Matt Ledom, CCIM with MMG

In this week’s MWM Broker Spotlight, Matt Ledom, CCIM, senior associate director with MMG Real Estate Advisors, shares his experience, passion and drive since his start in the Kansas City CRE environment.

Ledom began his career in the investment sales industry in the summer of 2013 working as a seller representative for Block Real Estate Services. In 2021, Ledom joined MMG Real Estate Advisors with a focus on multifamily investment sales and advising clients in a way that maximizes their investment returns through strategic planning and execution.

MWM: What initially sparked your interest in becoming a commercial real estate broker?

Ledom: My father is in the commercial real estate business (developer and owner) and helped push me in the brokerage direction – the best way to learn the business early on is through brokerage. I also enjoy the competitive environment and the mentality of being in charge of your future. I appreciate that it’s a high-risk, high-reward industry.

MWM: What do you enjoy most about being a broker?

Ledom: We take a lot of pride in representing our clients in the marketplace. They trust and believe we will execute at an extremely high level. We consistently close at, or above, the top end of our valuations!

I love the fast-paced nature of the business. At times, we uncover opportunities and only have a day or two to assemble our thoughts and valuations together. There’s an adrenaline rush to start, followed by satisfaction when our team turns around detailed information so quickly and effectively.

My favorite part is having a pulse on what’s going on around the city in real-time, as well as being part of bringing in new capital that plays a role in upgrading the landscape of our marketplace.

MWM: Can you share a highlight of your goals? Where do you see yourself in the next 5­-10 years?

Ledom: We are building something special at MMG. We have an extremely team-centric approach and a combination of local, regional and national reach that allows us to efficiently and effectively assist our clients in moving their capital all around the country. We want to grow our team and increase our production levels individually and as a whole company.

My personal goals are aligned with our team goals at MMG. Excellence in our executions for clients, combined with consistent company growth and continued improvement through hard work and perseverance.

MWM: Can you offer any tips on how you stay on track with your goals and how to be a successful broker?

Ledom: I am fortunate to have been around some very successful commercial real estate executives throughout my career. Some of my mentors include my Father, Mark Ledom; Michael Sullivan with MMG; Alex Blagojevich with MMG; Bucky Brooks with Copaken-Brooks; Lindsay Olsen with MITC; Ken Block with BRES; and Aaron Mesmer-BRES.

Setting goals is extremely important. Having a plan to execute on those goals is equally important. When I look back over my career to date, focusing on what you CAN do, not what you CAN’T do, and utilizing your best skillsets to accomplish pre-set goals can take you a long way.

Ledom graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2013 with a double-major in Real Estate and Operations Management. He also played on the golf team on a scholarship while attending college.

To reach Matt Ledom, you may email him at matt.ledom@mmgrea.com.

To nominate a MWM Broker Spotlight candidate, please email lisa@metrowiremedia.com.

Infrastructure funds connect KC with Google Fiber

“This project for me personally has been a game-changer, and as we’ve seen, it’s been a game-changer for Kansas City,” said Rick Usher, former assistant city manager at the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and founder of The Usher Garage LLC.

The project to which Usher was referring in his virtual presentation to KC Downtowners on September 8, was bringing Google Fiber to Kansas City.

Although it’s been a decade since Google Fiber chose both Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas as the first communities to get its digital symmetric gigabit-speed internet service, the region has an opportunity to apply lessons learned from the Google Fiber project to benefit from the federal infrastructure bill.

“This is really a once in a century opportunity for funding of projects of this scale, so how the cities reacted to Google Fiber, how we worked with them to build out the network, these are lessons learned that can be applied to moving forward as a region with this infrastructure bill,” said Usher.

In 2010, Google Fiber announced plans to build experimental, ultra-high-speed broadband networks and released its Fiber for Communities RFI.  A group of entrepreneurs at one of Kansas City’s co-working spaces (of which there were only two at the time), Office Port KC, began a response to the RFI.

Those entrepreneurs needed assistance and reached out to Cindy Circo, a member of the Kansas City Missouri City Council.  The request made its way to Wayne Cauthen, then the city manager of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, who assigned Usher to help facilitate the response. 

Usher said putting together the response to the RFI was a community-wide collaborative effort, with more than 117 participants contributing to the response.

Representatives from the Kansas City, Missouri proposal team first suspected that they might not be the only recipients of the Google Fiber opportunity when the receptionist at Polsinelli, where negotiations occurred, asked the Kansas City, Missouri city attorney if he was with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.  

“So we at that point started seeing that it would be two Kansas Cities in this announcement,” Usher said.

On March 30, 2011, Google Fiber announced that it would be rolling out its fiber network in Kansas City, Kansas.  On May 17, 2011, Google Fiber made the award to Kansas City, Missouri.

