With Midwest Gateway, Copaken Brooks is Edgerton's new kid in town

Brokers were offered a sneak peak of Midwest Gateway, a 487,000-square foot warehouse and distribution center adjacent to the entrance of BNSF Railway's intermodal facility at 191st and Homestead in Edgerton, Kan.

“Edgerton is the hottest industrial submarket in the world right now. Fortunately, we are able to offer two state-of-the-art buildings at 32-foot clear here,” said Bucky Brooks, principal with project developer Copaken Brooks.

Midwest Gateway is one of a handful of facilities located along the heavy haul, I-35 corridor and allows shippers to send heavier loads to and from the 443-acre BNSF intermodal yard with significant reduction in drayage expenses. 

“Supply chain experts all agree there are huge cost savings here,” said Aaron Schlagel of Copaken Brooks. “ARCO knocked it out of the park with this facility. We are ready to make deals.”

Midwest Gateway was completed three months ahead of schedule. Features of the 301,000- and 186,000-square foot buildings include upgraded LED motion-sensor lighting, future trailer parking, and the ability for users to lease or own.

"Midwest Gateway can accommodate tenants fromt 50,000 square feet and up, creating a rare opportunity for tenants seeking smaller format distribution facilities who want proximity to the BNSF Intermodal,” said Russell Pearson of NAI Heartland, which is co-marketing the project with Copaken Brooks.

A variety of city and state tax incentives are available for up to 10 years for potential users, as well as Foreign Trade Zone benefits.   

Project partners include ARCO National Construction, GMA Architects, Shafer, Kline & Warren, Krudwig & Associates and Metro Air.

Click here to download a Midwest Gateway project brochure. 

Building 1 at Midwest Gateway includes a balcony that overlooks BNSF's intermodal operations.

Lanter lifts Hunt Midwest’s 3PL footprint to more than 1 million square feet

Lanter Distributing LLC has expanded and consolidated its regional warehouse and distribution operations into a 126,000-square feet facility in Hunt Midwest SubTropolis. The Madison, Ill.-based refrigerated LTL and trucking company provides freight consolidation, distribution and deliveries to retail and wholesale customers throughout the Midwest and southern half of the U.S.

“Time and again, companies from a wide range of industries - including third party logistics, animal health and automotive upfitters - perform their due diligence and ultimately choose SubTropolis for its location, efficiency, and value proposition,” said Hunt Midwest President and CEO Ora Reynolds.

Lanter’s expansion brings Hunt Midwest’s total logistics footprint to well over one million square feet, with a total of eight 3PL companies operating in either SubTropolis or Hunt Midwest Business Center, according to Mike Bell, Hunt Midwest vice president of commercial development.

“We are seeing a ‘cluster effect’ of 3PL companies in SubTropolis and our surface business park, Hunt Midwest Business Center,” Bell said. “These companies are looking for access to labor and logistics to fuel their growth.”

Additional 3PL tenants include Advanced Logistics Fulfillment (ALF), American Central Transport (ACT), FW Warehousing, Ground Freight Expeditors, Hallmark Cards, Paris Brothers, and Rossi Motor Freight.

“The ability to quickly and easily scale operations is often top-of-mind for growing companies, and we are able to deliver space in SubTropolis in a timely manner because there are no weather delays or lengthy permitting processes,” Bell added.

Lanter initially leased 21,000 square feet in SubTropolis for dry and refrigerated warehouse and distribution space in 2012. According to Lanter Distributing Vice President Ryan Behrmann, SubTropolis is ideally suited to the company’s requirement for dry and refrigerated storage facilities.

“The customized space, combined with the central location, enables Lanter to continue to provide customers with an industry-leading, cost-efficient, multi-temperature logistics solution while offering on-time deliveries and exceptional service,” Behrmann said. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Hunt Midwest and growing our business within SubTropolis.”

Development team gets sneak peak of Midwest Gateway project (and so do you!)

Developers this week toured the Midwest Gateway project, a 487,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility under construction at 191st & Homestead in Edgerton, Kan. Comprised of two buildings designed to accommodate multiple tenants, Midwest Gateway is adjacent to the entrance of BNSF Railway's intermodal facility and on track for tenant occupancy by the end of the year.

Midwest Gateway is one of a handful of facilities located along the heavy haul, I-35 corridor, which allows shippers to send heavier loads to and from the intermodal yard with significant reduction in drayage expenses. 

"With buildings sized at 186,000 and 301,000 square feet each, Midwest Gateway creates a rare opportunity for tenants seeking smaller format distribution facilities who want close proximity to the BNSF Intermodal," said Russell Pearson of NAI Heartland, which is co-marketing the project alongside Copaken Brooks. "The buildings have a number of unique features including upgraded LED lighting, future trailer parking, and the ability for users to lease or own.  Building 1 even has a balcony that over-looks the BNSF intermodal operations which is really impressive to see."

