Fogel-Anderson will manage Mission Gateway construction project, timetable

Fogel-Anderson Construction Co. has been named Construction Manager for the long-awaited Mission Gateway redevelopment project at Johnson Drive and Shawnee Mission Parkway, marking a departure from the typical General Contractor model.

“The complexities of Mission Gateway and our determination to use the best in class contractors led us to utilize a construction manager over a single prime general contractor,” said Tom Valenti of The Cameron Group, which is co-developing Mission Gateway with GFI Development Company. “We believe that Fogel-Anderson Construction, with their more than 100 years of experience in the Kansas City market, will enable us to deliver a development that residents of the area will be proud to live, work, play and stay in.”

Emery Sapp & Sons began site preparation in September, setting the stage for the first phase of construction that includes apartments, building pad sites and public road improvements. Future phases include a hotel, office building, 40,000-square foot food hall, and destination entertainment venue, all slated for delivery in 2021.

“Mission Gateway has a number of moving parts that are interrelated. Fogel-Anderson’s role as Construction Manager is to build and maintain the master budget, schedule, and plan the logistics of the entire development,” said Roger Summers, Fogel-Anderson vice president. “As construction ramps up on the separate buildings, our team will coordinate the activities of dozens of prime and subcontractors working on site.”

Neighbors Construction will serve as General Contractor for Mission Gateway’s first vertical construction, a multifamily-over-retail building adjacent to a parking garage. Located on the development’s north side along Shawnee Mission Parkway, the residential portion of the project is targeted for a spring 2020 completion.

Kansas City-based architecture design firm El Dorado, Inc. designed the overall master plan.

Bluhawk Apartments prepare for blastoff

Work has blasted off at the Bluhawk Apartments located at 167th Street and Lowell Avenue in south Overland Park, with mass blasting taking place over the past month. 

Haupt Construction has been busy clearing the site of native limestone with the help of three surface drill rigs. A rock crusher then processes large chunks of limestone to be recycled as gravel filler for use throughout the entire project. In October, HarenLaughlin Construction will begin laying footings and foundations in preparation for vertical construction to begin.

“It’s rewarding to see this project move closer to vertical construction. Bluhawk Apartments are a critical component of the overall 300-acre Bluhawk mixed-use development,” said Bart Lowen, vice president of Price Brothers Development.

When completed in early 2020, Bluhawk Apartments will include eight buildings and a total of 201 apartment units ranging from one- to three-bedroom floor plans with higher-end interior features such as granite countertops. Each building will have garages as well as open-space parking.

The community will include a basketball court and convenient location adjacent to the Shawnee Mission Health-Blue Valley full-service hospital, Cosentino’s Market, and Bluhawk’s many shops and restaurants.

Opus kicks off construction of Westport multifamily mixed-use project

The Opus Group (Opus), along with Central Bank of the Midwest and CTK Real Estate, officially began construction on a 256-unit mixed-use apartment community at Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard. Completion is targeted for spring 2020. 

“We’re pleased to be building our presence and business in Kansas City by contributing a modern mixed-use project in the vibrant neighborhood of Westport,” said Joe Downs, vice president/general manager of Opus Development Company, LLC. “Westport has a unique, historical aesthetic, and this project will bring that attitude to life in a contemporary way.”

The six-story project will feature 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail, two suites, and 254 apartment units in a variety of floor plans, ranging from junior studio to two-bedrooms. Standard luxury finishes include nine-foot ceilings, stone countertops, designer backsplash and lighting packages, vinyl plank flooring, stainless steel appliances, oversized windows, and in-unit washers and dryers.

The project features a club room and roof-level terrace with views of Westport and the Country Club Plaza, as well as a larger, lower-level amenity terrace with pool, fire pits, lounge areas, grilling and dining capabilities and an adjacent club room. Additional amenities include fitness equipment with Fitness On Demand™, conference rooms, co-working vestibules, spa, dog wash station, secure bike storage and storage space for residents , as well as two levels of secure underground parking with direct access to residential floors.

Opus Development Company, LLC is the developer, Opus Design Build, LLC is the design-builder and Opus AE Group, LLC is the interior designer, architect and structural engineer of record. 

