Coming to I-29 and NW 112th Street
A government agency will spend $102 million leasing a new facility located in Platte County over the next twenty years.
For decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s field office in Kansas City has been located downtown at 1300 Summit St., near Mulkey Square Park.
But that will change come fall of 2023 when the FBI will be moving into a facility to be constructed in Platte County at Interstate 29 and NW 112th Street.
The facility will go in just north of the Kansas City Police Department’s North Patrol station in that area.
The U.S. General Services Administration recently signed a lease agreement procuring a parcel of land in the interest of the FBI that is approximately 14.3 acres of property along Northwest Prairie View Road at the southwest corner of NW 112th Street and I-29.
The spot along in the KCI Corridor will serve as the FBI’s new Kansas City field office.
The lease is with US Federal Properties, a real estate firm that leases to the U.S. federal government and its agencies, according to Alison Kohler, regional public affairs officer for the U.S. General Services Administration. The new property will provide 136,910 square feet of office space for a term of 20 years with an option to extend.
One explanation for moving to the KCI corridor is the benefit of having more people in-house, which improves internal communication.
“The new facility will allow the FBI Kansas City to have the majority of all our employees within the KC Metropolitan area under one roof,” said Bridget Patton, public affairs specialist for the FBI.
In addition to its main office in Kansas City, the FBI has eight satellite offices in the region, including: Joplin, Jefferson City, St. Joseph, Springfield, Garden City, Manhattan, Topeka, Wichita.
When the FBI laid roots in Kansas City in the early 1900s, agents tracked down bank robbers and sought fugitives, like Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The threatening era of bank robbers and gangsters was instantly taken more seriously by the Kansas City Massacre in June of 1933. Raymond Caffrey, a Kansas City special agent, was one of four officers killed when gunfire erupted outside of Union Train Station.
Between 1940 and 1960, the FBI focused on large-scale thefts, kidnapping, extortion, and capturing fugitives, like Glen Wright, a former member of the notorious Karpis-Barker gang. They knew they needed the public’s assistance in tracking down some of the most dangerous criminals and launched the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program. During a 10-year period, Kansas City agents captured Franklin Alltop, Henry Young, Duane Pope, Ralph Owen, Robert Van Lewing, and Clyde Laws.
From 1960 to 1969, the FBI’s workforce grew from 73 agents to 121 agents and 43 support personnel to 71 support personnel. Once organized crime cases began to surge, agents pursued mobsters and mob bosses that controlled it, including Nicholas Civella. The prominent leader was convicted on illegal gambling charges and sent to prison. A wiretap recording between Civella and his bookie during Super Bowl IV was enough evidence to convict him.
During the 1980s and 1990s, local agents continued to investigate mob families and drug gangs. Frequently wiretaps were used to prove material facts in large-scale conspiracies. Faced with an influx of white-collar crimes, vehicle thefts, and public corruption, agents attuned their casework to investigate and solve these kinds of cases.
Throughout the FBI’s 101-year history in Kansas City, agents have investigated and helped solve many notable cases including, Khalid Ouazzani, who swore allegiance to Al Qaeda, and Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer.
Unlike a century ago, when FBI agents investigated violations of the White Slave Trade Act, also called the Mann Act, and Selective Service Act, today’s investigative programs are much more expansive and have adapted to a broad range of categories.
In recent years, “the FBI’s investigative programs include terrorism, counterintelligence, cybercrimes, public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, white collar crime, and violent crime,” said Patton.
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