re doing,” said Laddin. “We’re going to be a World Cup watch station, and, depending upon who the countries are, we’ll fly their flags.”
Flying Truss is currently selling up to $2 million in equity to qualified investors.
“It can be used for exercise, and outdoor recreation, and it activates an important resource that we have,” said Laddin. “We don’t have mountains and lakes, but we have this cool river.”
Featured Business
Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Happy we don’t have to leave’ Little Hoots’ $450K raise will keep KC home
Once on the verge of departing its hometown, Kansas City-based Little Hoots recently raised funds to boost development of its app, allowing the startup to remain in the City of Fountains. Led by CEO Lacey Ellis, Little Hoots’ memory-keeping app struggled to find traction with Kansas City area investors, which nearly forced the company to…
Funding roundtable: ‘You can’t fake it’ and more funding advice from KC founders
Your company is steadily growing, but it looks like you’re nearing a plateau. Perhaps your startup is doing just fine, but a well-heeled competitor just entered your market and slapped a target on your customers. Or maybe you’ve got a solid idea but little dough to get it off the ground. Regardless of the case,…
Techstars firms to spread local roots via Brad Feld’s Kansas City home
More graduates of the Techstars-led Sprint Mobile Accelerator may be calling Kansas City home thanks to venture capitalist Brad Feld. Feld, co-founder of the international accelerator program Techstars, is making his Kansas City, Kan. home available to graduates of the local Techstars program rent free. “I’m very happy with how things have gone to date,”…
Kansas City dishes on diversity in the entrepreneurial community
It’s often said that two heads are better than one. But what if those two “heads” have the same socioeconomic, gender and racial compositions? What if their life experiences mirror one another so closely that they arrive at the same conclusions or generate the same general ideas? It’s no secret that diversity can foster the…