Smash-N-Nash ghost kitchen enters KC market

Smash-N-Nash, a new ghost kitchen, is shaking up the culinary scene in the Kansas City metro.

The creative, to-go food option is now available and delivering to the Kansas City metro through DoorDash with hand-made smash burgers, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, fries, tater tots and freshly baked cookies.

The local culinary team behind the new concept - an established group of local restaurateurs - recognized the demand for carryout options during the COVID-19 pandemic. They saw an opportunity to utilize their current venues and resources with a third-party delivery app to give customers what they crave – delicious grub available at their fingertips.

Smash-N-Nash is operating out of the kitchens of Lee's Summit's (Mo.) Third Street Social and Summit Grill in Lee’s Summit, Waldo and Gladstone locations; and is open for delivery Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

The menu includes:

Smash Burger: Angus Ground Chuck, Grilled Onions, Pickles, Mash Sauce, Martin’s Potato Roll

Nashville Chicken Sandwich: Crispy Chicken Breast, Hot Pepper Oil, Nash Sauce, Pickles, Martin’s Potato Roll

Chicken Tenders: Hand Breaded Chicken Tenderloins

Fries: Crispy Coated Steak Fries, Mash Sauce

Tater Tots: Classic Tots, Mash Sauce

Freshly Baked Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie

For more information, visit https://smash-n-nash.webflow.io.

Greenwood aspires to build sustainable as 'next normal'

In a world struggling with a devastating pandemic and the burgeoning climate crisis, Kansas Citian Sara Greenwood sees an opportunity to adapt to the “next normal” by creating buildings that offer a more sustainable, healthy, resource-efficient and prosperous environment that improves quality of life.

“Now more than ever, the benefit of investing in high-quality, healthy buildings is critical to the community at-large. People want to feel safe returning to work, going to restaurants and moving into a new home,” Greenwood said.

The Kansas City businesswoman's passion and skill were recognized internationally as she was recently named a ‘2020 LEED Fellow’ by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). Greenwood is among 25 professionals who represent exceptional practitioners and leaders within the green building community who have demonstrated mastery of the technical application of LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating system.

As the principal and founder of Kansas City-based Greenwood Consulting Group, Greenwood is one of only three professionals earning this designation in the Midwest; and is the only professional who specializes in green building consulting services in the Kansas City metro area.

“I can’t imagine a better time to be a LEED Fellow,” said Greenwood, a 16-year veteran in the green building industry. “In a time where we’ve been forced to imagine the next normal, standards like LEED and WELL reinforce that designing and building healthy buildings matter –for the planet and for people.”

Greenwood has contributed to dozens of highly-recognizable projects in KC, including the new KCI Airport Terminal, Grand Place (the former Kansas City Star building), Lenexa Civic Center, Two Light, 1900 Building, Johnson County Library, the new Aquarium at the Kansas City Zoo, the Johnson County Medical Examiner building and seven new school buildings.

Greenwood’s work extends beyond the Kansas City metro with the REACH Building at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, MGM CityCenter in Las Vegas, an expansion at the Georgia Aquarium, assorted FBI Buildings, Port of Los Angeles, and several higher education facilities nationwide.

To date, Greenwood has managed the certification of more than 100 LEED projects totaling more than 8 million square feet.

“Our work with the Lenexa Civic Center, which includes a Recreation Center, City Hall and public market, and the Johnson County Library, are iconic examples of taking a campus approach to achieve sustainable performance,” Greenwood said.

“The Lenexa Civic Center attracts thousands of people every year. It demonstrates optimal energy and water efficiency, daylighting design, and provides our community with a healthier, inviting experience. There are so many ways we can apply LEED concepts to improve not only how our city looks, but also to make it more efficient, healthy, and sustainable.”

The Greenwood Consulting Group is a certified women-owned business (WBE) that is one of the most sought-after sustainable building consulting firms, having managed projects from coast to coast.

 "It's interesting and inspiring to me to see how my clients across a wide range of industries genuinely care about achieving high-performance building standards," said Greenwood. “For my clients, LEED certification sets a high bar for ensuring that a building is actually designed and constructed to set criteria. My clients look to me to help projects achieve their performance goals.”

Other projects in Greenwood’s portfolio include:

·      Zappos Headquarters- Las Vegas, Nevada

·      Whole Foods stores in the South Pacific Region

·      Port of Long Beach- Long Beach, CA

·      University of Missouri NEXTGen Healthcare Building in Columbia, MO

LEED Fellows are nominated by their peers and must have made at least 10 years of exceptional impact on LEED and hold an active LEED AP with specialty credential, among other requirements. The evaluation process includes extensive portfolio review and is carried out by the LEED Fellow Evaluation Committee and supported by GBCI.

