Trent Skaggs, the senior vice president of strategic planning/corporate compliance, says HMC/CAH is excited about the growth of downtown, which was a pull to moving the company back to the area.  “We are a growing company and the office space at City Center Square gives us room to grow,” said Skaggs.  “With many of our staff members living in the Northland and Johnson County, the downtown area was a great split in a central location.”

The Downtown Council of Kansas City estimates that more than 100,000 employees work in the greater downtown area which holds approximately 14 million square feet of real estate of multi and single tenant leases.  Michael Hurd, director of marketing for the Downtown Council of Kansas City, said, “Downtown Kansas City is an ideal location for business relocations.  The area is in the midst of an amazing revitalization and more than 5.5 billion dollars has been invested in the past six years to make it a livable, walkable and enjoyable district.”

The 650,000 square foot, Class A building provides a vast array of luxury services and amenities that attracted HMC/CAH.  City Center Square has a full-service fitness center, valet parking, new parking garage, conference facilities, on-site ATM and downtown’s most popular food court, making the office building an urban sanctuary for businesses.

Read the Business Journal article at: http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2008/12/15/daily24.html

Kansas City, Mo. – As a part of its continuing efforts to help revitalize and beautify downtown Kansas City, on Oct. 18, City Center Square (www.citycentersquare.com) unveiled an installation art exhibit in one of its 12^th Street display windows by local artist Kati Toivanen.

The work of art was inspired by a requirement of one of City Center Square’s tenants, the US Post Office, to design their retail display window.  The Post Office and City Center Square worked with the Charlotte Street Organization and the Urban Culture Project to create a call for artists’ proposals and from the responses selected Ms. Toivanen’s proposal, “Commemorating the Everyday, Today.”

Phillip Gesue, director of acquisitions and development for Time Equities Inc., the company that owns City Center Square, saw the Urban Culture Project as a chance for residents and visitors of the downtown area to feel a connection to art and each other.  “Using public art to contribute to urban buildings creates an inviting and unique atmosphere for tenants and visitors in our office building and downtown Kansas City,” Gesue said, “Kati’s installation is an interesting display that reminds us how communication has changed with the growth of technology.”

Toivanen, winner of the Urban Culture Project contest, is also the recipient of the 2001 Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Award and UMKC assistant professor.  She describes her work as an installation exhibit inspired by postal-stamps representing the intimacy of delivered mail. “Physically sending sentiments by mail is an increasingly rare choice, and therefore it becomes a cherished and special occasion,” Toivanen said. Additionally, “The objects of my inspiration were sentimental objects in my home: my son’s marbles and bows from gifts we’ve received.  I am relieved and excited that the work is over and the exhibit is now displayed for people to see,” Toivanen said.

Radio Disney, known for representing major record labels including recording artists Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers and others, is slated to move its downtown Kansas City office to City Center Square October 1, 2008.  Tour City Center Square.

Bob Martin, station manager of Radio Disney, said that the station believes in the renaissance of the downtown area and feels that it will continue to grow in a positive way.  “We are dedicated to remaining downtown and feel that it will give us a competitive advantage for attracting talent,” said Martin. “City Center Square is ideally located for what we do.”

The station, devoted to kids, tweens and families, anticipates that City Center Square’s location in the heart of the city will help the station interact with its young audience and the community which is in close proximity to the charitable events that it regularly sponsors, including Kids for the Cure, Slugger Days at the K and The Sprint Family Fun Series.  Radio Disney also hosts weekly performances in the Power & Light District just a few blocks away from the commercial high-rise office building. 

Susan Moore, general manager of City Center Square, welcomes the kid-friendly radio station to the building.  “Radio Disney is a wonderful organization and we’re looking forward to the youthful and creative presence that the station will bring,” said Moore. 

City Center Square is an office retail building locally managed by Grubb & Ellis|The Winbury Group. Tenants range from the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association to the Kansas City Business Journal. Office space is available and can be customized to accommodate tenants’ needs. Prime location, parking availability and facility upgrades make City Center Square an optimal choice for businesses that want to be part of the new entertainment district. For more information, visit www.citycentersquare.com.

City Center Square selected UMKC assistant professor, Kati Toivanen, through a public request for artist proposals from an extensive list of local artists provided by the Urban Culture Project. She will showcase her design “Commemorating the Everyday, Today.” This postal-inspired collection will be on display in the window at 12th and Main at summer’s end. “For me, the mail system is a beautiful metaphor for a private exchange trusted to a very public process,” said Toivanen. “Postage stamps adorning letters and cards represent a communal celebration of people, places, and events. Because physically sending mail is an increasingly rare choice, sharing sentiments this way is becoming more precious.”

See Toivanen’s recent work entitled “Domestic Debris.”

Phillip Gesue, director of acquisitions and development for Time Equities Inc., the company that owns City Center Square, said the request for artists generated many diverse, creative ideas. “Had we just gone to one artist, the solution would have been limited to their particular aesthetic or viewpoint. In this case, one particular artist came up with a creative solution for what at first seemed like a relatively staid project for the US Postal Service.”

City Center Square is an office retail building locally managed by Grubb & Ellis | The Winbury Group. Tenants range from the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association to the Kansas City Business Journal. Office space is available and can be customized to accommodate tenants’ needs. Prime location, parking availability and facility upgrades make City Center Square an optimal choice for businesses that want to be part of the new entertainment district. For more information, visitwww.citycentersquare.com.

An initiative of the Charlotte Street Foundation, the Urban Culture Project creates new opportunities for artists of all disciplines and contributes to urban revitalization by transforming spaces in downtown Kansas City into new venues for multi-disciplinary contemporary arts programming. For more information, visit www.urbancultureproject.org or email info@charlottestreet.org.

Executive Financial Partners (EFP), a holistic financial planning company, selected City Center Square as its new office building.

Take a tour of City Center Square. 

Roger Mathews, owner and founder of EFP, said his decision to locate to the professional high rise was about attracting the brightest and best talent.  “City Center Square’s reputation and state of the art amenities will enhance my recruiting efforts.  I believe in hiring fresh talent and facilitating education daily for the agents as a whole,” said Mathews.

The local entrepreneur added that he personally engages in training all employees on a daily basis.  “It’s not typical of the industry to invest in this type of training, but I know it’s best for our clients and allows our company to grow while maintaining the values on which in was founded,” said Mathews.

EFP is an independent financial firm with a holistic approach to finance.  EFP’s mission is to enhance the quality of life by protecting financial futures.  Agents have a multitude of experience and backgrounds including radio and advertising, to nursing and e-commerce. Each agent trains daily with Matthews, regardless of how long they have been with the company. 

Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company consolidated its Kansas City office and relocated to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earlier this year. A marketing team of 10 remained in Kansas City and moved into the retail office building.

Mike Sokolaski, Kansas City franchise owner of Golf Etc., said the decision to lease office space in City Center Square was easy. “It’s all about location. City Center Square is a high traffic area, convenient and equipped with 30 floors of business professionals to market to.”

Watch interview with golf pro shop owner at City Center Square location

Golf equipment isn’t all the pro shop offers. Virtual golf is the store’s most popular attraction for City Center Square tenants and urban business professionals. Golf enthusiasts are lining up on their lunch hour to play a round of nine on Pebble Beach and St. Andrew’s golf courses with Tiger Woods.

See virtual golf demo with Corey Fields, PGA professional at Golf Etc.

Golf Etc. is a golf retail shop located in City Center Square, offering club fittings, club repair, lessons, bag evaluations, virtual golf and swing analysis.