The region's first large speculative industrial building at 167th Street and Lone Elm in Olathe has sold to a Dallas investment group. Developed by Kessinger/Hunter, the 600,000+ square foot warehouse and distribution facility at 22101 W. 167th St. in I-35 Logistics Park is fully occupied by FedEx and Bushnell Corp.
Developer Dan Jensen of Kessinger/Hunter saw the current industrial real estate wave coming over a decade ago and worked with Sun Life Assurance to get the building approved, financed and out of the ground.
“This was the first large spec building in our market. It was very rewarding to take this project from an idea back in 2007, through design, permitting, construction, leasing, management and finally sale ten years later," said Jensen, who brokered the building's recent sale to Sealy & Co.
When Jensen first proposed the Lone Elm spec, commercial real estate investment was in a deep freeze. Nonetheless, Jensen persisted and successfully made his case about the potential for growth in Kansas City due to its interstate highway access and central U.S. location. Today, the metro is one of the top 10 industrial markets in the country.
"It is incredible the way the Kansas City metro has exploded with quality big box distribution facilities over the past 10 years. I do not see this slowing down anytime in the near future," Jensen said.
Jensen, meanwhile, continues to ride the wave he helped create. Kessinger/Hunter just announced construction plans for its third warehouse facility in I-35 Logistics Park, a "semi-spec" project that is partially pre-leased. For those keeping track, that brings Jensen's team to just under 2 million square feet of industrial space developed in South Johnson County.
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) negotiated the sale on behalf of the buyer. Kessinger/Hunter will continue to manage the Lone Elm building.