Corbion tastes success with new Lenexa North American headquarters and innovation lab

Food ingredient research company Corbion has opened its new 58,000-square foot North American headquarters and advanced laboratory facility at 8250 Flint St. in Lenexa. The new $13 million facility consolidates the company's 200 employees into one regional operation.

Developed by Block Real Estate Services (BRES), the building is less than a mile from Corbion's longtime location at 79th and Quivira and marks the completion of Pine Ridge West Business Park, a flagship development for BRES.

"BRES has been excited to assist Corbion with the development of a new high-end facility in Pine Ridge Business Park,” said Kenneth G. Block, managing principal at BRES. “As a fellow industry leader, Corbion’s commitment to quality and innovation matches BRES’s commitment, which is visible in Corbion’s new facility and the nearby BRES apartment development of WaterSide Residences on Quivira.”

The facility includes a state-of-the-art bakery and demonstration kitchen, as well as meat research and application labs. Designed by Finkle + Williams, the building reflects the company's focus on sustainability through local sourcing, clean energy, centralized waste management, composting and recycling programs, according to a release.

The new headquarters and lab will inform the Dutch company's approach to helping create a safe and sustainable global food supply. Corbion has had a presence in the KC region for almost a century.

“We constantly encourage our employees and our customers to ‘Keep Creating,’ because the world urgently needs better solutions to the challenges we face,” said Andy Muller, Executive Vice President at Corbion. “The innovations we help create make a difference in the lives of people everywhere – people just like us. We try to merge our areas of scientific expertise with what we know and care about as consumers so we can develop solutions that make a meaningful impact for everyone, including ourselves and our families.”

Local vendors were chosen for the facility, including food services by Westport Flea Market and beverages by Messenger Coffee and Tea Market.

Block added that Corbion was a good partner for BRES because the companies are aligned both professionally and philanthropically.

“Corbion’s involvement in the community and focus on giving back align with BRES’s commitment to philanthropy which has made this an ideal partnership,” Block said.

Corbion employs a total of 350 in the region.

After Action Network plans community campus in Crossroads Arts District

CTK Real Estate is partnering with After Action Network to open a new community campus serving veterans and their families in the Crossroads Arts District. Located at 512 Southwest Boulevard, the campus will include The Garrison Café powered by The Roasterie and is the first physical location for the charity founded by Joey Williams, a local marine whose military career suddenly ended after a serious injury.

“My recovery was long and difficult. Although it was a dark time, my recovery ultimately led me into the Arts, which added a new purpose and direction to my life,” Williams said. “I founded After Action Network to help other veterans find their passion as well.”

Williams began his outreach with a website designed to bring Veterans and the community together, but the high level of traffic generated by the site led him to begin dreaming of opening a physical gathering place where veterans and civilians could make meaningful connections through a variety of programs and events. Williams shared his vision with Chris Kamberis, founder of CTK Real Estate, and the team worked together to bring the project from concept to campus.

“It has been gratifying to work with Joey as he takes After Action Network to the next level with a physical location,” said Kamberis, a national commercial and multifamily real estate developer based in Kansas City. “After Action Network will help countless veterans regain confidence and purpose as they assimilate back to civilian life.”

The Garrison Café powered by The Roasterie will serve the Reveille specialty blend coffee roasted exclusively for After Action Network. The Reveille blend will be sold by local retailers and online at TheRoasterie.com, with 10 percent of proceeds going directly to veterans and their families.

“The Roasterie is honored to be part of this very special collaboration,” said The Roasterie Founder Danny O’Neill. “Meaningful community involvement has been an integral cornerstone of our company since we opened in Kansas City 25 years ago. When I met Joey and heard his story and vision, I knew instantly the After Action Network campus aligns with our passion for serving a city we dearly love. The Roasterie Team is proud to have our coffee served in The Garrison Café.”

For more information, visit afteractionnetwork.org. To learn more about CTK Real Estate, visit ctkrealestate.com.

Eyeing potential along I-49, NorthPoint breaks ground on 148-acre golf course redevelopment

NorthPoint Development officially broke ground Wednesday morning on Southview Commerce Center, a 148-acre flex industrial campus at 16001 S. Outer Road just east of Interstate 49. At full buildout, the redevelopment of the former Southview Golf Course will create an estimated 1,400 jobs with an annual wage impact of $57 million.

“NorthPoint continues to expand its footprint in the Kansas City industrial market and we are pleased to announce our newest business park, Southview Commerce Center. This project shows our focus on investing in parks with great access, labor, and a strong public/private partnership like we have with the City of Belton,” said NorthPoint Development CEO Nathaniel Hagedorn, in a release.

Belton Mayor Jeff Davis noted NorthPoint Development’s success in helping transform communities through the development of quality business parks and thanked the development team for bringing its vision for the abandoned private golf course to the City.

