Construction is now underway at Cerner’s new campus near the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Once completed, the $190 million development will contain two nine-story buildings on a 660,000 square-foot campus and employ thousands of people.
Cerner, based in North Kansas City, considered several sites on both sides of the state line for its additional campus. Ultimately, the medical software giant decided on a spot at the corner of Village West Parkway and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan. The state provided $230 million in incentives for the project and for the nearby soccer stadium.
Joe Reardon, mayor of Wyandotte County (which includes Kansas City, Kan.), says the campus will be a huge boost for the region, amounting to “the single largest job creating activity in the history of this city.”
Cerner currently employs more than 6,000 people locally, but the new campus will add 4,000 new workers over a span of ten years. Company co-founder, Cliff Illig, says employees at the new campus will oversee Cerner’s health IT systems that are in place around the country.
“In 2013 when this campus opens, the people here will be responsible for the continuous operations of more than 30 percent of U.S. health care,” says Illig.
Mayor Reardon, meanwhile, says the challenge and opportunity will be in preparing local students to take on those positions.
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