What Is Project Kestrel in Kansas City?
By Joe Nelson, Retired Air Force, Nelson Home Group Team Leader and Mortgage Loan Originator
Project Kestrel is the code name for a planned data center campus north of Kansas City International Airport. Port KC approved up to $100 billion in taxable revenue bonds for it in August 2025, a Google linked company bought 430 acres for it in March 2026, and industry reporting says it has been awarded a 35 year tax exemption. What it does not have is a public confirmation from Google, publicly confirmed site work, or a completion date. If it proceeds at the scale described, it would be one of the largest proposed technology investments in this region’s history. Here is exactly where it stands as of August 2026.
The full breakdown of both Northland projects is in the video.
Own a home in the Northland, or thinking about buying one? If you want a straight answer on what the data center boom means for your situation, call me at (816) 680-6624 or email [email protected].
KW KC North Office: (816) 452-4200
What has actually been approved for Project Kestrel?
Axios reported the developer has 35 years to repay whatever it borrows.
Two things are approved, and it is worth being precise about what each one is.
First, financing authority. Port KC approved up to $100 billion in taxable revenue bonds in August 2025. That is permission for the developer to borrow private money through the port authority, and Axios laid out the structure plainly: the port acts as a broker between private investors and the developer, no public dollars are involved, and the developer is on the hook for repaying all the borrowed money within 35 years. The $100 billion is a ceiling on what may be borrowed. It is not a check anyone has written, and it is not a construction budget any company has published.
Second, incentives. Per Data Center Dynamics, the project has been awarded a 35 year exemption on real and personal property taxes plus an exemption on sales taxes for construction material. The executed agreements themselves are not public, which is why I attribute those terms to reporting rather than stating them flatly. Worth noting that this 35 is a different 35 from the bond repayment term above. They are two separate clocks that happen to run the same length.
Port KC’s announcement projects more than $110 million in new tax revenue across all phases over the bond term. The first payment, $2.62 million, is earmarked over the first five years for the northland school districts’ new Northland Career Center. The announcement also describes a workforce charge of $0.25 for every square foot built, an estimated $15.75 million toward training the area’s workforce.
Who is behind Project Kestrel?
Shenandoah Computing LLC. Axios named it as the developer back at the August 2025 bond approval, and in March 2026 Shenandoah Computing purchased 430 acres from Hunt Midwest for the site. Data Center Dynamics describes it as a Delaware company known to be associated with Google, and notes it is the same entity behind filings for other confirmed Google developments.
Google itself has never publicly claimed Kestrel. As of the most recent reporting, Google has yet to publicly comment on the project. That silence is normal in this industry, where hyperscalers routinely build behind shell entities and code names, but it means every “Google’s $100 billion data center” headline is running ahead of what Google has actually said. If you are trying to sort out which Northland project is which, I walk the map in my companion post on where Google is actually building its Kansas City data center.
One geographic detail from the public record, and it is the most specific thing available anywhere. Shenandoah Computing’s Missouri air permit application, dated August 15, 2025, describes a facility at the southwest corner of Highway 92 and North Wian Avenue in Platte City, in Platte County. The application covers emergency backup generators at a proposed light industrial facility, which is the kind of paperwork that comes before construction rather than after it.
Why do people oppose Project Kestrel?
The Port KC bond vote passed with one no vote, from Commissioner Morgan Said.
The opposition is on the record and it is not fringe.
Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker put out a press release on October 27, 2025 saying he cannot support Project Kestrel. His objections were specific: the project as structured gives massive property and sales tax subsidies to one of the world’s largest and richest corporations, the water and electricity demands of six hyperscale data centers will drive up utility rates for ordinary households and small businesses, and it is not clear how the projected $110 million in tax revenue actually reaches Platte County residents.
At Port KC itself, the bond vote passed with one no vote. Commissioner Morgan Said told Axios that data centers require astronomical amounts of electricity and water and create a minimal number of permanent jobs. Her words, not mine.
Supporters have a real answer. Port KC’s announcement says the development will deliver critical public infrastructure enhancements including water, fiber, and road networks, and that the developer has committed to drawing a minimum of 50% of its energy from carbon free resources and to replacing more water than it consumes.
On jobs, be precise, because two different numbers circulate and they are counting different things. Port KC estimates roughly 50 high paying jobs per phase with average annual salaries above $100,000. Axios, reporting from the board meeting, quoted an estimate that each building could employ more than 200 people once contracted security and trade workers are included. Permanent staff and everyone on site are not the same measurement, and neither number is wrong.
