Imagine you are driving in Kansas City’s East Side area and need to charge your electric vehicle (EV). You are out of luck. Currently there is not a single EV charging station in the area, and Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC) wants that to change. The organization is in talks with Kansas City-based engineering and construction firm Burns & McDonnell to add charging stations to a number of locations that serve its constituents.
“It’s about access, leveling the playing field and providing amenities to our communities that other areas of the city already have,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., president and CEO of CBKC.
Pierson met Kisa Caruthers, senior electrical engineer, and project manager for Burns & McDonnell, at an event in 2020 but it was not until November 2022 on a similar occasion that the conversation turned to electric vehicles.
“Emmet wanted to learn more about EV charging stations, as he had an interest in bringing them to the East Side community,” explained Caruthers. “After that conversation, there was further discussion with our Transportation Electrification team to learn about our expertise in electrification and our commitment to green energy accessibility. We then began to develop a conceptual design for EV charging stations that would serve the needs of the community.”
Burns & McDonnell’s conceptual designs would provide access for public, fast-charging sites for three CBKC locations. One is planned for the Offices at Overlook District, the mixed-use development now underway that is comprised of Class A office space, mixed-use property and multi-family units at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Chestnut Ave. The plans for this site include an innovative canopy covering with colored panels that reflect and refract light giving it a kaleidoscope effect as shown in the photo.
Another charging site would be positioned at the CBKC headquarters at 4001 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and a third would sit at the north end of the Sun Fresh Grocery Store parking lot. All the sites would serve residents, customers, and employees of their respective locations as well as drivers along the corridor and traffic traveling on 71 Hwy. and Interstate 435 who need to plug in.
Electric vehicle adoption in the United States has soared in recent years with the increasing availability of affordable models. Since 2020, sales have increased 188 percent; 60 percent over last year alone, from 1 million to 1.6 million electric cars sold according to Market Watch. With lower costs comes greater accessibility, and Pierson wants his community to be prepared.
“At this point, plans are conceptual, and funding would need to be addressed before we could advance to the design and construction stage,” said Pierson, “but we are optimistic and enthusiastic about bringing EV charging stations to our community with Burns & McDonnell as our partner,” said Pierson.