PepsiCo joins Logistics Park Kansas City

PepsiCo Global will soon be moving into the state-of-the-art Inland Port VII building at Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC), a 3,000-acre, master-planned distribution and warehouse development in Edgerton, Kan.

“PepsiCo chose Edgerton and LPKC because they can see the clear advantages of locating at the premiere logistics and distribution center in the Midwest,” said Edgerton Mayor Donald Roberts.

PepsiCo signed a lease for the 952,956-SF space, where the global food and beverage company plans to distribute their popular Gatorade product line.

“PepsiCo/Gatorade is an excellent addition to the Edgerton business community. LPKC is a convenient, versatile hub that can meet the needs of any company’s supply chain. Edgerton’s proximity to key services and partners is one of the main reasons businesses experience success at LPKC,” said ElevateEdgerton! president, James Oltman.

Built by Northpoint Development, the facility was the largest speculative building in the Kansas City metro and in the state of Kansas when it was completed earlier this year. JLL managing director, Kevin Wilkerson, and executive vice president, Phil Algrim, represented NorthPoint in the negotiation.

“Inland Port VII is the latest delivery in a long line of industry leading logistics products, bringing together accessibility to quality labor and cutting-edge technology in one centralized location,” Wilkerson said.

Since 2013, LPKC has amassed over 14.4 million SF of industrial space for over twenty tenants; work has already started on the next spec industrial building at LPKC.

About PepsiCo: PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Kenco selects Liberty Logistics Park for new facility

Kenco Logistics Services, LLC has selected a 295,600-SF warehouse and distribution space for their new facility at Liberty Logistics Park in Liberty, Mo.

“We are excited that Kenco Logistics, one of the top ten logistics companies in the world, selected the Liberty Logistics Park and our community for their new facility,” said Lyndell Brenton, mayor of the City of Liberty.

“Their decision to locate here reinforces Liberty’s place as a growing logistics and distribution hub in the Midwest. While Liberty Logistics Park is still under construction, we believe our community values, location and "can do” attitude are the differentiators that attract new businesses, like Kenco Logistics, to Liberty, Brenton said.

In the past five years, the KC region has successfully attracted eCommerce and distribution companies pledging to create more than 10,200 jobs, invest $1.8 billion and occupy 16.7 million square feet, according to a release.

“The KC region’s central location and access to a skilled workforce are key drivers of a successful eCommerce strategy,” said Tim Cowden, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council.

“The KC SmartPort team and our partners in Liberty continue to elevate our region’s competitive advantages to position KC as a leading logistics hub,” Cowden said.

The Kansas City Area Development Council worked with a number of regional partners in attracting Kenco to the Kansas City region, including the State of Missouri, Missouri Partnership, City of Liberty, Missouri, Liberty Economic Development Corporation, CBRE - Joe Orscheln, Evergy, Spire Energy and KC SmartPort.

“It is fantastic to see and support the growth in the logistics and distribution industry in Liberty and the entire KC region,” said Subash Alias, CEO of Missouri Partnership.

“The status of Missouri as North America’s Logistics Center is already well known, and more and more companies, such as Kenco, are taking advantage of one of the best river, road, air and rail infrastructure systems in the nation. When it comes to logistics and distribution, Missouri is a global leader.”

Kenco Logistics Services, LLC

Kenco is the largest woman-owned third-party logistics (3PL) company in the United States. The company provides integrated logistics solutions including distribution and eCommerce fulfillment, comprehensive transportation management services, material handling equipment services, engineering and innovation consulting, and information technology. For more information, visit kencogroup.com.

Platform Ventures hopes to maximize I-49 multimodal opportunities

At the monthly virtual presentation hosted by the CCIM Kansas City chapter last Friday, Corey Walker, senior vice president with Platform Ventures, offered insight about the I-49 Industrial Center.

Platform Ventures purchased approximately 180 acres of the development, located on the site of the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, from CenterPoint Properties in July 2019. The air force base was decommissioned and closed in 1999.

After the decommission, Kansas City Southern, Port KC and CenterPoint each acquired a portion of the property. CenterPoint commenced developing a business park in 2007 named CenterPoint Intermodal Center. CenterPoint, headquartered in Illinois, left the Kansas City market in 2019.

