Keeping up with the Kansas City area’s breakneck industrial surge can be tantamount to a roller-coaster ride. And when it comes to the highest highs, the Interstate 49 corridor is tough to match.
Across five developments, the region has seen at least 3.8 million square feet of industrial development under construction or review by planning officials in their respective cities.
The area also represents a noteworthy piece of the entire region’s approximately 7 million square feet of industrial space now under construction. Work on 6.1 million additional square feet of space is expected to begin before the year’s end, too, according to a Kansas City SmartPort update in early September.
Here is a sampling of industrial projects in the works in and around southern Kansas City:
- Blue River Commerce Center — NorthPoint Development recently started work on Blue River 1, a $12.8 million, 242,353-square-foot speculative building at 9311 Troost Ave. in Kansas City. The company’s $135 million redevelopment of the former Bannister Federal Complex calls for seven buildings totaling 2.6 million square feet of new construction.
- Grandview Commerce Center — North Kansas City-based Logistics Realty Capital LLC plans Grandview Commerce Center, a 10.71-acre office, warehouse and light manufacturing development with a 156,950-square-foot industrial building, west of 15th Street, between 135th and 139th streets in Grandview.
- I-49 Industrial Center — Project Fairway, a $250 million, 700,281-square-foot probable Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center, was canceled last month. Even so, Platform Ventures has active plans for six industrial buildings, ranging from 67,600 to 770,640 square feet, at the 410-acre park off Interstate 49 and Missouri Highway 150 in Kansas City. The Home Depot Inc. has evaluated a new distribution center in one 297,600-square-foot building, code-named Project Rhino.
- Raymore Commerce Center — VanTrust Real Estate LLC recently broke ground on a 564,970-square-foot speculative building, valued at more than $30 million, at Interstate 49 and North Cass Parkway in Raymore. The 136-acre industrial park could hold three or four spec buildings encompassing a total 1.9 million industrial square feet.
- Southview Commerce Center — This 148-acre industrial park in Belton made headlines in late July when Chewy Inc. announced it would build a $143 million, 796,000-square-foot fulfillment center there. Following the Chewy deal, all three buildings in the NorthPoint Development park, totaling 1.8 million square feet, are 100% leased.