ULI Hines Student Competition
January 2021
The Prairie builds on the history of Kansas City and the future of agronomy to establish the East Village as the home of the North American Food Innovation Hub. Integrating research and implementation to address climate change and population growth, biotech and food sciences, the global reach of the NAFI Hub will guide strategies to feed the world while providing a new contributor to the constellation of Kansas City’s landmark neighborhoods.
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Poised along the edge of the CBD and the Paseo West, The Prairie will host the NAFI Hub and a range of activities, businesses, and residential options that both support the NAFI and enhance the surrounding neighborhoods. The development program, which will continuously remain sensitive to on-the-ground needs, posits a diversity of building uses centered around residential life distinguished by unique public green spaces, economic connectivity, and pedestrian interaction to create a flourishing urban ecosystem.
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The Prairie‘s signature Prairie park spans across the I-70, weaving together the urban fabric of Kansas City’s Greater Downtown Area uniting both physically and psychologically the neighborhoods currently fragmented by the ring of highways. A fulcrum to unification, the Prairie serves as a living laboratory for the NAFI, metaphorically and tangibly representing the role of Kansas City as the crossroads of the country and its history as a major hub for agricultural and industrial activity.
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The blocks of The Prairie district embody that spirit, representing in physical form the NAFI’s new strategy to transform the centralized distribution paradigm of agriculture to a local model for a healthy and sustainable future. Embedded in the Prairie, vertical farms, which use far less land and 90% less water than traditional farming, will yield high quality fresh produce for the city year-round, provide new employment opportunities, and reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
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Serving as a dynamic host to research facilities and grow-houses, the NAFI works as the command center for the leading innovators in Biotech and Food Sciences.
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Located along Charlotte street, accommodations for a Tech Incubator and Maker Space will further diversify the project’s economic activity and promote cross-sector collaboration. These facilities will provide the infrastructure and educational support to local growers and establish a new form of industry, stimulating adaptive reuse of surplus infrastructure in adjacent neighborhoods and promoting a healthy and equitable Kansas City.
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Further invigorating the community is a thriving new mixed-use corridor along Holmes Street that derives its live-work ethos from the American Main Street model to foster a vibrant community replete with unique ground level retail and a mix of office and residential space. Thus, converting Prairie district into a walkable, sustainable neighborhood of economic, ethnic, generational, and social diversity. The Prairie establishes a new precedent of urban agriculture, making possible the idea of a "bread-basket" for every city. With 2,400 new jobs driving economic growth and the iconic Prairie linking Paseo West and the CBD, The Prairie will become a landmark neighborhood for Kansas City, setting the global standard for innovation and urban food independence.