Panelists tackle trends and timely topics at sold-out MWM 2017 Multi-Family Summit

More than 170 guests attended MWM's 2017 Multi-Family Summit on Oct. 12 for breakfast, premium networking and a panel discussion moderated by Hunt Midwest's Brenner Holland. 

Here's a snapshot of panelist insights: 

“We are in a vibrant stage in my 25-year career. One of the leading indicators is the number of calls I get from lenders about sites from developers outside Kansas City, so that tells us that folks are either pooping out in some other markets and trying to come here, or they’re moving from different food groups into multi-family." -Jim Thomas, Cityscape Residential

“I think what has happened in Denver is similar to what has happened to California, where the prices have gotten astronomical and it’s unaffordable for virtually anybody at any income level... Quite honestly, I see Kansas City as the next Denver as people keep looking for more affordable places to live and work. We are certainly very well priced in the market for exceptional value.” -Aaron Rumple, Yaeger Architecture

“Boomers want larger units and more bonus space or an extra den area. Storage is very important to them. Millennials, on the other hand, are more concerned about walkability. They value space a little less and they place more value on amenities and the social aspect of amenities spaces in technology.” -Justin Duff, VanTrust Real Estate

“The amenity stuff keeps getting better and better, particularly with pools and clubhouses. On the technology side, we’re adding USB outlets inside the units and trying to accommodate what’s going to be standard technology as it grows. We’ve built penthouse units for a couple of projects. Those are the first to go, and usually the Boomers get them." -Aaron Neighbors, Neighbors Construction

“The new stuff is always going to fill up, and the reason is that those offer the best property and best amenities. It’s where people want to live. So we are building in places where the jobs are going, and then it’s not a question of ‘Will the new stuff fill up?’ It’s a matter of, ‘At what number will it fill up? Will you meet the pro forma, and will you hit your rents?' " -Aaron Mesmer, Block Real Estate Services

“Paramount to any development is having the best site selection-- access to highways, jobs and amenities-- because when people move into an apartment anymore, there are so many good options out there, you really have to have that ‘wow’ factor. So you need to be able to have people move into something where there’s a sense of place and they have to feel that they have 'arrived' somewhere.” -Mike McKeen, EPC Properties

“I think Kansas City-- the municipality-- really wants to expand opportunities for economic diversity. A lot of projects that we are seeing in the Historic Northeast area are all mixed-income products, so you are divvying up affordable versus market rate and really bringing more diversity into the neighborhood.” -Rachel Treanor, 4Sight Construction Group

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UMKC Whole Foods Market on track for spring completion

The new 45,000-square foot Whole Foods Market near the UMKC campus is on schedule to open in the spring of 2018, according to project developer VanTrust Real Estate. 

The project's general contractor is Kansas City-based Luke Draily Construction Co. CSHQA is the architect designing tenant improvements.

The urban-style market is part of a larger redevelopment project near the UMKC campus that includes luxury apartments, a parking garage, and a UMKC Counseling, Health and Testing Center. Stay tuned to MetroWireMedia.com for additional project updates!

City of Lenexa rides public project wave with Shawnee Mission schools aquatic center

Another public-use piece of the Lenexa City Center development district has snapped into place, thanks to Monday's approval by the Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education for a $27.8 million aquatic center and parking garage.  

Located just north of the Lenexa Recreation Center across West 87th Street Parkway, the state-of-the-art aquatic facility will be the primary location for district swim meets and various aquatic programs. 

"We are developing a brand new 21st century Downtown, and part of having a place where people will come is having good components that will bring people there," Lenexa City Administrator Eric Wade said at Monday's school board meeting. "It's going to be a wonderful place for people to be, with hotels, restaurants, and a new public market."

The project designed by ACI Boland Architects includes a mezzanine/spectator area overlooking a 50-meter competitive swimming pool, diving well and adjacent 25-yard pool for training purposes.  

"This aquatic center is a big building, but we tried to make the building feel as if you are connected to it," said Duane Cash, ACI Boland project manager. 

