OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Occidental Management Inc. has closed on its previously announced acquisition of the 20-building, 190-acre Sprint headquarters campus in Overland Park. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the campus is valued at more than $342 million, according to the Johnson County Appraiser.
The deal includes a sale-leaseback agreement with Sprint Corp., which will occupy the buildings primarily in the southern portion of the property.
The first buildings opened in 1997 when Sprint consolidated operations in the Kansas City metro area. The campus was designed to accommodate 14,500 employees and reached maximum capacity in 2004 when Sprint merged with Nextel. Since then, Sprint has been downsizing.
Of the roughly 4 million-square-foot campus, approximately 1.7 million square feet is leased to other tenants and 250,000 square feet is vacant, according to Gary Oborny, CEO and chairman of Occidental.
Wichita-based Occidental has yet to release specific plans for the property’s future, but expects to do so by year’s end. The company does intend to re-invigorate the campus and focus on adding amenities that will help employers retain and recruit talent.
“The Sprint campus has been one of our ideal acquisition targets in the Kansas City market, and we’re excited to start work to enhance the already amenity-rich campus,” says Oborny.
In addition to having Midwest roots, Oborny believes that being a long-term holder of real estate helped Occidental seal the deal with Sprint.
“Sprint was looking for a partner that would purchase the campus and not break it up five or six years later to piece it out to sell in the market,” he says. “We plan to come in and purchase a property, improve it and add amenities, and then manage the property long-term.”
The acquisition of the campus comes as Sprint looks to merge with fellow wireless giant T-Mobile. If the $26 billion deal closes, T-Mobile has committed to maintaining a second headquarters in Overland Park for the merged company, according to the Kansas City Star.
Cushman & Wakefield represented Sprint in the sale while Occidental was self-represented.
Established in 1997, Occidental has evolved to work not only in acquisitions and development, but also sales, leasing and property management. The firm currently operates more than 15 properties and recently completed the redevelopment of OPx, a Class A office complex that neighbors the Sprint campus.
— Kristin Hiller