Both sides of this fight have a real point, which is why it has played out in public meetings instead of press releases. Whether any of it lands on your Evergy bill is its own question, and I take that apart in my post on whether data centers will raise Kansas City electric bills.
When will Project Kestrel be built?
Port KC’s announcement said construction on the first phase was set to begin in 2026, and Shenandoah Computing filed its state air permit application in August 2025. Axios described a build out of six buildings over roughly 20 years. As of August 2026, the public record does not confirm whether site work has begun, and no completion date exists anywhere.
The plan itself is still moving. Port KC described six hyperscale data centers totaling up to 1.8 million square feet on 379 acres inside the KCI-29 industrial mega site. Data Center Dynamics reported in March 2026 that current plans call for five buildings of 500,000 square feet each in phased construction, with a 44.2 acre section to be delivered to Evergy for an on site substation. Note that the 430 acres purchased and the 379 acre campus in Port KC’s plan are not the same figure either.
Until the record settles, treat every timeline as provisional. The tells I am watching: Google saying the name Kestrel out loud, an issued air permit rather than a filed application, active city permits and inspections, and confirmed dirt moving north of the airport.
| Date | What happened |
| August 2025 | Port KC approves up to $100 billion in taxable revenue bonds, with one dissenting vote |
| August 2025 | Shenandoah Computing files a Missouri air permit application for a site at Highway 92 and North Wian Avenue near Platte City |
| October 2025 | Platte County’s presiding commissioner publicly opposes the project’s tax subsidies |
| March 2026 | Shenandoah Computing buys 430 acres from Hunt Midwest |
| August 2026 (today) | No Google confirmation, no publicly confirmed site work, no completion date |
Last verified: August 26, 2026.
Sources: Port KC, Axios, Data Center Dynamics, Missouri DNR, Platte County Commission.
What does Project Kestrel mean for nearby homeowners?
Kestrel sits in Platte County. Google’s confirmed campus is in Clay County.
My advice is simple. Do not make a housing decision based on a project whose construction the public record has not confirmed.
If Kestrel proceeds at the scale Port KC described, it would be one of the region’s largest proposed technology investments, and it would drive road, water, and fiber work north of the airport for a generation. If it stalls, the land sits there and life goes on. Platte County’s housing market has its own momentum either way, and I break the county level numbers down in my Platte County market report and across the metro in my Kansas City market update.
The research on data centers and home prices points to effects concentrated close to a site rather than spread across a whole metro, and I take that evidence apart in this week’s companion post on whether data centers lower home values.
If you are weighing a Northland purchase while this plays out, the practical move is the one I laid out in my guide to what Google’s data center means for Kansas City homeowners: know which project is which, and pull the zoning on the parcels around the house before you write an offer. I work the Northland from Smithville and Liberty through Gladstone and Kansas City proper, and you can start your own home search any time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Project Kestrel a Google data center?
Industry reporting ties Project Kestrel to Google through Shenandoah Computing LLC, the Delaware company that is the named developer and that bought the land, but Google has never publicly confirmed the project. As of August 2026, calling it a Google data center is an inference, not a confirmed fact.
How big would Project Kestrel be?
Port KC approved up to $100 billion in taxable revenue bond authority, and Shenandoah Computing purchased 430 acres north of KCI. Port KC’s announcement described six hyperscale buildings totaling up to 1.8 million square feet on a 379 acre site plan, while March 2026 reporting described five buildings of 500,000 square feet each. The plan is still moving.
Did Project Kestrel get tax breaks?
Yes, per industry reporting: a 35 year exemption on real and personal property taxes and an exemption on sales taxes for construction material. Port KC projects more than $110 million in new tax revenue across all phases over the bond term. The incentives drew public opposition from Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker and a dissenting vote at Port KC.
Has construction started on Project Kestrel?
The public record does not confirm it. Port KC said the first phase was set to begin in 2026 and a state air permit application was filed in August 2025, but as of August 2026 there is no public confirmation of site work, no Google confirmation, and no completion date.
What would confirm that Project Kestrel is actually moving forward?
A named operator, an issued state air permit rather than a filed application, active city permits and inspections, and visible site work would move it beyond financing authority and land ownership. Right now the public record does not settle those points, which is why I treat Kestrel as a plan rather than a project.
Ready to Talk?
If you own a home near either Northland site, or you are deciding whether to buy while this boom plays out, that is a fifteen minute conversation with somebody who watches this market daily. No pressure, no script, just a straight answer about your street.
Call: (816) 680-6624
KW KC North Office: (816) 452-4200
Email: [email protected]
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