J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services is leaving south Kansas City and moving to Overland Park in 2011, taking 800 jobs to the Sprint Nextel campus.
The decision is another cross-border blow to Kansas City.
In October, the Kansas City Wizards and Cerner Corp. shifted to western Wyandotte County a soccer stadium and office development proposed for the former Bannister Mall.
A final deal with Kansas development officials is expected soon for the $414 million project at Village West, which would include 4,500 new Cerner jobs.
The J.P. Morgan relocation announced Tuesday will take with it a prestige company and the earnings tax paid by its employees. Kansas officials praised the move, but Missourians were disappointed and saw it as a setback for downtown. JPMorgan had been considering a location in the Town Pavilion.
"Missouri needs to step up its incentive programs," said Jeff Kaczmarek, president and CEO of the Kansas City Economic Development Corp. “We are in danger on the western frontier . . . look at all the deals going across the river."
Mayor Mark Funkhouser believes a major overhaul of the city's development agencies also may be in order.
"It's very disappointing news," he said. "We clearly have to improve our focus on business retention. Maybe we have to consider relooking at our entire process for economic development."
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