Midwest Gateway is being developed by Copaken Brooks and co-marketed by NAI-Heartland and Copaken Brooks. Additional project partners include GMA Architects, ARCO National Construction, Shafer, Kline & Warren, Krudwig & Associates and Metro Air. (Below: Nathan Anderson, NAI-Heartland; Bucky Brooks, Copaken Brooks; Aaron Schlagel, Copaken Brooks; Russell Pearson, NAI-Heartland)

Click the photos below to browse our slide show for a full construction update. More details online at MidwestGatewayKC.com. 

MWM Industrial Summit signals continued strong market

A panel of leading Kansas City commercial real estate developers, builders and municipal leaders shared insight into the region's booming industrial market at MetroWireMedia's 2017 Industrial Summit on Friday, Aug. 25 at Blue Hills Country Club. 

Here's a snapshot of industry insight from our panelists:

“We are seeing about 60 percent of users come from outside the Kansas City area, and we are on pace to deliver over 10 million square feet this year."  -Kevin Wilkerson, JLL

“The supply side of industrial development has been somewhat disciplined. Demand has not outpaced supply at all, so we expect it will continue in a healthy fashion.” -Mark Long, Newmark Grubb Zimmer

“Kansas City companies can reach 90 percent of the U.S. in two days' shipping, so a company that years ago believed they needed to be near population densities on the east or west coast can reach 90 percent of their customers right here.” -Mike Bell, Hunt Midwest

“We are seeing more 'small boxes' that are appealing to tenants who want to be in their own space and not have to share a building, or they are a 60,000 to 80,000 square foot tenant and it appeals to them to have a right of first refusal and be in their own space and growing.” -Sam Stahnke, ARCO Construction

“From a long-term perspective, Kansas City has now reached a new level within the country as a major destination for e-commerce distribution, and that’s not going to change. The growth is going to continue for some time.” -Whitney Kerr, Jr., Cushman & Wakefield

“We are looking for opportunities where there is going to be a significant incentive to do business in Kansas City. We aren’t trying to create winners and losers amongst you all; we are trying to create winners for all of you within our Port District.” -Michael Collins, Port KC

“One of the challenges for local government, especially a government as small as Edgerton, is to be aware of what all levels of government are doing and how that might impact our ability to provide attractive incentives. Edgerton is certainly looking for opportunities to be creative and to have incentives that look different from other areas of the country.” -Beth Linn, Edgerton City Administrator

"MetroWireMedia has assembled a group of Kansas City commercial real estate leaders who are at the top of their game in what is without question the strongest industrial real estate market in recent Kansas City history. I look forward to leading the discussion as we hear about best practices for sustaining the momentum in the current red-hot market." -Chris Gutierrez, KC SmartPort

Want more insider scoop? Mark your calendars for MetroWireMedia's 2017 Multi-Family Summit on Oct. 12. Contact Lisa Shackelford for sponsorship information. 

Check out our slideshow below, or head to our Facebook page and tag yourself in the event photos. 

KCP&L offers energy incentives for industrial projects

Industrial users could be missing out on tens of thousands of dollars in potential cost savings available through KCP&L's energy efficiency programs. That was the message from the utility to attendees at MetroWireMedia's 2017 Industrial Summit on August 25th. 

"The industrial sector of the economy provides the most number of opportunities for partnerships between KCP&L and you or your clients," KCP&L Economic Development Manager John Engelmann told attendees. "These will provide a more compelling business case for the site or building you are marketing to your clients."

Medium to large-sized manufacturing, warehouse and distribution projects may also qualify for KCP&L's Economic Development Rider Tariff, which provides a discounted rate over a five-year period and equates to approximately one years' worth of energy costs. To qualify, projects must have a separately metered load of 200KW, a multiple shift operation and incentives from the city of state in which the building is located. 

"These incentives must be applied for prior to any public announcement by the client, so the key to any successful partnership is to include KCP&L's Economic Development Team early in the process so we can make sure your clients can qualify,"  Engelmann said.  

In addition, KCP&L has an Energy Efficiency Team dedicated to working with Missouri customers, builders and developers to obtain rebates for the purchase of higher efficiency products such as lighting, HVAC, controls, drives/pumps or process items. 

Energy Efficiency Rebates are capped at up to $500,000 per customer per year and are available for everything from standard solutions such as simple lighting upgrades to customized needs for larger retrofits or new construction projects. 

A full list of requirements and programs can be found at KCPLED.com.