The Locale: Mission's first Class-A development

Mission, Kan. has acquired their first Class-A, mixed-use development, The Locale, located at 6201 Johnson Drive in the heart of the city's Lamp Post District.

The EPC Real Estate Group development, initially named Mission Trails, is anchored by a 201-unit multifamily complex and includes 5,500 SF of restaurant and retail space, all connected by an amenity-rich outdoor courtyard.

Since the first move-in in April, the luxury apartment complex is 27 percent occupied and 43 percent leased, according to EPC.

The three-acre property is conveniently located just minutes from Interstate 35 and Highway 69 and within walkable distance of downtown Mission.

The community of studio, one and two-bedroom floor plans includes upscale-living amenities - like a courtyard with gas grills, saltwater swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center and an on-site dog park.

"One of the many reasons why we stand apart from our competitors is the plethora of amenities that compliment anyone’s lifestyle. It's vacation 365 days around here," said Nicole Yates, EPC marketing specialist.

Designed by Klover Architects to match the city’s mission architectural style, the 305,688 SF property includes 201 apartment units - each with their own balcony, a 2,500 SF interior courtyard, 5,500 SF of restaurant and retail space attached to a 4-story, secure-access parking garage - which was financed by a public/private partnership between the City (of Mission) and EPC.

Other amenities include an indoor pool and jogging track, fitness center and communal meeting space.

“From the moment we began designing the building we felt an obligation to build something unique and special. We knew the new 5-story building would take (up) a very prominent location within the entire area. We decided to continue the mission architecture-style with the goal of raising the bar and further expanding the appeal of the Johnson Drive corridor. EPC’s goal from the beginning was to maximize the opportunity of enhancing the exceptional Mission community,” said Steven Coon, principal at EPC.

Project contractor, Crossland Construction Company, worked with EPC to complete The Locale within 20 months and implemented their team of “Real Builders” to self-perform the concrete and rough carpentry. 

Crossland’s team leads, Matt Crossland, project manager, and Tim Carson, superintendent, said the projects’ close proximity to the city’s numerous, popular destinations proved to be a challenge to maneuver around in during construction of the three-acre, urban in-fill site.

“This building takes up every square inch of the site, which made it logistically complex. There was limited space for laydown and staging so all trades had to be well coordinated,”  said Carson.

In addition, severe weather in 2019 led to reduced time onsite for trades. Between site logistics and weather issues, Crossland utilized PlanGrid construction technology to help the project stay on time and on budget.

The Locale marks EPC’s fifteenth completed ground-up development in the KC metro since 2010. Other recently completed projects include Avenue 80 and Avenue 81 on Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park, Kan.; and the recently proposed Ranch Mart South senior living redevelopment in Leawood, Kan.

Other partners on The Locale include Security Bank, BSE Structural Engineers and McClure.

To view the fast-motion earth video of the project’s construction from beginning to end, click the following link, courtesy of Crossland Construction. Click here to watch fast-motion earth video.

Click here to watch Crossland’s YouTube video.

ULI 2017 Developments of Distinction: Excelsior Springs Community Center

The Excelsior Springs Community Center is a $15 million project that has received industry attention for its successful adaptation of a former school site with various elevations and challenges.

“This is something the community had been calling for for 25 or more years. There was a huge need in the community for this facility, so we felt we had a really awesome opportunity to make a huge impact,” said Kerry Newman, principal of SFS Architecture.

One of the project’s challenges included building the facility on a site with a significant slope. A significant amount of earth work wasn’t feasible, according to SFS Associate Brian Garvey, so the design team came up with a concept that included a central ramp "spine" linking various spaces within the campus.

“The ramp links the spaces together and makes it more likely (for guests) to take the ramp and sometimes unknowingly get a little more exercise,” Garvey said.

The project also required public input and voter approval.

“I think was a huge challenge early on that there needed to be consensus to pass the tax that funded the center,” Newman said. “Merging that with business planning to make sure it would work financially for city... all those things had to be legitimized going into the referendum and the community had to believe in the work.”

The Excelsior Springs Community Center had a goal of 1,000 members in the first year, but membership blew past that in the first few months.

“It’s been very successful and a big economic impact to the community," Newman said. "Just delivering everything the community needed and maximizing the value of everything that would be there by making it exciting and multigenerational, with diverse user groups, and then bringing all those things together on an existing school campus.... I think it was a challenge and we succeeded.” 

Brittany Probst, facility supervisor, said the center is changing lives for its more than 2,000 members.

“There is a fitness aspect of it which is what people associate with a community center, but there’s also a social aspect to it,” Probst said. “Families who (previously) went home and watched TV all night, and that was their social time together, now they’re coming here and swimming as a family or playing pickle ball and basketball as a family, so it’s gratifying to hear every time someone says, ‘This facility has changed my life,’  because that’s why we are here.”

Project partners include: City of Excelsior Springs, developer; SFS Architecture, architecture services; Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture, architecture services; Crossland Construction, general contractor; Water Technology, Inc., engineering services; Henderson Engineers, engineering services; GBA, engineering services; SK Design Group, engineering services; Confluence, landscape architecture, Ballard*King & Associates, consulting services.