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.

Lenexa's The District mixed-use offers case study on cold-formed steel construction

Construction has hit the midway point for the multifamily portion of The District at City Center, a mixed-use project that adds luxury apartments, retail and office space to the Lenexa City Center development area at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. 

The multifamily portion of The District includes 175 units and serves as the region’s first suburban apartment-over-retail project constructed of cold-formed steel. General Contractor Haren Laughlin Construction (HLC) is touting the benefits of the product, which uses prefabricated steel studs to shorten construction times and eliminate on-site labor while improving fire safety during construction and throughout the life of the building.

“The owners wanted to build something that they could sustain for longer than what a wood structure is going to give you, so they brought us to the table and we put together a proposal and really dove into what it was going to take - the parts and pieces - to get this built,” said Matt Fisher, pre-construction manager for HLC. 

HLC, along with design partner Klover Architects, met with potential subcontractors and chose Dahmer Contracting Group led by Dusty Dahmer because its bid was the most competitive and cost efficient. By using an "off-the-shelf" metal stud system, Dahmer said his team was able to tighten the margins so the project made financial sense for co-developers Copaken Brooks and EPC Real Estate Group. 

“The difference between wood and metal framing used to be a bigger spread, and the market’s gotten so much more efficient, so now the difference is a lot smaller,” Dahmer said. “There was a steep learning curve at the beginning of the project, but now we are cruising." 

Reuben Hamman, HLC project manager, said steel framing makes for a safer and cleaner construction site.

“It’s a lot safer product to install because everything we are building is off of a slab, so we are not three stories in the air in a multifamily area swinging stuff around,” Hamman said. “On the job site, it’s just metal and concrete, so there’s not much to clean up. The waste has been minimized and everything we do throw away is recyclable.”

Because cold-formed steel is still more expensive than wood, it isn’t likely to overtake traditional wood framing, but HLC Vice President Jeff Wasinger believes there’s plenty of potential for growth in higher-end multifamily construction.

“We think for a small premium, apartment developers get a longer lasting, better quality, safer structure,” Wasinger said. “The end result is going to be above everyone’s expectations.”

In additional to luxury residential apartments, The District adds 45,000 square feet of office and 35,000 square feet of retail space to the existing 800,000-square feet of developed space at Lenexa City Center. 

The full project team includes EPC Real Estate Group and Copaken Brooks, co-developers; Klover Architects, architect; Studio A Architecture, residential consultant; BSE, structural engineer; Latimer Sommers & Associates, mechanical design; Phelps Engineering, civil engineer- private; and GBA Architects + Engineers, civil engineering- public. John Coe and Ryan Biery of Copaken Brooks are handling the leasing for the District. 

B&B Theatres celebrates opening of 'Old Hollywood'-inspired New Longview 7

B&B Theatres debuted its new seven-screen boutique theater in New Longview in March, the chain’s first metro-area ground-up project in six years.

Check out a time-lapse of B&B’s New Longview 7 Theatre nine-month construction project

New Longview 7’s Grand Screen is the first theater in the world to feature a dive lighting system with individual lights corresponding with each speaker, offering moviegoers an immersive, “rock-the-seats experience,” according to Brock Bagby, B&B Theatres executive vice president.

“Those lights can be changed and can do whatever we want them to. We can have every single one a different color, so let’s say we are watching Finding Dory, then we can change the entire room to look like an ocean. This is the very first theater in the world to have this, right here in Lee’s Summit, Missouri,” Bagby said.

The Grand Screen is six stories wide and four stories tall, making it one of the largest screens in the nation coupled with DTS immersive surround sound.

“You’ve got the biggest industry subs behind the screen, so it’s gonna shake your chairs. It’s an amazing experience,” Bagby told attendees at the theater's Opening Gala on March 21. 

Guests are greeted by an Art Deco-themed lounge and bar area complete with a 35-foot long bar, clusters of comfy chairs, outdoor seating area, and fireplace nook with sofas. Developer Russell Pearson with Box Real Estate Development said designers drew inspiration from Art Deco projects around the country, a theme that plays out with starburst designs incorporated into the flooring and custom lighting fixtures.

