Lightwell Building (formerly City Center Square) is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

Downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, built by

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

, in the

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

of 1977. It occupies the entire block of 11th Street to 12th Street, and from Main Street to Baltimore Street. Its tower is 30 stories tall, constructed with a reinforced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

evident by the look of the exterior. It is the tenth-tallest habitable structure in the

Kansas City Metropolitan Area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

, and the fifteenth-tallest habitable structure in

at . In 2003, the property was appraised at $38 million when Citigroup underwrote a $29 million loan. Net operating income was $3.1 million. As the real estate market rose, the property was re-appraised in February 2005 for $60 million and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) underwrote a $44 million 10-year loan. This loan went delinquent in April 2010. An August 2010 appraisal estimated property value at $38 million, below the $41 million remaining principal. City Center Square was renamed to the Lightwell Building in 2019.City Center Square owners seek Port KC incentives for redevelopment
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Features

Lightwell is not only a business office but also a hotspot for

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

in the

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

area. The building is tall and stands out; the bottom floors "layer" from small to larg

adding to the uniqueness of the building. Food services includes

Jason's Deli Jason's Deli is an American chain of fast casual restaurants founded in 1976 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Joe Tortorice, Jr. There are currently over 240 locations in 27 states. The menu includes sandwiches, wraps, baked potatoes, pasta, soups, sa ...

. The food court is being remodeled into a food hal

Also included for convenience is a fitness center and a conference room. The building is in the lease up mode with having over in new, renewed or expanded leases in 2008.

References

Restaurant and convenience guide
* Kansas City, Missouri; An Architectural History, 1826–1990. (Copyright 1992). George Ehrlich. Retrieved August 15, 2007. (Page 166)

External links

* Skyscraper office buildings in Kansas City, Missouri Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings Office buildings completed in 1978 Downtown Kansas City {{Missouri-struct-stub