CityPlace mixed-use project 'tops out' first 120,000 SF office building

Block Real Estate Services, LLC marked a construction milestone for its CityPlace Corporate Centre III office building with a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony. Anchored by Mediware Information Systems, Inc., the 120,268-square foot building is the first of four Class A office buildings planned for the mixed-use project located at the southwest corner of College Boulevard and Highway 69 in Overland Park.

“We are honored that Mediware selected CityPlace as the home of its corporate headquarters, validating our premier mixed-use development designed for residents to live, work and play for years to come,” CityPlace Developer Ken Block said.

Community members involved in the planning, development and construction of the property, signed the project’s final steel beam before it was hoisted and placed atop the building on August 13.

Constructed by Titan Built, designed by Hoefer Wysocki Architects and developed by Block Development Company, the office building will include a blend of granite and precast panels andreflective glass in a modern design. 

“When we learned about the new construction at CityPlace, we knew we wanted to get in on the ground floor of this project," said Mediware CEO Bill Miller. "As we solidify our position as the leading innovator in health care and human services solutions, we needed a world headquarters that would reflect our vision of powering stronger, healthier communities.” 

Mediware, a leading supplier of software solutions that help health care and human services providers. will occupy floors three and four of the four-story building and has committed to a future lease term of 15 years and four months, beginning in June 2019.

Once complete, CityPlace will feature up to 600,250 square feet of office space, 1,382 multifamily units, 140 senior units, and up to 60,000 square feet of retail space. For more information about CityPlace, visit www.cityplacekc.com. For more information about Block Real Estate Services, LLC, visit www.blockllc.com.

Unity Village CEO casts vision for holistic health campus

Unity Village CEO Jim Blake shared a vision for a holistic health and fitness community with tiny homes and natural amenities on its sprawling campus near U.S. 50 and Colbern Road. 

“Why not build a huge hotel and conference center here?” Blake said. “We can attract speakers here if we had greater inventory, and the business community would have whatever it wants in a conference center next to a 9-hole golf course, walking trails and fishing lakes.”

Blake shared his vision with Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council leaders at a recent luncheon, adding that Unity would like to pursue collaborative public/private partnerships to build a convention center and resort. 

Although no official plans have been drafted, Blake envisions a healthy lifestyle community that is home to a first-of-its-kind holistic medical facility staffed by a renowned naturopathic physician. The community would offer summer youth programs that take advantage of miles of trails, stocked lakes, golf course and tennis courts as well as a new tiny home development.

“Nature is built on collaboration. Ecosystems are built on collaboration. Survival is building upon how communities collaborate. We have the opportunity to collaborate and build something powerful in this community rather than build something separately,” Blake said. 

Any new development would complement existing facilities, which include an all-new golf clubhouse with food and beverage, 50-room LEED-certified hotel and conference center, banquet and dining hall, fitness center, 2.5 miles of walking trails, fleet of GPS-enabled bicycles, a community garden and apple barn, as well as Starbuck’s on-campus coffee shop.

Blake’s vision is purely conceptual at this point. However, commercial development already is taking shape on campus and in the Summit Village development just south across Colbern Road at I-470 and 50 Highway. A new public road has been extended off the recently constructed Blue Parkway, and Summit Eye Center has completed construction on the first phase of its new medical office building.

At buildout, phase one of Summit Village will accommodate up to 500,000-square feet of office, medical office, hotel and other commercial users requiring between 5,000 to 50,000 square feet, according to Michael VanBuskirk, principal of Newmark Grubb Zimmer, which is handling development of the project on behalf of Unity Realty.

Preliminary approval is in place for an already constructed pad site adjacent to Summit Eye Center that will accommodate a 20,000-square foot building. In addition, nearby sites are available for sale or build-to-suit opportunities. Phases two and three of Summit Village include an additional 175 acres to accommodate over 1.5 million square feet of various mixed-use development for a  potential major headquarters site or rail-served flex industrial park.

Meanwhile, on-campus leasing activity is robust, with multiple spaces available. Current tenants include Almeda Labs, Healthcare Solutions Team, JSC Engineering, Transit Pros, Gardens at Unity Village, Unity Village Chapel, as well as Unity Worldwide ministries.   

“We started rolling out on-campus leasing about a year ago, and right now there is 30,000 square feet of third-party tenants already occupying space,” VanBuskirk said.