All eyes focused on Kansas City CRE wins

Last week at CCIM Kansas City’s monthly meeting, Michael Berenbom, managing partner, LANE4 Property Group; Jon Copaken, principal, Copaken Brooks; John McGurk, vice president of development, Milhaus; and Ora Reynolds, president, and CEO, Hunt Midwest, joined moderator Tim Cowden, president and CEO of Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC), for a discussion of the state of the Kansas City market for the four major asset classes represented by the panel.

The panelists each spoke to the Kansas City projects that have them most excited. Reynolds began with Hunt Midwest’s logistics and industrial footprint and its continuing rapid growth.

“Definitely this cycle and people have written about it, is so different.  The cycle there can be a two-year cycle from when you source a deal to when you build it and lease it, instead of what took a 5, 10, 15-year cycle.  You tend to know what you have when you start with industrial when you start with a building.  You know when the end goal is,” said Reynolds.

Berenbom said he is excited about downtown Lee’s Summit.  

“Whether it’s office or retail we’re looking at, location matters, character matters, neighborhood matters, and downtown Lee’s Summit is one of those neighborhoods that has it.  Sometimes it’s hard to articulate exactly what that is, but we all know if we go spend time down there,” he said.

Copaken spoke about residential development, especially downtown, which has seen continued growth.  But, he’s especially pumped about the renewed discussion of a downtown baseball stadium.

“That’s the catalytic project that can really push things over the edge for the whole city.   It’s good to see that there’s ownership and people actually interested in making something happen,” said Copaken.

McGurk is looking forward to the streetcar extension. He also said he’s starting to see some really healthy rent growth in the multifamily market across the entire metro area, which historically has been a cheap housing market. 

“You’re also starting to see a lot of supply fall off a cliff.  Five years ago you would hear of 12, 15 projects in downtown.  Well, there are maybe three or four that are going to be under construction and delivering in the next three years.  Supply’s really falling off which is just going to increase that rent growth . . . . It’s harder to do deals, but the juice is worth that squeeze probably,” McGurk said.

However, McGurk believes there will continue to be a demand for multifamily housing.  He noted that there is a lack of availability of single-family houses, but also many millennial tenants like the multifamily lifestyle. 

“They like having new, and they like having all the amenities. It’s just a different generation and I’m sure it will change.  Household formation is mid-30s, late-30s now. I’m not saying we’ll have an oversupply in 15 or 20 years, but I think there’s a lot of runway still for sure in multifamily,” said McGurk.

Reynolds said the pandemic accelerated every trend for industrial, with brick and mortar retail moving to warehouse.  But, the pandemic also created supply chain issues.

“It used to be all about just-in-time inventory.  That was it.  Let’s be efficient.  Now it’s just-in-case.  It’s safety stock.  We need it, and we need redundancy as opposed to just in time, which has been amazing for the industrial world,” Reynolds said.

Berenbom said LANE4’s retail product held up well during COVID because LANE4 had the right type of retail assets—the neighborhood, service, convenience-based product.

“And I think that more and more we’re realizing that retail is an integral last-mile solution for a lot of people.  There’s a lot of products where free delivery on your doorstep works, and we’re learning that there are some that don’t.  And we’re learning other ones, like haircuts, are hard to do online,” Berenbom said.

Copaken said the effects of COVID are continuing for the office market.  The uncertainty of the market makes it hard for landlords to do business, especially as tenants ponder lease renewals and change in space needs.

“I think it’s really going to be a tough year for existing landlords to keep, maintain and figure out what to do with their existing tenants.  And, it’s going to be a tough year to work on new projects. The dynamics are not in our favor right now.  They’re really in the favor of tenants,” Copaken said.

Copaken said his firm is trying to create environments that are unique, that people want to be part of and that tenants will pay up to be part of.

“So, we’re renovating, we’re spending money, we’re improving assets.  That’s kind of the only bet we can make.. We’ve decided to put in improvements that make our older buildings as if they were new, and appeal to people who are definitely going to have to pay something more but they’re going to have to pay something more for that quality they want,” he said.

LANE4 names new managing partner

After serving eleven years as the firm’s director of investments, LANE4 Property Group has announced Michael Berenbom as its new managing partner.

“Mike’s experience as a producer puts him in a prime position to lead this firm. He has a deep understanding of what makes our business function, and how to capitalize on individual opportunities in a cohesive and strategic manner, leading to broad-based success,” said Owen Buckley, LANE4 president.

Owen founded LANE4 in 2006 and will remain in place as the firm’s president and leader of the brokerage team. The shift will allow him to focus further on the firm’s clients and real estate projects, identifying and executing new deals and advising the firm’s producers.

A Kansas City native, Berenbom has spent his career in real estate focusing on asset management, investment brokerage and equity procurement. Prior to joining LANE4, he served as vice president of asset management for Lincoln Property Company in Chicago, Ill., where he was responsible for the portfolio management of Class A office properties totaling over $800 million throughout the United States.

Berenbom has been instrumental in many of LANE4’s most prominent projects, including the acquisition and redevelopment of 95Metcalf South (formerly Metcalf South Mall) and several shopping center acquisitions throughout the metro. He also has led the firm’s efforts on many municipal projects, including the Downtown Olathe Library and the recently announced Lee’s Summit Downtown Market Plaza project.

He has been personally responsible for over $200 million in acquisitions on behalf of LANE4, and an additional $75 million on behalf of third-party clients, both buyers and sellers.

“There are two parts to successful real estate projects: the idea and the execution. LANE4 has a proven track record of succeeding in both. Having the tools and people in place to generate and execute successful deals leads to strong partnerships and repeat business with clients, partners and communities,” said Berenbom.

Since its founding, LANE4 has developed a niche for executing creative, successful projects and partnerships within Kansas City’s commercial real estate market. Collectively, the firm has spearheaded nearly $900 million in acquisition and development projects, served hundreds of clients and completed countless traditional brokerage transactions.

The company is preparing to break ground on a new Downtown Library and municipal building in Olathe, Kan., serving as the owner’s representative and project manager on behalf of the City of Olathe.

LANE4 was recently selected as the master developer for the City of Lee’s Summit’s Downtown Market Plaza project — a 2.75-acre, mixed-use infill project that will blend civic and public amenities with private uses (potentially including a hotel, multifamily, restaurant and retail buildings).

In addition to its growing portfolio, the LANE4 team has recently expanded its team, adding veteran brokers Adam Abrams and Mike Levitan, who bring over 30 years of collective experience in the Kansas City market.

Berenbom is also an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, sits on the Olathe Economic Development Council Advisory Board and serves as the vice president of investments for the Menorah Heritage Foundation.

LANE4 releases annual report: Equilibrium emerging for 2020 retail market

Each year, LANE4 releases up-to-date information regarding the retail real estate market throughout the Kansas City metro in their Kansas City Retail Report.

An excerpt from the report, written by LANE4's Michael Berenbom, VP - Investments, follows:

"Perhaps the most indicative trait of the Information Age is the ever-accelerating pace of change. Like so many industries, the retail world has been hit with a shockwave of Amazonian proportions, disrupting consumer behavior, economic policy, technology, and social norms.”

“However, when a pendulum swings dramatically in one direction, it eventually swings back in the direction from which it came, drawing itself slowly toward an equilibrium. The retail pendulum may never reach a perfect balance between where we were decades ago and the height of emerging technology, but there are noticeable signs of movement toward a new middle ground, a balance between traditional retail habits and modern conveniences."

READ LANE4's full 2020 Kansas City Retail Report HERE.