OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Flying Cow Gelato and Made in KC have inked retail leases to open at the Edison District in Overland Park. The tenants will occupy 1,400 and 1,575 square feet, respectively. The transactions mark Flying Cow Gelato’s third location and Made in KC’s 12th location in the area. Made in KC is scheduled to open in July, with Flying Cow Gelato opening in the fall. The Edison District, owned by Overland Park Real Estate, features a mix of office, retail, restaurant and outdoor space. JLL negotiated the leases on behalf of ownership. The retail space at the Edison District is now fully leased. Made in KC sells local goods, gifts and apparel. Flying Cow Gelato makes fresh gelato every day and is the sister store to Annedore’s Fine Chocolates.
MERRIAM, KAN. — Berkadia has arranged the sale of Georgetown Apartments in Merriam, a southwest suburb of Kansas City. The sales price was undisclosed. The 395-unit apartment community is situated on 33 acres at 7200 Eby Drive. The property was built in 1965, according to Apartments.com. Amenities include a pub room, billiards room, fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a clubhouse, event space and laundry facilities. Pete Evans, Michael Spero and Kevin Jury of Berkadia represented the seller, New York-based Malkin Properties, and the buyer, Illinois-based Artisan Capital Group. John Schorgl of Berkadia structured a five-year acquisition loan through Freddie Mac.
MERRIAM, KAN. — Brinkmann Constructors has broken ground on Merriam Grand Station Lofts, a 361-unit luxury apartment project in Merriam, a southwest suburb of Kansas City. Drake Development is developing the project on the site of a former retail development that has been vacant for 10 years. The development is part of the larger Merriam Grand Station, a $72.5 million project including retail, residential and public gathering space. Merriam Grand Station Lofts will consist of two buildings with 73,000 square feet of below-grade parking. Amenities will include a pool, pet wash station, game rooms and electric vehicle charging stations. Completion is slated for 2025.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Technology solutions company SnapIT Solutions has signed a 5,894-square-foot office lease at Financial Plaza III in Overland Park. Owned by Group RMC and located at 6900 College Blvd., Financial Plaza III features amenities such as onsite food service, conferencing facilities, covered parking and more. Anné Erickson of JLL represented SnapIT.
MANHATTAN, Kan. — McCarthy Mortenson NBAF, a joint venture between builders McCarthy Building Cos. and Mortenson Construction, has completed the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, approximately 55 miles west of Topeka and 115 miles west of Kansas City. Development costs for the animal disease research facility were estimated at $940 million. Developed to ensure public health and the safety and security of the nation’s food supply, the 707,000-square-foot facility is located on a 48-acre site. It is designed with stringent containment, blast-resistant and anti-terrorism requirements, as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) high-wind design criteria adopted by the Department of Homeland Security. NBAF features laboratories functioning at multiple biosafety levels, including the first facility in the United States with biosafety level 4 containment capable of housing large livestock. The lab portions total 574,000 square feet, while the freestanding, 87,000-square-foot Central Utility Plant houses boilers, chillers, emergency diesel generators and other support elements for the main laboratory facility. In addition to having multiple laboratories, NBAF will also have a biologics development module to explore the development and production of potential vaccines, diagnostic platforms and veterinary medical countermeasures. The property will functionally replace the aging Plum Island Animal …
By Ted Branson, Landmark Commercial Real Estate There continues to be strong demand and a resulting shortage of industrial buildings in Wichita from 1,000 to 100,000 square feet for lease or for sale, not dissimilar from the fierce competition for housing, with prospects paying well above market rates just to keep from losing out “again” on an available property. With that, Wichita is seeing vacancies continue near 5 to 6 percent, an increase in average lease rates from $4 to $6 per square foot, and average sales prices increasing from $35 to $50 per square foot. New construction prices carry that considerably higher. That demand for space, and the increasing prices that prospects will pay, often leads to land sales and new construction. Many of the supply chain issues that caused construction to take up to two years have been improved or resolved, and several projects are underway. Developers have built several speculative warehouses, most notably in the new ICT21 Industrial Park, the former location of the Derby Oil refinery. Ron and Marty Cornejo did a masterful job of clearing the site of structural obstacles and rendering pollution issues innocuous, with Conco erecting three first-class, tilt-up concrete, high-bay warehouses, with …
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has negotiated the sale of a portfolio of medical office buildings throughout metro Kansas City for an undisclosed price. Known as the Sabates Eye Centers Portfolio, the portfolio features five properties with 13 suites totaling 76,826 square feet and is 90 percent leased. Rahul Chhajed and Michael Moreno of Matthews represented the undisclosed seller. A private family office based in Ohio was the buyer.
WICHITA, KAN. — Post Road Management has acquired an 11-property multifamily portfolio totaling 1,002 units in Wichita for an undisclosed price. With this purchase, Post Road has nearly tripled its footprint in the Wichita market. The firm plans to invest an average of $12,000 per unit in upgrades across the portfolio. About 21 percent of the units have been fully renovated. Post Road purchased the portfolio with assumable nonrecourse Fannie Mae and HUD financing in place. The properties include Kingston Cove, Cimarron Apartments, Stratford East, Park Meadows, The Willows, Willows South, Stratford West, Danish Village, Pine Creek, Edgemoor Townhomes and Cottonwood Crossing. Alex Blagojevich, Brett Meinzer, Colton Howell and Richard Redding of MMG Real Estate Advisors represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — SomeraRoad Inc. has welcomed the second tenant at Summit52, the recently renovated 300,000-square-foot office building in Overland Park that formerly served as the headquarters of Swiss Re. Blue Chair LLC and its affiliated companies will occupy 21,000 square feet on the third floor of the south building. Blue Chair, a management and holding company for Gragg Advertising, Lever 1 and IntegriShield, plans to move into its new space in the second quarter. Existing tenant IAC signed a lease for 60,000 square feet last year. Evan Warwick of Colliers represented Blue Chair in the lease. Ross Simpson and RC Jensen of Colliers represented SomeraRoad, which acquired the property in summer 2020.
HUTCHINSON, KAN. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $6.5 million sale of an 87,119-square-foot retail property in Hutchinson, about 50 miles northwest of Wichita. The building at 1500 E. 11th St. is home to Hobby Lobby and Bomgaars. Mark Ruble and Chris Lind of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company. Buyer information was not provided.