Mayor Joe Reardon and Mayor Sly James shared their vision and message on regional collaboration during Colliers International annual Commercial Real Estate Forecast Event held at the downtown Marriott.
Moderated by James Heeter, CEO and President of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the mayors fielded several questions, in a panel discussion format, that covered topics ranging from attracting business and issues surrounding the perception of a border war to ideas on how we can obtain the goal of making Kansas City the most entrepreneurial city in the country
"I've lived in Kansas City, Kansas all my life. I've seen the fighting for a long time between the city and county." Reardon said. "So I see some similarities in this border war - I don't even like using the word. Mission number 1 is to talk about it in a different way and think about it in a different way that helps us become competitive with other cities."
"The importance of cooperation is obvious. For far too long we've focused on the things that divide us. It's not about Kansas City, Missouri, Wyandotte County and Johnson County. The concept of city's being independent silos is facing and thinking more collaborative approach is on the rise," James said.
A presentation of the current state of the local, national, and international economy was also provided by Kiernan Conway, Executive Managing Director of Colliers International. Conway provided projections on where the nation is headed as far as growth.
"The growth is in agriculture and manufacturing. We need to revisit all our perceptions. 2012 is the year for warehouse and not so much retail," said Conway.
Information courtesy of Unified Government
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