“After sitting vacant for more than a decade, we believe that the redevelopment of the former Southview Golf Course will create new economic opportunity for the next generation of Belton residents,” Mayor Davis said. “The City is eager to continue working with NorthPoint to attract advanced manufacturing, warehouse and distribution operations to our community.”

Southview Commerce Center is master-planned for five state-of-the-art buildings ranging from 235,000 to 622,000 square feet, for a total footprint of more than 2 million square feet. The project’s construction timeline will be market driven based on leasing activity.

NorthPoint plans to invest more than $100 million in the redevelopment project.

“We always say, 'capital goes where capital is welcomed,’ and we feel very welcomed in Belton,” Hagedorn said. “Southview Commerce Center represents a large capital investment from our firm, which in turn will create significant job opportunities for the residents of Belton, Cass County, and the surrounding area.”

At the groundbreaking, NorthPoint Vice President Brent Miles credited the persistence of Belton Economic Development Director Carolyn Yatsook for NorthPoint’s initial interest in the site.

“We believe in Belton, and we believe in this site,” Miles said. “I wouldn’t be standing here today if I hadn’t decided to go to Big Cedar Lodge for Thanksgiving and ended up sitting on I-49 and seeing the site and saying, ‘Well, Carolyn continues to call me every three months, I think I’ll call her back.’ ”

Yatsook said the City has worked hard to create a business-friendly environment that allows developers like NorthPoint and business prospects to have an expedited, hassle-free experience as they move through the approval process.

“We offer a single departmental contact to help guide our development partners every step of the way-from initial consultation through to project delivery,” Yatsook said. “We also recognize that many projects are time sensitive. NorthPoint was able to move from land acquisition to today’s groundbreaking in under six months, which means they will be able to take advantage of this historically strong industrial market.”

Mark Fountain of True North Industrial Realty will lead leasing efforts for Southview Commerce Center.

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.

Rosin Preservation savors winning streak despite tax credit uncertainty

Rosin Preservation will close out 2018 with a string of high-profile projects despite uncertainty surrounding Missouri’s historic tax credit program. In October alone, four of the firm’s Downtown Kansas City historic preservation projects will open, beginning with Foutch Brothers LLC’s $39 million redevelopment of Kemper Arena into HyVee Arena, a youth and amateur sports hub.

With $1.6 billion in completed projects over the past 20 years, CEO Elizabeth Rosin said that securing a historic designation for the 1970’s-era venue was among the most challenging projects the firm has undertaken. Although construction took about a year, it took over three years to secure the arena's place on the National Registry of Historic Places.

“The building is less than 50 years old, so we had to figure out why it was historically significant other than its architecture and engineering,” Rosin said. “We ended up talking about its importance as a cultural and social icon for Kansas City because of the wide range of events held there for an entire generation. Everybody has a memory of Kemper Arena, whether it’s Big 12 Basketball, the American Royal, a concert, circus, convention or some other sporting event.”

The redevelopment of the iconic and beloved Savoy Hotel into the 21c Museum Hotel, replete with curated gallery spaced and art installations, was equally challenging. Rosin said the Savoy, which reopened in July, was in much rougher shape than most people realized.

“There are always surprises when you get into a building, and this one-- because of its age-- had a few more surprises so there were plenty of questions to deal with on the fly,” Rosin said. “A big part of our job was making sure that the elements that contributed to the Savoy’s sense of history and the character of the building were preserved.”

The hotel was constructed in five stages between the 1880’s and 1917, which meant it had several types of molding and doors that needed attention and preservation.

“The challenge was helping people understand what all those elements were and what needed to be protected and why-- and then figuring out how to meld that into the building,” Rosin said.

Additional Rosin Preservation projects completed this month include the renovation of the former Brookfield Building into Hotel Indigo, the former Pabst and Pendergast Buildings redeveloped into the Crossroads Hotel, and the old Jensen Salsbery Lab transformed into the new headquarters of Centric Projects and Superior Bowen.

This fall, the old Downtown Lee’s Summit Post Office reopened as the Bridge Space co-working facility, and Rosin also is working on renovating and restoring the Longview Mansion and barns. 

The good news for Rosin and those in the business of preserving historic buildings is that although lawmakers have scaled back funding for Missouri’s historic tax credit program from $140 million to $120 million a year, it remains intact for now. However, it’s unclear how new guidelines will affect the program.

“The bill also included a requirement that DED (Missouri Department of Economic Development) evaluate the ‘net fiscal benefit of applications,’ and we are still waiting to find out what that means,” Rosin said.

Rosin Preservation has completed over $1.6 billion in historic tax credit construction nationwide. Additional noteworthy projects include the Oklahoma State Capitol and the Empire State Building in New York City.

Photo Credit: Brad Finch, f-stop Photography