“The B&B design motif is very much ‘Old Hollywood,’ and the Art Deco period we focused on is very specific between 1930 and 1935,” Pearson said. “It just so happened that the architect that designed Longview Farms, Henry Hoit, went on to design a number of Art Deco projects in Kansas City from which we drew inspiration.”

The opening of the 28,000-square foot complex comes just two months after B&B completed a multi-million dollar upgrade of Lee’s Summit 16 on Northeast Douglas Street. The project included extensive remodeling, the addition of a new MX4D concept and screenPLAY, an auditorium dedicated to families and young children that includes a playground.

Check out a slideshow from B&B Theatres' Opening Gala below; click on the photo to advance.

Changing retail trends drive shift in Price Brothers’ BluHawk plan

Price Brothers recently announced new plans for its $750 million, 277-acre mixed-use BluHawk development that includes a 300,000-square foot indoor multi-sport complex operated by Colorado-based Sport Stable. The $205 million, 59-acre first phase will launch with a new redesigned civic and community center and arena, indoor complex and hockey rink, as well as additional restaurant and retail.

Originally envisioned in 2006 as the home of Sporting KC, the project been modified to fit neighbors’ wishes.

“The key words here are evolve and adapt,” said Price Brothers President Doug Price. “The (professional soccer) plan didn’t pass the litmus test with taxpayers. They want only amateur sports here, and this is our response to that. It’s not a change of course, it’s more of a slight change in sporting components. It’s always been a family friendly sports, science and educational development.”

The new timeline moves the Cosmosphere project and retail outlet stores to Bluhawk’s second phase and is in response to changing consumer demands and retail shopping habits, according to Price Brothers VP of Development Bart Lowen.

“We recognize that retail has to evolve from what it was 10 years ago and can’t just be a shopping only experience. It has to move beyond that. It has to start at the periphery and offer other opportunities to experience when you are there,” Lowen said. “BluHawk will be a place where kids can go to practice, families can take in an event, visit the Cosmosphere, and enjoy the day.”

Bluhawk started going vertical in 2015 and has sold nearly all of its single-family home sites, according to a release. In addition, currently open are Shawnee Mission Health - South Overland Park, public safety administration building, Cosentino’s Market and other nearby retail, as well as the 159th & Antioch interchange.

"Bluhawk will be a place where active minds and energetic bodies can thrive. Some will call it home and some will visit frequently,” Price said. “To all, it will offer an intersection of health, knowledge and leisure. Bluhawk will be about well-being, learning and playing – a next generation destination designed for both today and tomorrow.”

Village at View High vision comes into focus with multifamily site prep

Site preparation and infrastructure construction officially is underway for Meridian at View High, a 312-unit luxury apartment community planned for the northeast corner of 3rd Street and View High Drive within Lee's Summit's Village at View High mixed-use development.

"Over the next few months, construction crews will build sewers, roads, and a retention pond on the development site. It is exciting to see this important first piece of Village at View High begin to take shape," said John Bondon, president of Parrot Properties LLC, master developer of the Village at View High.

Parrot Properties chose Indianapolis-based Cityscape Residential to develop Meridian at View High's 18 buildings, with vertical construction expected to begin in early 2018 and units available for lease by the spring of 2019. 

"The partners of Cityscape Residential have seen the attractiveness of investing in Lee's Summit since making our first luxury apartment investment in the city over 15 years ago," said Jim Thomas, Cityscape Residential partner. "High quality of life, excellent schools, proximity to good jobs, and thoughtful local leadership have all led Cityscape to make Lee's Summit a significant part of our $250 million investment in the Kansas City metro area."

When completed, the 74-acre multifamily project will feature walkability, high-end retail and a true "live-work-play" lifestyle desired by Millennials and empty nesters alike, according to a release.

Village at View High is located in the heart of Lee's Summit's View High corridor on the city's west side and overlooks the Fred Arbanas Golf Course in Longview Lake Park, a 4,800+-acre green space with plentiful outdoor recreational opportunities. 

"It is rewarding to see dirt moving on Meridian at View High, as it is a critical 'domino' for the overall Village at View High project," said Rick McDowell, president of the Lee's Summit Economic Development Council. "A high-quality, plentiful, and diversified housing stock is central to our mission of promoting Lee's Summit as a model community for economic innovation and growth."