The LEED Fellow program was established in 2011 to recognize outstanding LEED APs who have demonstrated exceptional impacts with LEED in key mastery elements related to technical knowledge and skill; a history of exemplary leadership in LEED; significant contributions in teaching, mentoring, or research with proven outcomes; and a history of highly impactful commitment, service, and advocacy for LEED.

“The green building industry plays a critical role as we look toward rebuilding our economy and our communities in the months and years ahead,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of GBCI and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Kuehl forecasts partly sunny, partly cloudy recovery for US economy

CCIM Kansas City kicked off its 2021 monthly breakfast series last week with the annual economic forecast by Dr. Chris Kuehl, managing director and co-founder of Armada Corporate Intelligence. Chris Williams, CCIM, of Highlands Development Group and CCIM Kansas City president, moderated the virtual event.

Kuehl anticipates that 2021 will see five positive changes which will affect the economy and five negative changes.  

The first positive change is the vaccine rollout.  Kuehl acknowledged that the vaccine rollout is slow, complicated and bureaucratic.  However, he said he’s “pretty confident” that by March, the vulnerable population will be vaccinated.  He expects that by mid-summer, the United States will have achieved herd immunity, or something close to it. 

Kuehl believes the second positive change is that lockdowns will start to lift by the second quarter.  The lifting of lockdown restrictions will improve job numbers, particularly in the service sector, and spur spending.  Service jobs will come back very quickly, because there’s no barrier to entry.

“When the service sector starts to come back, our spending will go back to what it used to be. Rather than spending as much money on things as we are now, there will be more interest in spending on services, something that’s been cut off for the last year,” Kuehl said.

The third positive change is the improvement of trade relations with certain key partners in Europe, Japan and Canada, but not China.

Kuehl anticipates permanent changes in work patterns as the fourth positive change. For example, many employees will see a 3/2 week - three days in the office and two days working from home.  However, those who work in collaborative environments and sales people likely will not have that option. 

The fifth positive change, which could benefit some sectors but could damage others, is the recent political shift.  Kuehl said there will be a big emphasis on green, more stability in the medical sector and an emphasis on infrastructure.

Kuehl said the first negative change to anticipate is that the retreat from pandemic protocols will be slow and there will be setbacks, such as mutations of the virus and bureaucratic barriers.

The second negative change is that the business and investment community will be cautious in making moves until they can better assess the new administration.  Kuehl said there are estimates that $2.5 to $4 trillion are waiting to be invested.

The third negative change, according to Kuehl, is that confrontations with China will accelerate and affect trade patterns; followed by the his fourth adverse change: consumers will have to decide when (or even if) they want to go back to their old habits.

Kuehl identified the lingering political divisions as the fifth and final change, complicating policy development on several issues; including economic stimulus, immigration and cultural conflicts.

Kuehl predicts that the United States will see a lot of progress toward economic recovery in 2021, but full recovery will not occur until the end of the year or early 2022, and recovery is volatile. 

“There are lots of factors that are going to have to be worked through in the next several years and we’re going to have periods where there is substantial recovery and then a decline and then a substantial recovery, partly because it is still global,” said Kuehl. 

Kuehl said he did not anticipate that there will be changes to Section 1031 exchanges or REITs in the foreseeable future because both keep money active and moving. 

Kuehl also anticipates that the hotel and airline industries and everything connected to business travel will begin to see a comeback by late May or early summer. 

Kuehl said he predicts that the United States will continue to emphasize reshoring.  But, unlike the prior administration which relied on tariffs and limitations, Kuehl said he believes the Biden administration will push export promotion. 

Moving beyond 2020 with Beyond Brokerage

Meet Jayme Miller, CCIM, commercial realtor at Beyond Brokerage, a NorthPoint Development company providing brokerage services to third-party clients.

Miller shifted into CRE after working a job in corporate supply chain.

“It was a good, comfortable job but it wasn’t fulfilling. I was about to turn 30 and knew I did not want to spend my career there. I did some soul-searching to figure out what I wanted to be when I 'grew up' and after I discovered commercial real estate, it was if a light bulb turned on and everything came together! I knew exactly what I wanted to do and haven’t looked back since,” Miller said.

RT: When considering a lead, what do you look for specifically?

