Midwest Commercial Hall of Fame: Copaken Brooks’ Jon Copaken

Each year, Midwest Real Estate News highlights the successful careers of the region’s top commercial professionals in its Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame issue. This year, we are also running these profiles online. Today, we look at the success enjoyed by Jon Copaken, principal with Copaken Brooks in Kansas City, Missouri.

Years in the business: 25

A champion of downtown Kansas City: Jon Copaken has played a major role in the rejuvenation of downtown Kansas City. He’s currently responsible for two new development projects here, Corrigan Station and Arterra, both in the Crossroads area of downtown.

Corrigan Station is a 140,000-square-foot development that includes the rehabilitation of a historic office building and construction of a 277-car parking garage. The second phase of this development is now underway, including a new mixed-use building. Arterra is a 126-unit luxury high-rise apartment project, the first of its kind in the Crossroads district.

Seeing projects such as these come to life is what Copaken finds so inspiring about the commercial real estate business.

“I love the challenges of creating something where nothing existed before, as well as the valuable relationships you build to get there,” Copaken said.

Earning the Gold: Copaken also led the team on the redevelopment of the 55,000-square-foot Kirkwood Building for Service Management Group. This project was the first restoration project in Kansas City to achieve LEED Gold certification.

The Plaza Colonnade is another major achievement. Copaken led the development of this 345,000-square-foot mixed-use project that includes an office tower, library facility, parking garage and retail building on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

Collaboration is key: “I always seek to collaborate, and I understand that only through a solid team effort can success be achieved,” Copaken said. “I’m also able to work with that team to develop a vision. I’m proud of my ability to be persistent and surround myself with the necessary resources to achieve goals when others are willing to give up.”

Giving back: Copaken is active in several civic and economic development organizations. He is especially focused on working to boost the future of downtown Kansas City, and is often found working on issues affecting the urban core of the community.

Copaken serves on the board of directors for Art in the Loop, the Kansas City Streetcar Authority and the Downtown Council of Kansas City. He’s also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and is active in the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Honors: Copaken was honored on the Power 100 list from 2014 through 2017 by the Kansas City Business Journal. He is also an alumnus of the Kansas City Chamber Centurions Leadership Program.

Out-of-office hours: When not building in Kansas City, Copaken enjoys spending time with his family, attending his children’s sporting events, coaching his children’s sports teams, skiing, playing tennis and traveling.