Kansas City intermodal hub moves forward
The Kansas City Council on Thursday approved a committee's recommendation to transfer the former Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport to the Port Authority of Kansas City, Mo.
The $6.5 million sale will allow the 1,400-acre property to become an intermodal hub where freight could transfer between trucks and Kansas City Southern's existing line to Mexico.
The property began life in 1943 as Grandview Airport until 1952 when the city conveyed the airport's 1,800 acres to the U.S. Defense Command. Renamed Grandview AFB, the name changed to Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1957. The base closed in 1994 and reverted to a civilian airport that kept the Richards-Gebaur name. In 1999, Kansas City voters approved a proposal to build a rail-to-truck transfer facility at the airport. Kansas City, Mo.-based KCS opened a motor vehicle distribution center at the airport in 2000.
Officials estimate that the facility will generate more than $36 million in annual economic benefits for the city from the railroad's use of the facility.