Patience, perseverance paves path for Prairie Village fire station project

A long-awaited, new 15,000-square foot fire station in Prairie Village is on target for a spring delivery, with HarenLaughlin Construction wrapping up metal stud framing and interior masonry work this month. Up next: pouring the station's mezzanine and installing its exterior brick veneer.

But the biggest challenge of the $6 million project took place in the site selection and pre-construction phase, which began in 2012. Finding "available dirt" took several years, and then once a workable site behind Mission Road Bible Church  at 78th and Mission Road was identified, all parties had to work together to ensure traffic flow to the church.

"This is a unique location, and it's been a large, arduous task to get it approved," said Cory Davison, HarenLaughlin project manager. "There's been lots of coordination with the church and a juggling act to make sure they have parking on Sundays and can keep their facility open during construction."

The new station will include three bays and the ability to house nine firefighters at a time. It also offers Consolidated Fire District No. 2 a more central location in the heart of Prairie Village, allowing for quicker emergency response times, according to Fire Chief Tony Lopez. 

"There's been some real head rubbing on this project and sometimes we didn't think we would ever strike a deal. It's been a long process, with a lot of starts and stops," Lopez said. "But now things are really moving along nicely."

The station was designed by Archimages, Inc., with Newmark Grubb Zimmer representing the owner and providing brokerage services in the transaction.

KCP&L program lights up MC Realty's energy efficiency effort

With more than 3.5 million square feet of commercial property in downtown Kansas City, MC Realty Group is well-known for its success in revitalizing dozens of abandoned and obsolete buildings. But in recent years, the parent company of DST Realty Inc. and Financial Holding Corp. has quietly made energy efficiency a priority within its portfolio of historic, renovated properties.

“We were looking for ways to make our properties safer, more comfortable, and more energy efficient for our tenants,” MC Realty Vice President of Operations Tom Corso said. “We realized that one of the few costs we can control is energy.”

MC Realty has worked closely with KCP&L to identify, prioritize and complete 31 energy efficiency projects in recent years, taking advantage of the utility’s substantial rebate program. By improving HVAC and cooling towers and adding energy saving features like LED lighting to parking garages and elevators, the upgrades have earned MC Realty almost $2 million in rebates from KCP&L and saved its properties an estimated 4.2 million kWh a year.

In addition to cutting energy costs, MC Realty has saved money on maintenance and replacement expenses because LED lighting lasts longer than old lamp or ballast lighting.

“I’d highly recommend KCP&L’s rebate program to other property management firms,” Corso said. “It’s very simple, and they’re easy to work with. Projects that didn’t make sense beforehand make sense after the rebate.”

For more information about the rebate program, visit kcpl.com/mybusiness. 

Florida healthcare technology company expands to metro with new Lenexa distribution center

Convey Health Solutions has expanded into the Kansas City region with a new 38,000-square foot distribution facility at Lackman Business Center, 106th Street and Lackman Road, in Lenexa. The leased space will accommodate the company’s expected growth in the government sponsored healthcare market, allowing Convey to more than triple its shipping capacity.

“As we continue to provide end-to-end OTC solutions for major health plans in the Medicare and Medicaid markets, we want to operate in a central location to provide better service to our clients and their members,” Convey Executive Vice President Jonathan Starr said. 

Convey’s benefits program is designed to help members better manage their day-to-day health while at home. With volume projected to grow more than 50 percent in 2019, the company’s new location will include the latest logistics technology to increase efficiencies and streamline the distribution process.

Convey plans to hire 40 employees at its Lenexa facility. Phil Algrim of Jones Lang LaSalle represented Convey in the transaction; Joe Accurso and Rob Holland of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord. Additional partners included the State of Kansas, City of Lenexa, Kansas City Area Development Council, and KC SmartPort. 

“Kansas City continues to attract distribution centers due to our access to markets and customers throughout the U.S., and Convey recognized this locational advantage,” said KC SmartPort President Chris Gutierrez. “We expect to see another great year of locational decisions in KC with manufacturing, regional distribution and e-commerce facilities.”

“It is always exciting to welcome a fast-growing company like Convey Health Solutions to our region,” added KCADC President and CEO Tim Cowden. “The KC region continues to rise to the top of the list of cities that are ideal for logistics, supply chain and distribution operations and we’re honored to be the newest home for Convey.”

Additional comments from project partners:

“Our state’s central location always makes Kansas the prime choice for companies looking to locate a distribution center, and combined with the Kansas City area’s already strong concentration of healthcare service companies, Convey Health Solutions couldn’t have picked a better location for its new facility,” said Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. “We are excited to have this pioneering technology company expanding in Kansas and look forward to our continued partnership.”

“We are very pleased that Convey Health Solutions has chosen Lenexa for their new facility,” said Lenexa Mayor Mike Boehm. “This operation will feature top of the line technology and will serve as a showcase for the industry. I think Convey will be a great addition to the region.”