Walker said that at the time Platform Ventures acquired the development, CenterPoint had developed approximately one-third of the property and had leases with Walmart, Honeywell, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Sioux Chief Manufacturing and Niagara Bottling LLC.

Walker said Platform Ventures is in the process of adding approximately 60 acres of adjacent land to the industrial park.

Platform Ventures recently completed a rebranding of the site, renaming it I-49 Industrial Center. CBRE is assisting with marketing strategy.

“We thought it needed a fresh makeover,” Walker said.

“The remaining land has a potential for another 2 million SF of Class-A industrial warehouse space and that number could go north with a lot of the tenants that we’re seeing. They have a footprint that they’re now wanting mezzanine structures and potentially multi-floors within the facility which will add to the square footage,” said Walker.

Walker said Platform Ventures was attracted to the site because of the extensive infrastructure already in place, including roads, utilities and adjacent rail, as well as a great labor market.

“As part of our strategy with the multimodal concept, we really wanted to work with our neighbors, especially Kansas City Southern, so we’ve been working with them in concert now for really over a year to figure out ways to really maximize the opportunities for multimodal,” Walker said.

Platform Ventures currently is working on a 366,000-SF, spec building designed for up to four tenants.

“It’s tilt-up concrete, 36 foot clear height ceilings. We’re in the design and entitlement process on that. We’re pretty excited about some of the interest we’re starting to receive on just some of the initial discussions we’ve had,” Walker said.

Platform Ventures also is working with Kansas City Southern on a 300,000 SF bulk freight multimodal distribution facility on the site, with approximately 200,000 SF of outdoor space. The rail line actually goes into the building and into the storage yard.

“Semis and trucks come in the other side and take the product out to the region,” Walker said.

Walker said that Platform Ventures is working with a Fortune 500 company, and the facility is in the final entitlement stages and in design development.

“Both of these projects are moving forward but have a lot of wood to chop, but hopefully if things go well, maybe we’ll start moving dirt in Q1 of 2021,” said Walker.

Walker said activity has been very strong at the park. Platform Ventures has been proactive in pursuing large build-to-suit tenants, but they also want to have square footage available for smaller tenants and tenants requiring shorter build out time frames.

Walker said that Platform Ventures is “fairly bullish” going into 2021, particularly in light of the heavy demand for industrial space in the Kansas City area and the low vacancy rates for industrial space.

“There’s just not a lot of sites in town that can support 500 to 1 million SF industrial facilities so that bodes well for our project,” he said.

Raymore Commerce Center breaks ground, begins leasing

Brinkmann Constructors recently broke ground on a 565,000-SF spec building in Raymore Commerce Center, an industrial logistics park located on 136 acres in the I-49 corridor in Raymore, Mo.

Colliers International is representing the developer, VanTrust Real Estate, and is actively searching for tenants to fill the space - the first of three planned buildings expected to total nearly 2 million SF upon completion.

“We are honored to work with a well-known and respected group like VanTrust. Regardless of who ultimately leases this space, they will no doubt bring jobs to the community and open up the corridor to even further development – an economic win all the way around,,” said Ed Elder, president at Colliers International | Kansas City.

Raymore Commerce Center offers tenants a fixed 20-year tax abatement program, proximity to a superior labor pool in the Kansas City MSA and exceptional access to the surrounding logistics network via I-49. 

“What drew us to Raymore was the access, workforce, a great land-owner partner and City that is pro-development. VanTrust is thrilled to kickoff Raymore Commerce Center and looks forward to partnering with the City of Raymore for years to come,” said Grant Harrison, director at VanTrust.

Building I is expected for delivery Q3 2021. Building 2 will include 415,000± SF and Building 3 will total 1,040,000± SF. Delivery dates for the additional two buildings are TBA.

“Brinkmann is honored to work with the stellar team on this project. This build will bring great opportunity and access to the area,” said Mike Uhrig, Brinkmann Constructor project director.

Other partners involved in the Raymore Commerce Center project include architect, GBA and civil engineer, Olsson.

For more information on this development, visit the project website at RaymoreCommerceCenter.com.