The Bannister Federal Complex, built in 1942, is a 310-acre federal complex located at 1500 E. Bannister Road in Kansas City, Missouri.

This complex is 13 miles south of downtown Kansas City and approximately 18 miles south of Kansas City’s International Airport (MCI). It is one mile west of Interstate 435 -- bordered by Bannister Road on the south side, railroad tracks on the north side, the Blue River on the east and Troost Avenue on the west.

For facility-related questions, please contact the Kansas City South Field Office located in Building 50 of the Bannister Federal Complex.

The complex is more than five million square feet and is controlled both by GSA (slightly more than two million square feet) and the Department of Energy (three million square feet). To protect the complex from flood damage, a one hundred year flood protection wall was built along the south end of the complex, accompanied by a levee design on the east side.

General Building InformationThe Bannister Federal Complex is open weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visitors to complex must have a valid, government issued ID and be escorted at all times. Most building amenities are found on the Mall Level of the main manufacturing building (GSA Building #1).

Parking

Open parking lots are located at the north and west sides of the complex. Access to reserved parking spaces require agency approval and completion of the appropriate parking form. For information on reserved parking, contact the Kansas City South Field Office.

Cafeteria

Breakfast is served weekday mornings from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., lunch from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Barber Shop

The Barber Shop provides haircuts for both military and civilians. It is open weekdays from 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome.

Snack Shop

The snack shop sells a variety of snacks and sundries including greeting cards, magazines and lottery tickets. It is open weekdays, 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Mazuma Credit Union

The Mazuma Credit Union operates from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Monday-Thursday. On Friday, the credit union is open from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Seven tenants currently occupy space in the Bannister Federal Complex, including the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, United States Navy, National Archives Records and Administration, Department of Energy and GSA. Each department uses the buildings for office space, warehouse, assembly or testing facilities.

History

Before the federal government constructed the federal complex in 1942, the land was home to Kansas City’s premiere wooden racetrack -- a sporting venture that quickly proved too costly to maintain. It was World War II, however, that ultimately lead to the construction of the large facility for the manufacturing of Pratt and Whitney airplane engines.

Following the victory in Japan, the plant was closed and sat vacant until 1949. That's when Westinghouse began to lease the space and build private jet engines. Many of the jet engines built by Westinghouse were used during the Korean conflict.

After the Westinghouse lease ended, the Bannister Complex became home to the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (formerly connected to the Atomic Energy Commission) and their Kansas City Plant. The portion of the complex not used by the Kansas City Plant has been converted to office space and storage for the other agencies.

More than 13,000 federal employees and contractors worked at the facility during its peak, post-war production times.

Future Plans

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relocated from the Bannister Complex in October of 2006 and moved about 2,500 jobs to a new facility near Union Station in downtown Kansas City. The National Archives has plans to move to downtown Kansas City by the end of 2008, and Defense Finance Accounting Services intends to relocate from Bannister within the next two years, leaving a significant amount of vacant space.

Although the departure of the National Archives and Defense Finance Accounting Services represent the loss of many jobs and a sharp increase in vacancy rates, the Department of Energy's recent decision to relocate will have the greatest impact on the Bannister Federal Complex and surrounding area.

The Department of Energy occupies more than three million square feet of building space and employs more than 2,000 workers. GSA still employs nearly 800 people in the western portion of the Complex, but it is not enough to keep the facility occupied and running efficiently.

GSA plans to relocate the remaining agencies beginning in 2008. Once all tenants have relocated, the Bannister Federal Complex will have more than five million square feet of space that will need to be assessed and evaluated for potential re-use options.

The shortcut to this page is www.gsa.gov/bannisterfedcomplex.