Carl Yaeger Celebrates 25 Years with Firm

Katie Gall on May 29, 2020

The year is 1995: Toy Story is about to make its national theatrical debut, the OJ Simpson Case is in full swing, and Michael Jordan returns to basketball. In Kansas City, Carl Yaeger joined our firm creating Devine deFlon Yaeger Architects (DDY) which has evolved over the course of two decades to Yaeger Architecture.

One of the first projects Carl brought to our firm, and Kansas City, was Stations Casino. This experience placed DDY on the map in the hospitality and entertainment sector, spurring a pinball effect of other destination projects for years after.

Following the Stations Casino project, our firm completed architecture, planning, and design for Ameristar Casinos, Harrah’s, Lumiere Resort, M Resort, and Hollywood casinos, among others.

In 1996, Carl sought out the abandoned Uptown Theater, a Kansas City architectural relic, to house our growing architectural operations. The design and subsequent restoration of the building returned it to a, once-again, premier entertainment venue and decorated landmark.

Shortly thereafter, Carl announced a new project that would solidify the firm’s practice in the destination, entertainment, and sports markets. Carl represented the firm as principal-in-charge of the Sydney Olympic Stadium project which opened in time for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. The $200 million, 15,000+ seat stadium was designed under Carl’s management.

In the late 90s, the firm was selected for its biggest corporate project yet. We provided architectural services for the $785 million-dollar, 192-acre Sprint World Headquarters in Overland Park, KS. After 35 total buildings, almost four million square feet of corporate office space, were completed in 2002, the firm gained even more notoriety.

In 2009, the firm moved into Rosana Square, a suburban retail mall. This decision, led by Carl Yaeger, brought media attention for its surprising success — converting blank-box retail space into a unique, corporate office.

Today, Yaeger’s project base is represented both locally and nationally, having completed projects in more than 30 states and a dozen countries. Select project highlights include the Legends at Sparks Marina (Nevada), Visitation Catholic Church in Kansas City, the Legends at Village West in KCK, the Landsdowne Stadium Complex Redevelopment in Ireland, 909 Walnut Apartments in downtown KCMO, Hollywood Casino in KCK and now Chicken N Pickle in Overland Park and other cities across the country.

Carl’s strong relations with existing clients and professional approach to the projects has led to an amazing 25 years for our firm. Under Carl’s continued leadership, Yaeger Architecture is committed to guiding clients, complex teams, and projects through the design and construction process to completion of defined goals for years to come.