Look inside (and out): Corrigan Station expansion offers startups skyline views from within Crossroads

May 17, 2019  |  Tommy Felts and Austin Barnes

Decades have passed since the last new office building opened in the Crossroads Arts District, said Edna Martinson.

In a matter of weeks, startups and small businesses can “create their own vibe” when the 22,910-square-foot Corrigan Station expansion project — led by Copaken-Brooks — unlocks its doors and opens them to Kansas City innovators, added Martinson, Copaken-Brooks market analyst, as well as co-founder of Boddle Learning.

“[The third-floor is] really geared more toward the startup community with the companies that have fewer employees,” Martinson noted, further describing the space as an opportunity for startups that have outgrown neighboring WeWork at Corrigan Station.

Rich with such amenities as common areas, a kitchen, event space, and a park area with street-food creations — crafted by Michael Corvino, the Kansas City restaurateur behind the namesake Corvino Supper Club and Tasting Room at — and located between the two Corrigan Station buildings, the new workspace is an extension of history that dates back the original building’s opening in 1921.

Keep reading below the photo gallery.

Academy Bank serves as the Corrigan Station expansion’s anchor tenant, occupying the southern portion of the first floor, said Annemijn Steele, Copaken-Brooks marketing manager.

Additionally, the new project builds on momentum gained as a result of the reimagination of the Corrigan building as a mixed-use destination. Further traction was gained with the launch of WeWork, which added three floors of coworking space to the 10-story building in 2017, according to Copaken-Brooks description of the project.

The building’s design — which features light-planks of wood on the ceiling and sleek, black accents — is intended to be an extension of the original building, largely mimicking the feel of the space’s rooftop deck, said Steele.

“[The expansion] is for those people who are a little bit bigger [than a co-working space allows] but still want a collaborative workspace,” she explained.

A block-wide innovation project, Copaken-Brooks also broke ground in Janurary on Reverb — a $40 million, 14-story, 132 unit apartment building just north of the original Corrigan Station building.

The project could help enable entrepreneurs to live where they work, Steel added.

Arterra, the most recently completed luxury-apartment project for Copaken-Brooks, opened in April on Wyandotte Street in the Crossroads.

Leasing of the Corrigan Station expansion’s private and customizable office suites — which include balconies with views of the Kansas City skyline — is well under way, Steel said.

The building is expected to open in June.

Click here for Corrigan Station leasing information.

[adinserter block="4"]

2019 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Google Fiber opens business, consumer signups in Olathe

    By Tommy Felts | August 12, 2015

    Google on Tuesday opened signups for Google Fiber throughout eastern Olathe. Residents and businesses of 13 “fiberhoods” can signup now through Sept. 24 for Google Fiber’s services, which include Gigabit, Gigabit + TV, Basic Internet or the small business service. The company Google Fiber launched their small business service in Kansas City in 2014. With…

    TEDx ‘breaks through’ in Wyandotte County

    By Tommy Felts | August 11, 2015

    This year, TEDxWyandotte seeks to break down barriers in their urban community. Wyandotte County, Kan., a community known for its diversity and urban challenges, is currently in a state of transition. The county as a whole is working towards neighborhood and school improvements, ultimately hoping to claim a new position in the Kansas City metropolitan.…

    KC firm Handy Camel raising $600K for invention workshop

    By Tommy Felts | August 11, 2015

    What do sheep farming and innovation have to do with one another? Quite a lot, if North Kansas City-based Handy Camel is any indication. Since he was a boy, Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray has fostered an innovative ethos, creating a number of doodads to make his work easier as a sheep farmer in New Zealand.…

    Rawxies founder: ‘I didn’t give up’ on fundraising in KC

    By Tommy Felts | August 10, 2015

    Vegan snack manufacturer Rawxies is en route to closing a funding round that will significantly increase its production. The Kansas City-based company has now raised $512,000 of its seed round, which will boost manufacturing of its raw, vegan snacks by roughly 400 percent. Investors thus far include England’s family, Liz and Brian Kelly, the Women’s…