We look for someone who looks for a partnership approach and values win-win transactions just as much as we do. My team works with a variety of users, everyone from the investor who owns one or two buildings to REITs with a big portfolio. We also love working with buyers or tenants. We have transacted on office, retail, land, industrial and multifamily. Really it all comes back to the partnership- If the partnership is right, we make it work.

RT: What are market trends you are experiencing with your clients currently?

JM: One thing Covid taught us is that we never know what the future holds! The pandemic came on fast and strong and drastically impacted dozens of industries, some positively and some negatively. We are seeing many tenants ask for Covid provisions in their leases. Many landlords have been accommodating. We are also seeing some hesitancy to commit to long, seven to 10-year lease terms.

RT: What do you see moving forward, as we move beyond 2020?

JM: The market definitely softened earlier this year but came back with a roar because the fundamentals were still strong. Our Q4 was one of our strongest quarters on record! Overall, property owners are having to think and re-think about futuristic uses for their assets. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

RT: What challenges and opportunities are your main asset classes facing now?

JM: Retail is going through a major shift. Online shopping was already taking away demand for retail space, and the pandemic sped up that adaptation rate. Retail owners are having to figure out what to do with their buildings, particularly big box spaces. There’s opportunity there to create experiences people cannot get online, and to use space to create community. I see that in the Creekside development in Parkville, where they are putting a courtyard with programming between retail spaces. The new owners at Zona Rosa are also working to develop more community spaces. The other big opportunity in retail is to create spaces at affordable rates for local tenants. People like to shop local, and the pandemic highlighted how important that support is.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the office world. When will people come back to work? Will we see a shift back to private office to encourage social distancing? Will companies need a bigger footprint because they will be spreading people out? Or will they need less because a certain percentage of their employees will stay remote? The opportunities for office owners include thinking about health-focused initiatives such as windows that open, increased janitorial/sanitization and upgraded HVAC filtration.

RT: How do you feel about the state of the market in Kansas City and why?

JM: I am very optimistic! Kansas City is a great mid-sized market. We see capital coming here from the coasts because it’s so affordable. Kansas City has really been on an upward trajectory over the last 15 years. Executives move here reluctantly as part of a relocation and end up falling in love with the city. Our fundamentals are strong and there is still a ton of opportunity in underdeveloped areas.

RT: Can you share any other current and future projections if any?

JM: I predict the market continuing to grow, albeit at a slower rate, in 2021. Longer term I see downtown/Crossroads continuing to attract high quality tenants. I see Midtown developing, particularly along the KC Streetcar line and into the Martini Corner area. I am excited about all the activity on Troost; that will be great for that area and there are some fantastic and responsible players involved. I see continued development of “micro communities” like what is being created in downtown Overland Park and downtown Shawnee.

Jayme can be reached at Jayme@Beyondbrokeragekc.com or 816.261.2006.

MWM panelists agree: 2020 inspired new opportunities for 2021

Nearly 100 Kansas City-area commercial real estate professionals gathered at Stone Pillar Vineyard & Winery on Wednesday for MWM’s annual KC Market Forecast event.

The event was moderated by Randy Bredar, executive vice president and Kansas City office director of JE Dunn Construction; featuring panelists Sheryl Vickers, CCIM, CEO and vice president of project partnerships of Select Sites LLC, president of Complete Construction Service and co-founder of Women in Real Estate Development (WIRED); Rob Welker, president and partner of Hoefer Wysocki; and Chad Stafford, president of Occidental Management, Inc.

Lessons from 2020:

As a solopreneur, Vickers emphasized how the past year has reminded her of the importance of having a source of passive income when a crisis arises.

The pandemic created opportunities for Vickers to turn long-term rentals into short-term AirBnB rentals because customers preferred to stay in places with fewer people, opposed to large hotels.

“It provides relief in times like this. I feel poised with an expanded network to grow exponentially,” Vickers said.

Thanks to Stafford’s aggressive approach at Occidental Management, his company was able to provide tenants with expanded resources in information and services.

“The past year did cost us some leasing deals so we had to do a hard pivot to engage with our tenants. We hired a marketing firm to help. It’s all about communication,” Stafford said.

For Welker the past year created opportunities for new activities, including launching a plumbing/electrical unit and using the PPP funds to hire new staff.

“The biggest thing for us was getting back in touch with clients. We started a daily executive council ‘happy hour’ to share information and knowledge and act as a sounding board. We didn’t hide; we outreached and outreached and outreached some more. The key, though, is that outreach has to have value,” Welker said.

Thanks to being designated as an essential business, JE Dunn “kept going,” said Bredar.

