The twin towers of American Century Financial, theinstitution started by Jim Stowers, are two other impressive buildingsthat he has developed near the Plaza.The Stowers Institute sits on a 10-acre site that formerly was the homeof Menorah Hospital. Rather than raze the hospital, Stowers hired RickFortner, project superintendent for J.E. Dunn Construction the generalcontractor, to work with the existing framework.

"We researched this quite extensively and we proved to Mr. Stowersthat it would be cheaper to take it to the ground and come back,"Fortner says. "But he made the decision that, for historical reasonsand for Kansas City, he was going to leave part of Menorah Hospital forsentimental reasons."

The Stowers Institute, 1000 E. 50th St., will have 530,000 sfdedicated for research facilities, 90,000 sf for scientificsupport space, 70,000 sf for administrative offices and a 600space parking garage. Construction began in July 1998 and will becompleted over ten years. More than 600 construction workers and a total of2,500 people have been employed on the project.