KC NExT Phase 1 Construction Nears Midway Point
Looking to the east of the Kansas City National Security (KCNSC) Main Campus, you can see foundations forming and beams rising. Favorable weather conditions since the August 2024 commencement have made for good construction progress by the site developer on the Phase 1 office building of the Kansas City Non-Nuclear Expansion Transformation (KC NExT) project.
Leaders from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its partner groups gathered last week to watch the final structural steel beam being set in place on the Phase 1 office building at a special Topping Out Ceremony. The event provided an opportunity to congratulate Promontory 150’s construction trades for working more than 68,000 hours with zero days lost due to illness/injury.
The developer-led construction of Phase 1 of KC NExT's multi-phased approach is scheduled to be completed in mid-2026. It is envisioned a new Phase will be completed every year for at least the next decade after the delivery of the Phase 1 office building. The phased approach to construction allows adjustments to out-year phases as mission needs change. Each delivery phase will provide incremental capability and capacity gains for the Nuclear Security Enterprise.
The KCNSC expansion will add approximately 2M sq ft of state-of-the-art manufacturing and office space that is needed to continue ensuring a safe, secure, and reliable U.S. nuclear deterrent in an increasingly complex global security environment. NNSA's initial Phase 1 investment will support a projected annual economic impact of $187M for Missouri businesses and an average of 1,250 jobs during each year of construction, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
KCNSC has a legacy of serving a critical role in national security, producing 80% of the non-nuclear parts in the nuclear weapons for the past 75 years. The workload has grown significantly since the Main Campus's opening in 2014, and the workforce has grown from 2,500 to nearly 7,000 employees. This new expansion will help KCNSC meet growing mission demands and space needs to accommodate employees currently located at other facilities and potential future workforce growth.
“This agile infrastructure strategy enables the NNSA, and subsequently KCNSC, to adapt to future mission and workforce demands by delivering complete and usable facilities at the end of each phase,” said Kingsley Edwards, NNSA Kansas City Field Office, Assistant Manager of Support Operations.
The result will be a modern facility with a lasting impact to both national security and the local economy for decades to come. As always, it will proudly be built in Kansas City.