The project also includes a two-story, $4.4 million parking structure that will be paid for through a 50/50 cost-sharing split between the City of Lenexa and the school district. The Lenexa City Council is expected to approve the plan later this month.

Currently, the district holds swim meets in Olathe School District facilities through a rental agreement because existing swimming pool facilities at SMSD high schools are not large enough to accommodate high school swim meets, according to the district.  

When not in use by the district, the Johnson County Park and Recreation District will offer county swimming lessons and programs in the aquatic center.

ULI 2017 Developments of Distinction: The Grocers Warehouse

The Grocers Warehouse is the former home of Kansas City’s famed Wolferman grocery distribution facility. The 60,000-square foot building located at the base of Roanoke Park in midtown Kansas City sat abandoned and forlorn for years until Matthew Hufft and Jesse Hufft began dreaming about reinventing and restoring the property.

“It had been vacant for over 10 years, and we kept thinking there had to be a way to revive the building. Trees were growing from the inside of it, there were lots of broken windows and it was just neglected,” said Matthew Hufft, owner of Hufft, a design collective that designs, constructs and fabricates everything from office space to office furniture. “We kind of thought, ‘We live in the neighborhood. Here is a building that needs help. How do we creatively put ourselves inside of it?”

The Huffts envisioned a mixed-use adaptation and historical preservation that could house their design firm and fabrication processes and also include 14 studio loft apartments. The project enabled Hufft to more than double its office and fabrication space from its previous 15,000 square foot location in Westport while more than doubling its headcount in two years.

“I like to say the building allowed us to become the company we wanted to be,” Jesse Hufft said. “We hope that what we have done with this building is going to add longevity, value, beautification, and maybe just a vibe and legitimacy to the area-- and we absolutely love having the chance to put life back into this spot."

The project was first among several redevelopments taking place in the Roanoke neighborhood and is often praised for serving as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization, but the Huffts credit the nonprofit Roanoke Park Conservancy with leading the charge.  

Hufft provided development, architecture, design and general contractor services for the project.  

ULI 2017 Developments of Distinction: Leon Mercer Jordan Campus

The Leon Mercer Jordan Campus provides state-of-the-art facilities for Kansas City, Mo. police officers at the new East Patrol Division, as well as modernized resources to investigate crime at a new Regional Crime Lab. Located on Kansas City's east side, the 18-acre urban core redevelopment helped bring new life to an area desperate for revitalization.

“The police from the get-go saw this as an opportunity to do more than just a building. They knew they were building in a community that they wanted to connect to, and they knew this investment was going to be a catalyst for more development down the road,” said Helix Architecture + Design Principal Reeves Wiedeman. “This was a project that everybody’s intention was to get right, not just as a functioning police station but as something that the neighborhood in the end would feel connected to.”

Helix designed the East Patrol building to encourage community use, with police meeting space doubling as community rooms available to neighborhood groups in the evenings, as well as a gymnasium available to nearby residents.

The adjacent regional crime lab was designed to encourage maximum collaboration and transparency with glass offices but also features items of high interest and relevance on display, including a gun library with various firearms encased in glass.

“We developed the plan with offices in the middle… and circulation around the perimeter of the offices, so on tours you can see into every lab,” said Julie Wellner of Wellner Architects, which designed the crime lab’s interior.  “We thought, ‘what would make this the most flexible and best use of the land and also help the actual processes that happen with evidence throughout the building.' ”

The project included lofty goals for minority and women-based enterprises, as well as Section 3 contractors.

“We worked hard to make sure to makes sure we met the goals and delivered a high-quality project, so it was a process,” said Jeff Blaesing, JE Dunn vice president.

The project team toured the country with the Kansas City, Missouri police department and crime lab officials to inform design and implementation: “We toured the best of the best because this was our opportunity to get it right,” Wiedeman said.

Project partners include: City of Kansas City, Mo., developer; Helix Architecture + Design, architecture services; Wellner Architects, architecture services; JE Dunn, generator contractor; Bob D. Campbell, engineering services; Taliaferro & Browne, engineering services; ME Group, engineering services; Custom Engineering, engineering services; Alexander Mechanical Contractors, contractor.