KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Construction crews will perform a topping out ceremony at the new Cerner Trails Campus on Friday and the ceremony will mark the first milestone for a massive economic development project in east Kansas City.

Governor Jay Nixon calls the $4.45 billion project the largest economic development project in Missouri’s history. The project calls for 16 total buildings to be built along the 290 acres of land over the next ten years. In addition, it is expected to bring 16,000 jobs to the area.

Cerner will spend $2.7 in private funds to help make the project a reality. They will also use nearly $1.7-billion in  TIF and other reimbursements earned from building on a blighted area.

Once built, the campus is expected to bring in tens of millions of dollars in property and income taxes to the area that will boost the economy as well as benefit the Hickman Mills School District. City officials say the project has already sparked retail and other office development in the surrounding areas.

Cerner broke ground on the project a year and a half ago and now, the first two buildings are up. The topping out ceremony is expected to begin at 9 a.m., Friday. Crews will put the final beams on both buildings – one is eleven stories, the other is eight stories. Then they will finish the interior. The Governor and Mayor are expected be in attendance for the ceremony.

New employees won’t begin moving to the new campus until next February, so there is still a lot of work and a lot of time before this new Cerner complex is up and running.