Kelly Construction Group expands reach, builds new headquarters

The Great Recession may have dried up projects and forced many general contractors out of business, but it also created an opportunity for Scott Kelly, Jason Betts and Travis Lourens. The trio worked together before the downturn and were determined to leverage their respective expertise and positive relationships into a new, diverse construction company.

“Things started slowing down and the economy slowed to the point that you had to recreate your business a bit and make sure you were staying in relationship with your clients,” said Scott Kelly, president of Kelly Construction Group, Inc. “So we started talking about how we could take our existing customer base, maintain those relationships and work through a difficult time with the expectation it was going to pick back up.”

The former colleagues launched Kelly Construction Group in 2011, blending Scott’s healthcare expertise with Travis’ municipal and government experience and Jason’s book of business that included developers, retailers and hospitality groups. That decision has paid off, with 2 million square feet currently under construction and the company on target to reach its most recent five-year master plan goals in half the time.

“Establishing and maintaining and nurturing relationships, that’s the key. We’re not going to be everything to everyone, but our company is the right size for a lot of projects—not too small but not too big,” Lourens said. “We are schedule driven and we expect people who work for us to be part of our team and be committed to the same goals.”

Kelly Construction has landed projects for top companies such as Cerner, KCP&L, Merck and UMB, as well as just about every metro-area hospital group including Saint Luke’s Health System, KU Medical Center, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Children’s Mercy Hospital, and HCA.

In the past two years, Kelly Construction has almost doubled its headcount to 36, prompting it to build a new 20,000-square foot corporate office in Grandview’s SouthPointe Business Park. Recent projects include the conversion of 650,000 square feet of office space for Cerner in South Kansas City, more than 250,000-square feet of tenant improvements for Lee’s Summit’s Summit Technology Campus, and a new parking garage for Shawnee Mission Medical Center, as well as the upscale The Monarch Bar on the Country Club Plaza.

“The Monarch was the first notable project for this type of venue in many years that wasn’t a chain. It’s more of a boutique, standalone space with high-end finishes,” Betts said. “The architect (David Manica) had a vision and he felt we understood that vision.”

Maintaining client relationships has been key to Kelly’s success. With the construction market sizzling, the company remembers the lessons of the past and is focused on smart, controlled growth.

“One of the biggest things we talk about is making sure we meet or exceed expectations on any project. That’s our focus,” Kelly said. “We don’t aspire to be the biggest firm. We want to be known for doing what we say we’re going to do and where we can still feel like one of the three of us has given personal attention to every project we build.”

Above: Kelly Construction Group principals include Travis Lourens, Jason Betts and Scott Kelly. 

TrialCard expansion caps off bi-state trifecta of customer service operations

TrialCard’s announcement that it will create 225 jobs at a new Northland client service center marks the third large-scale customer support operation for the Kansas City region in less than a month, bringing the total number of new jobs in that sector to just under 1,000.

The pharmaceutical solutions company’s expansion follows insurer EXL’s announcement that it will hire 250 at a new support hub in Lee’s Summit by the end of the year and auto insurer GEICO’s plan to add 500 new jobs at a new Lenexa operation over the next five years.

“The Kansas City region is quickly becoming a popular destination for companies looking for a central location in the U.S., employees with a strong work ethic, and highly efficient customer support operations,” said Tim Cowden, president and CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council. “The entire KC region is attracting new jobs and talent, with companies locating in nearly every corner of the region so far in 2018.”

Cushman & Wakefield represented TrialCard in its 23,000-square foot operation in the Kansas City Business Center, 2001 NE 46th St. Keith Baker and Matt Eckert of CBRE represented the landlord in the transaction.  

"We’re excited to see an employer bring over 200 jobs to Kansas City, but the people that are aware of the entrepreneurial culture in this city aren’t surprised companies want to be here," said Cushman & Wakefield Managing Principal Mike Mayer.

"You look at the rapid growth of local companies like Spring Venture Group, Mediware, and Cerner, but also smaller startups like Blooom, C2FO, Lead Bank, Charlie Hustle, Orbis Biosciences-- and a lot of other companies that people might not have heard of but have certainly caught the interest of investors and major companies around the world-- and you recognize Kansas City is a great place to do business.  Part of that is the city, but a bigger part is the people and the culture," Mayer added.

Indeed, North Carolina-based TrialCard cited the region's diverse, highly-educated workforce, an affordable cost of living and numerous cultural amenities as reasons it found Kansas City to be a very desirable place to live and work.

“We are pleased to be expanding into Kansas City, a vibrant community made up of thousands of small businesses, tech start-ups, and top-notch health care," said TrialCard President and CEO Mark Bouck. 

Photo courtesy: TrialCard