Platte County Sector Update – Summer 2018

PCEDC StaffNews

Office:

Platte County’s office vacancy rate was 24.5% in Q2 2018, up from 21.6% in Q1 2018 but consistent with vacancy in Q2 2017, according to Costar statistics. The county currently has 911,055 SF of direct space available, and the average rate is $16.13/SF. Overall in the Kansas City metro area, the average lease rate is $19.50, according to CBRE’s Q2 2018 office market report.

Recent activity in the office market includes:

  • Construction is underway for Biolife Plasma Services, who are building a 17,000 SF building at Tiffany Springs East. The company will employ 100 people and expects to open in November 2018.
  • The American Hereford Association moved to a 15,000 SF space in the 11500 Ambassador Building in the KCI Corridor in early 2018.  More info.

Industrial:

Platte County’s industrial vacancy was the lowest in the KC Metro for 2Q 2018, according to the most recent market research from CBRE. The vacancy rate was 3.5% for 2Q 2-18, down from 9.4% in the same period in 2017. The county’s average asking lease rate was the highest in the metro in 2Q 2018, at $5.61 per SF compared with $4.91 in 2Q 2017.

Recent industrial activity includes:

  • The new 762,000-square-foot CVS Midwest Distribution Center is set to fully open in October 2018. $110 million capital investment, 360 jobs created.
  • Panasonic has taken a long-term lease at the former Lifetouch Building. Extensive work has been done on the building and parking lots on both sides.
  • Three buildings are under construction in Riverside Horizons: Spec VII is 198,242 SF and is 100 leased, Spec VIII is a 134,000 SF spec warehouse and Spec IX is a 214,000 SF spec warehouse. Spec VI is 412,065 SF with completion expected by the end of 2018. 3 million SF has been leased in Riverside Horizons to date. Frito Lay’s new 14,000 SF building is complete. The next step in Horizons is a 20-25 acre park within a park with smaller lots for users with 10-15,000 SF buildings with storage.
  • KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre: Logistics III (202,800 SF) is nearly ready for occupancy. Logistics V (542,640 SF) pad preparation is complete and construction will begin soon.

Retail:

Platte County had the lowest retail vacancy rate in 1Q 2018, according to the Kansas City Retail Report from Newmark Grubb Zimmer. The vacancy rate has dipped to 3% in 1Q 2018 compared with 3.7% in 1Q 2017. The average vacancy rate for all submarkets was 5.3%. Platte County’s total inventory is currently 6,111,920 and the average asking rent (NNN) is $15.80, which is the second highest rate in the Kansas City metro.

Recent retail activity includes:

  • Red Robin opened at Zona Rosa in May 2018 and is now hiring.
  • Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom will open in the new Hilton Garden Inn at 10920 NW Ambassador Drive in early 2019.
  • Tiffany Springs East is a 15-acre site along Ambassador and 152 Hwy. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers opened in October 2017. The Better Wash car wash will open soon.
  • Weston has a new restaurant called Noah’s Cupboard at 521 Main. Reservations only – limited to 15 diners. Friday and Saturday evenings to start.
  • Tiffany Springs MarketCentre recently added Marshalls, Tuesday Morning and Nothing Bundt Cakes.
  • Parkville’s APEX Plaza development includes up to 46,000 SF of new retail space planned with 4 buildings on 6 acre site on NE corner of 45 Hwy & Bell Road. Westlake Hardware is under construction.
  • The Reef has opened up at 9600 N.W. Polo Drive and is currently serving lunch.
  • Texas Roadhouse is open at Edgewood Farms just south of Barry Road along I-29. Announcements for other tenants are imminent.

Residential:

Platte County’s residential building permits through May 2018 YTD  totalled 255, according to the Home Builders Association of Kansas City. That’s 9% higher than single-family permits in May 2017 YTD. The current average sales price for a home in Platte County for June 2018 is $277,318, up 0.2% from June 2017. Days on market until sale has fallen from 61 to 53 days in June 2018 compared with the same period in 2017.

Residential activity includes:

  • Construction is well underway at Watermark at Tiffany Springs, a 292-unit residential development just north of  Tiffany Springs MarketCentre.
  • In Platte City, the Windmill Creek Subdivision is underway east of I-29 and south of 92 Highway. Phase I consists of infrastructure work and approximately 20 single family residential homes. The developer purchased an additional 70 acres of land and this is envisioned as an additional 160-180 single family parcels.
  • In Riverside, BellaRidge is underway up on the ridge overlooking the Missouri River with beautiful views of the Kansas City skyline too.
  • The new Edgewood Farms development includes a planned residential component with 250 units but there is no timetable yet for this stage.