Usher said there were discussions of a joint announcement.  But, Kansas City, Kansas was able to come to an agreement with Google Fiber more quickly because its Board of Public Utilities was essentially a city department; whereas, Kansas City, Missouri had to work with Evergy.

“On the Missouri side, we were working closely with Evergy, then Kansas City Power and Light, to assist them in really vetting and doing the due diligence on how a privately-held public utility would show benefit not only to the City and the Kansas City region but to their customers and their shareholders,” said Usher. 

Evergy entered an agreement with Google Fiber to allow use and access to Evergy’s utility poles and easements, which Usher said was crucial.

In September 2011, the then mayors of Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas formed the Bi-State Innovation Team, which was charged with figuring out how the region would be able to take advantage of this gigabit network opportunity that Google was bringing.  

“So we got a lot of experience then in how cities can share the right of way, share infrastructure.  As you can see now, Google Fiber and others are partnering with jurisdictions on cooperative agreements, public-private partnerships,” Usher said.

In 2012, Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, declared that the Google Fiber project was not an experiment, but was actually being run as a business.  Shortly thereafter, Google Fiber announced it was expanding to Austin, Texas, and then to other cities around the country.  

“Today we have 22 cities in the Kansas City region that have entered into agreements with Google Fiber,” said Usher.

Usher said the success of the region’s Google Fiber project serves as an example of the Kansas City region’s history of helping prove new ideas.

With respect to benefiting from infrastructure bill funds, Usher recommends that the region looks to more public-private partnerships with other internet providers to build out their fiber networks.

“We have a really unique situation I think in the Kansas City region on the number of internet providers we have, the quality of the services and the speeds that are offered. So partnering with them to assist any number of internet providers to complete the build-out of their gigabit infrastructure and their fiber infrastructure would be our best investment of those infrastructure dollars,” Usher said. 

TreviPay to relocate corporate headquarters to Aspiria campus

Next month, TreviPay will relocate its corporate headquarters to the 207-acre Aspiria campus located on 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park, Kan.

TreviPay, a global B2B payments company, signed a 73,000-SF lease at the expanding, former Sprint World Headquarters campus.

“TreviPay’s move to Aspiria represents a big step for the Aspiria campus. The campus has so much to offer in the way of technology, amenities, access, security and sheer size. All of these contribute to a company’s ability to attract and retain top talent nationally to fulfill their growth strategies,” said Chad Stafford, Occidental Management president and broker of the lease transaction.

The announcement comes on the heels of a full-scale rebrand in March of this year for the Overland Park-based fintech company. The new brand reflects its role as the preferred B2B payment provider for leading Fortune 500 companies and small- to mid-sized businesses.

“The Aspiria Campus is a perfect location for TreviPay’s Global Headquarters. The new location allows our more than 400 Kansas City-area employees to be in one location,” said TreviPay’s CEO, Brandon Spear.

Aspiria offers unparalleled amenities, 24/7 security that includes over 600 cameras continuously monitoring the campus, and a world-class building automation system with intelligence software to manage and enhance operational efficiencies across the engineering platform.

In addition to high-end security and technology, Aspiria’s amenities promote employee recruitment and retention. Along with the walking and biking trails around campus, the 68,000–SF Aspiria Fitness Center is available at no monthly cost to all employees at Aspiria.

Beautiful green spaces across Aspiria are available for outdoor meetings and events, and three conference centers around campus are available for onsite meetings for groups large or small. The campus also features coffee shops and cafes as well as a central hub boasting a full-service cafeteria with a range of culinary options in a modern and energetic atmosphere.

“Aspiria has seen rapid growth with the addition of new tenants like TreviPay, Yellow Corp., CreativeOne, and TTEC Holdings,” Stafford said. “This is only the beginning. We recognize the need that large companies have for secure, advanced, and amenity-rich space to grow and win the talent battle in today’s market. Aspiria offers this, and more, in a way that no other corporate campus in the Midwest can.”

Occidental Management plans to develop an additional 60 acres surrounding the campus at the corner of 119th Street and Nall Avenue. Aspiria will have an additional one million SF of Class A office space, 380,000 SF of mixed-use retail and restaurant space, a 120-room hotel and 600 multifamily units, creating a truly inclusive hub of life and business in the Midwest.

Design planning on the long-term project has already begun, and space is available for lease in the New Offices At Aspiria. TreviPay expects to occupy the space in October 2021.

About TreviPay: TreviPay is a global financial technology company specializing in the complete digitization of B2B payments through secure trade financing to drive enhanced customer loyalty. We support merchants by streamlining the purchasing experience and supporting increased customer interaction in B2B Commerce, facilitating $6 billion USD in transactions per year in 18 currencies for customers in more than 27 countries. To learn more about TreviPay, please visit TreviPay.com.