Block Real Estate Services, LLC (BRES) touts on its website that it is Kansas City’s leader in commercial real estate. But, BRES is striving to become a commercial real estate leader in communities outside of the Kansas City area.
Aaron Mesmer, senior vice president, development and acquisitions, BRES, gave an update on current projects in which BRES is involved when he spoke last Friday at the monthly breakfast hosted by CCIM Kansas City.
“BRES is a locally based real estate company. We do office, industrial, medical, retail and multifamily properties. We’ve built a portfolio here in town. We’ve also built a portfolio out of town, and we’re continuing to push in other markets right now,” Mesmer said.
BRES currently has several industrial projects underway in Lenexa Logistics Centre, including Lenexa Logistics Centre North 11, a build-to-suit containing approximately 200,000 SF for MS International, Inc. (MSI). Mesmer said BRES sold MSI the ground, and BRES is building the facility on a fee basis.
Another is Lenexa Logistics Centre North 5, a cross-docked, bulk distribution warehouse containing approximately 565,000 SF, for which BRES is seeking tenants. Mesmer said the average tenant in this building will be at least 100,000 SF, and more likely in the range of 200,000 or 250,000 SF.
And, BRES is getting ready to start work on Lenexa Logistics Centre South 8, a rear-loaded facility containing approximately 195,400 SF, which fronts College Boulevard. Mesmer said the building will attract tenants who need a warehouse facility but also want an office where they can have a showroom.
Riverside is another community in which BRES is active in the industrial space. Having completed Riverside Logistics Centre I, Mesmer said BRES started work last month on Riverside Logistics Centre II, located immediately south of Amazon’s Riverside facility.
Mesmer said a lot of the demand for space in Riverside has been fueled by the automakers.
“If you look at the tenants that are down here in Riverside, what you'll see is a lot of those folks are suppliers for the automotive industry. . . .And so the proximity here to Fairfax has helped to drive some of the folks that want to be there to distribute their product to the Fairfax GM plant. And, we think that’s certainly going to help drive the demand in addition to the fact that when you look at that map, Riverside is really well located from a logistics standpoint,” he said.
BRES also is active in the industrial space in the St. Louis market, where it is working with Clearpath Development Partners.
BRES has several projects in Maryland Heights, Mo. One of the projects, Millpark Logistics Center, was completed this summer and is fully leased.
BRES acquired a build-ready, use-specific site in Maryland Heights from Duke Realty four or five years ago and waited for the right opportunity. A few years ago, Bastian Solutions. a Toyota Advanced Logistics company, engaged BRES to build it a facility. Mesmer said Riverport Bastian will be completed in November.
Mesmer said BRES is acquiring a former airport runway located just south of Riverport Bastian. 141 Logistics Centre will be comprised of two bulk distribution buildings, each containing approximately 540,000 SF, with construction on the first building to begin within the next 18 months.
In addition to building industrial buildings, Mesmer said BRES likes to purchase them. It recently acquired properties in Des Moines, Ankeny and Grimes, Iowa.
BRES also is active in the multifamily market. Although most of its multifamily footprint is in Kansas City, it has been expanding into other markets, including Omaha, Des Moines, Cincinnati, northwest Arkansas and Denver. In addition, a development associate based in Arkansas also is working to identify opportunities in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on BRES’s account.
CityPlace, a mixed-use development in Overland Park, is slated to have 1400 units when the four planned multifamily projects are completed. The Apex at CityPlace, a 370-unit project with 18,500 SF of retail space on the lower level, was delivered last year. Mesmer said construction on The Majestic at CityPlace, a 355-unit project, likely will start next year.
Another mixed-use project in the works in Overland Park is Galleria, to contain multifamily, retail and office components. The first project to deliver was The Residences at Galleria which opened in April. Mesmer said the 322-unit project is 60 percent leased and 45 percent occupied. Some of the retail sites along Nall Avenue from 112th to 115th Street are out of the ground, and BRES is under contract with a medical office developer for a pad site.
In Olathe, work on The Clearing at Anderson Point is underway. The project will contain 270 apartments and 48 townhomes and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Construction has commenced on a 221-unit multifamily project in Castle Rock, Colorado located on the site of a former storage facility. Sunflower Development Group brought the deal to BRES. Mesmer said the city of Castle Rock purchased a condo interest within the project to add public parking space.
Mesmer said BRES acquired a multifamily site in Omaha with entitlements and currently is looking for funding for Meridian 72, a 277-unit project.
A partnership of BRES and Sunflower Development Group last year acquired the 10-story Cincinnati Club built in 1922 and located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The lower two levels contain an event space.
“Upstairs it was a million little studio hotel rooms with their own little restroom. . . . In the 80s, it was renovated to become an office building upstairs, and now we’re bringing it back to residential. It adjoins a 600-space parking garage. . . . Our hope is to start construction in the second quarter of 2023,” said Mesmer.
Other local multifamily projects in the planning stages include The Madison, slated to be a 238-unit project on the northwest corner of 47th Street and Madison on the northwest side of the Plaza; 143rd and Metcalf, a 254-unit project with parking underneath in Overland Park; College & Ridgeview, located in Lenexa, a 331 unit project; and 56th and Foxridge, a 307 unit project located in Mission.
Mesmer said BRES recently acquired two existing multifamily projects. Towne Park at Har-Ber, a 237-unit project in Springdale, Arkansas, and The Residences at Riverview, a 152-unit project in Des Moines, Iowa.
Feature photo credit: Nichole Bissey Photography