KANSAS CITY — This month marks the centennial of the opening of the 12th Street Trafficway linking the West Bottoms to downtown. And thanks to that connection, property owners in the West Bottoms say the area is experiencing a renaissance.

One hundred-seventy five businesses now call the West Bottoms home, and they’re working together to further growth for the commercial hub.

“We’re seeing residential folks coming to the area to live,” said John Krumme, president of Historic West Bottoms. “We’ll see more retail. Our restaurants are growing. There’s new things happening here in Livestock Exchange Building as well. It will be a mixed use of new people to the area.”

Property owners say the revitalization of downtown Kansas City is now spilling over into the West Bottoms, with businesses, developers and shop owners attracted to the lower costs and easy access to a central location.

Antique stores that are open only on First Friday weekends increasingly are calling the West Bottoms home.  And new construction is bringing in restaurants and housing.

“We’re now on the map,” Krumme said. “We’ve always been here, but we are coming back strong like so much revitalization.”

As the area continues to grow, property owners are lobbying for more infrastructure improvements to the district. Thanks to rehabilitation of the 12th Street Trafficway, people here say there’s more traffic using it than it’s seen in many years.

With the West Bottoms in both Missouri and Kansas, property owners say success here helps both Kansas Cities thrive and prosper.

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