Centric partners persevere, celebrate a decade building KC

Centric partners Richard Wetzel and Steve Swanson, two design and construction veterans, are no strangers to persevering through a tough economy. This week is no exception, as they celebrate a decade of success in Kansas City.

In June 2010, the unemployment rate in the United States was 9.4% and the construction industry was experiencing the worst month for spending since the beginning of the downturn in 2008.

The duo recognized a need for a more nimble, agile and flexible company in an industry not known for innovation. Powered by a strong, entrepreneurial spirit, Centric was launched on June 4, 2010.

The start-up, bootstrap nature of the company paved the way for pioneering the use of cloud-computing systems, the development of open-office concepts and the involvement in the arts community.

In the past 10 years Centric has completed 828 projects totaling $618 million, ranging in size from a few hundred dollars to over $35 million. Their body of work includes workplace, retail, multifamily, healthcare, hospitality, industrial, senior living, institutional and - more recently, features custom single-family homes. The company currently employs 158 associates who work remotely on job sites or from its home in the Crossroads Arts District where it has headquartered since its founding.

“We’re proud to have been involved in many important projects integral in sustaining the momentum of development in Kansas City, but perhaps the most important body of work we have been awarded is along the Troost Avenue corridor,” said Wetzel.

“With a history of racism, redlining, and segregation, this area has long been a symbol of division in Kansas City, but is now a hotspot for development. We are excited to be part of this sea of change and look forward to seeing that divide permanently mended.”

Centric is currently involved in over $100 million of work in the corridor from 27th Street to 65th Street, including multifamily, institutional, office and retail developments.

Other notable Centric projects include a nine-story addition to the Ambassador Hotel, the apartments at 3435 Main Street, the luxury apartment building at 1914 Main Street (the first new construction project along the KC Streetcar), and eight Spira Care clinics. Among their most memorable, includes lifting a post-war DC-3, used in the Berlin airlift, onto the roof of the Roasterie Café in Kansas City’s westside.

“While we are going through a truly unprecedented time both in our community and worldwide, we remain optimistic about the future growth and development of our city and look forward to its next decade. Kansas City is our home, and we will continue to strive to make it a cooler place to live, work and play, by building stories from the ground up," Swanson said.