“We used 2020 as an opportunity and could cherry-pick new people (to hire). Some markets were very active; one was logistics and transportation. KC is positioned very well in those areas for the new year,” Bredar said.

Somewhat surprisingly, the commercial vacancy rate decreased last year, Welker noted.

“Companies that we represent in multifamily are suddenly all involved. Logistics more than doubled over every other sector in the industrial market. I think that trend will continue as more companies get into the omni-channel,” Welker said.

Not surprisingly, business for retail and restaurants fared the worst in 2020.

“A lot more (retail and restaurants) will close this year before it all comes back in the fall; however, a small handful are expanding. The national chains are doing well, especially if they already had drive-throughs and delivery services. It’s a struggle for those that are not omni-channel or used to being online,” Vickers said.

Perspectives on the new year:

Vickers expects that restaurants that can provide outdoor dining and maintain online ordering and delivery service will do well in 2021.

“They won’t go back,” Vickers said. “We will see stability. There’s pent-up demand and the restaurant sector will do better by the fourth quarter and into 2022.”

Calling the current moment “a good time to build,” Bredar predicted “an explosion in demand that might lead to inflation.”

“Multifamily has been on a long run, but might see more supply than the market can absorb,” Bredar said.

Welker’s experience has been that “Johnson County restaurants are packed.” He’s also “seeing a new phase of retail” that should lead to an explosion of new building.

“Multifamily is catching up from the past few years, and that will continue in some demographics. The trend will be toward smaller units,” Welker said.

Vickers believes that trend will depend on the pocket of demographics.

“There is an affordable-housing crisis now, but I’m optimistic about that sector bouncing back. I’d put my money on midtown or the center of the city,” Vickers said.

Vickers noted that the KC Streetcar project is having an impact on commercial real estate in the downtwon area.

“People are buying up properties” to profit from it, and that project will “cause some down-time with construction, but multifamily building is already occurring. We’ll have to work through the legislative and neighborhood pieces. Inclusion and diversity will help with reducing pushback and problems with gentrification,” Vickers said.

The streetcar project is “not developer-friendly,” though, according to Bredar, “so it’s a concern. We’ll need collaboration and mentoring to know the tipping point of going back to what (the area) used to be a lot of empty commercial space.”

The future of commercial space is an open question for the moment. Vickers expects that people will “adapt and change the space. Half of the people are scared and half are ready to go back to using space as before,” Vickers said.

The panel agreed more attention needs to go towards balancing the live-work-play concept; however, office productivity has been a challenge.

“We aren’t getting the best from our people by having everyone work from home, so they’ll be back in offices soon,” Welker said.

“We will have flexibility, (but) you can’t build corporate culture over Zoom or a vibrant environment without group space to (connect in person and) promote growth,” Stafford said.

“We’re looking at a longer timeline — an 18-month timeline for Aspiria (the former Sprint campus)— we have to be engaging now because we’re looking to June or July when the vaccines are available,” said Stafford.

When asked what will trigger new business in the new year, panelists found several points of optimism.

“The pandemic is making the industry do things smarter,” Welker said.

Bredar pointed out that healthcare has been and will continue to be an important part of the commercial market in Kansas City, especially now that hospitals can return to doing elective procedures that the pandemic put on hold for much of 2020.

Panelists agreed smaller healthcare facilities in more locations are likely to be a trend for 2021.

“We’re seeing hospitals becoming more a part of communities. The economics make a big difference,” Welker said.

Bredar also sees technology as a major factor in new building patterns by making it possible to build commercial properties that are more efficient.  

Panelists agreed that the KCI (airport) project should have a hugely positive impact on commercial real estate in the Kansas City region.

“The airport is like the front door for the city,” said Welker. “Institutional money has started to flow into the city and we’re super-excited. We’ll be seeing new buildings going up as professional services workers return.”

Vickers expects walkable communities to be drivers for the commercial real estate sector — “If it isn’t walkable, I wouldn’t invest” — and industrial to be “the next big area.”

“The public sector will be interesting to watch because the need is there,” Bredar said.

Welker agreed that the development side of public-private partnerships (PPPs) should be big this year to capitalize on that need for space and services, although TIFFs might suffer.

“New development will be slow until the third quarter, and then will be robust. We all have to have hope, believe in ourselves, stay united and make things happen,” Welker said.

A huge thank you to the event sponsors: JE Dunn, McClure, Hoefer Wysocki, Seal-O-Matic Paving Company, Contegra Construction, Occidental Management and Arch Photo KC.

To view photos from the event, please visit the MWM facebook page.