History
One Kansas City Place was constructed as the first part of a much larger project named Kansas City Place, which never was completed. The project was to include townhomes, office towers, and residential/hotel towers. The Kansas City Place project was originally proposed during the real estate boom of the 1980s. The plan was developed by Frank Morgan and his uncle Sherman Dreiseszun who had earlier built Town Pavilion that was completed in 1986.
The tower was proposed for the South Loop (So-Lo) area south of downtown's central business district. The project included a plethora of skyscrapers with uses ranging from offices to hotels and residential buildings. Unsubstantiated claims hold that a major cause of the project's failure to come to its full stature was the complaints of residents, claiming it would ruin Kansas City's skyline, which remained largely unchanged for 30 years.
One Kansas City Place was to be the third tallest of several towers constructed, though it is the tallest that actually was constructed. Today, it is one of the most recognizable buildings in Kansas City's skyline.
Morgan and Dreiseszun (operating as DM Management) would see some of their banks fail in the wake of the project in the Savings and loan crisis. They would be indicted on federal charges of bid rigging to get government contracts. Morgan would die in 1993 and Dreiseszun would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and pay a fine of US$375,000.
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