Senior Housing:

  • Ignite Medical Resorts at 2100 NW Barry Road, KCMO is under construction. The 90-bed skilled Nursing Facility will serve short-term rehab patients, long-term skilled nursing patients & expand network of home health/hospice services.
  • The Tiffany Springs Rehabilitation & Health Care Center with 120 units opened in October 2017. The second phase (under construction) of the Tiffany Springs Senior Living Community will increase the facility’s units to 300 and the full community will encompass 300,000 SF. It is set to open in May 2019.
  • Village Cooperative on NW Barry Road & Pontiac is a condo project currently under construction and will feature 52 single-level homes ranging from range from 873 to 1,507 SF.

Hotels:

  • The new Home2 Suites by Hilton KCI Airport opened in April 2018 along Ambassador Drive just south of Tiffany Springs Parkway.
  • Marriott KCI completed extensive renovations and its restaurant is now KC Tap & Table which features a large outdoor patio area.
  • A 104-room Hilton Garden Inn is coming in early 2019 at the Ambassador I office building. Plans are for a second hotel to be built adjacent to the HIlton Garden Inn, possibly a 98-room Tru by Hilton. This is a $22 million redevelopment project
  • The former Ramada Inn off I-29 was sold to U-haul. Extensive cleanup work has been completed, and a new site plan was submitted to KCMO.
  • Springhill Suites broke ground March 19th on its new 96-suite hotel across the street from Renner Elementary off Barry Road.
  • A new development just off 64th Street will include a five-story hotel. Wendys has opened as the first stage of this development.
  • Although not a hotel, a new Youth Sports Complex at 152 & Platte Purchase Drive could drive significant room nights to the KCI Corridor. Platte County EDC has done all the legwork for the project which now needs a funding source for this $30 million project.

Project Announcements:

  • City Rent A Truck is now operating its new HQ at NW 109th and North Congress Avenue. The new HQ features 2,500 square feet of office and lobby space with a 1,500 square foot mezzanine for future expansion.
  • BMS Logistics  moved into the 432,000 SF LogisticsCentre IV in January 2018 at the KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre. BMS will employ 200 at the facility and focus their operations around contract packaging, assembly and distribution of PDQ’s and palletized displays, along with picking and packing for both retail and e-commerce fulfillment.
  • Missouri American Water relocated its drinking water treatment facility at 101 E. 1st St. to an 11- acre property approximately one mile west of Main Street on Hwy FF.
  • Parkville-based Rosnet will create 50 new jobs and invest $3,388,000 into their operations. Rosnet occupies 18,000 SF of office space that includes space for 62 employees and a data center.

Public projects:

  • Park Hill School District: Hopewell Elementary will be built at 68th Street and Waukomis Drive and the site will house the LEAD Innovation Studio no sooner than 2020. Hopewell Elementary will open in 2019, as will the new Walden Middle School at 56th Street and N. Northwood Road.
  • Construction on the new I-29 bridge near Tiffany Springs MarketCentre broke ground on July 27th. This project is part of the KCI TIF. Follow the project here.
  • Another KCI TIF project, the NW Skyview Avenue extension from Ambassador Drive to Tiffany Springs Road is slated to begin this summer.
  • Work on 64th Street & NW Prairie View Road has begun. The realignment of NW Prairie View to Chatham will ease congestion at the intersection right off the interstate. A groundbreaking will be held on August 6th to kick of the reconstruction project. The intention is for work to be completed by mid-summer 2019. Project details are being finalized for the southern section of the NW Prairie View Road work.
  • The 72nd Street project is finalizing rights of way with MODOT and once it is approved next month, the project will move for bidding. Construction will start late fall/early spring with a 18-24 month completion time frame.
  • Platte City has been awarded matching funds from MODOT for the Highway 92 & I-29 intersection.
  • Improvements to Highway 9 and Mattox Road in Riverside will include a segment of the planned shared-use path from Horizons Pkwy to English Landing Park, an eastbound right turn lane, a pedestrian crossing, traffic signal and street lights.
  • Parkville completed a study of its Highway 9 Corridor and leveraged several funding sources and those improvements are underway.
  • In Weston, West Platte School District is making extensive improvements to its baseball/softball complexes. The softball updates will wrap up in early September, and baseball in early October. The city also recently added public restrooms in the downtown area to help serve its many visitors.