Construction is rolling on Hard Rock Hotel

Fogel-Anderson Construction is rolling on a new 241-room Hard Rock Hotel and Event Center in Edwardsville, Ks.

The hotel will anchor the new Village South mixed-use development, located near the Kansas Speedway and Legends Shopping District on the south side of I-70, just east of 110th Street.

"Fogel-Anderson has been engaged for nearly two years in the planning and pre-construction phases of the Hard Rock Hotel. We are beyond excited to get started and provide another transformative destination to western Wyandotte County," said Roger Summers, Fogel-Anderson vice president.

The 176,000+ SF hotel, developed by One10 Hotel HRKC LLC and operated by Aimbridge Hospitality, will feature five food and beverage venues, including two full-service restaurants, a lobby bar and music center, a Hard Rock retail outlet and a coffee shop. The VIP lounge on the 11th floor will also have a bar and food service following the Hard Rock theme.

The 50,000 SF event center will offer modern and flexible meeting and event spaces, including a 6,500 SF ballroom allowing the hotel to host large conferences, meetings, weddings and social events.

Hotel amenities include an indoor pool, spa, salon and fitness center, a business center and several Hard Rock memorabilia venues.

The hotel was designed by Lucien Lagrange Studio and civil engineering provided by Renaissance Infrastructure Consulting (RIC).

The grand opening is scheduled for Summer 2021.

Creative Planning stays true to name, invests in Class A office space

Creative Planning, Inc., a $26 billion investment advisory firm headquartered in Overland Park, Ks., will soon break ground on Creative Campus III, the final segment of their Class A campus at 5400 W 110th Street.

The firm has selected JLL as their strategic leasing partner.

Creative Campus III will deliver 108,000 SF of new Class A office space at Creative Campus, increasing the development’s total footprint to 335,750 SF upon its completion.

“Creative Planning has laid out a unique office project in Creative Campus that meets the evolving demands of office tenants looking to grow or establish themselves in our region,” said Ryan Schneider, executive vice president at JLL.

Creative Campus III will offer ample natural light, floor to ceiling windows and efficient floor plates with the opportunity to interconnect stairs between each of the building’s four floors. An on-campus cafeteria, with rotating menu and fresh options daily, is located in Creative Campus I.

“Creative Campus III will provide a collaborative work environment that cultivates creativity and employee engagement that will help industry leading companies attract and retain top talent,” Schneider said.

The campus is easily accessible by Interstate 435 via the Nall interchange and surrounded by abundant retail and entertainment options.

In partnership with VanTrust Real Estate, Burns & McDonnell will design and build the state-of-the-art office campus.

JLL’s RJ Trowbridge is leading the leasing efforts for the project which will deliver in Q3 of 2021. All 108,000 SF is available for lease.

Mission Gateway picks up speed, breaks ground on parking garage

Mission Gateway, a 550,000 SF mixed-use development in Mission, Kansas, broke ground on a three-story parking garage this week. The parking garage plans include 1,513 spaces of total grade-level parking, with 831 elevated spaces.

The development, located at Johnson Drive between Roe Avenue and Roeland Drive, initially began construction in September 2018.  After some minor project delays, site work resumed this summer. 

"In addition to breaking ground on the parking deck, Cinergy (Entertainment Group, Inc.) continues to make progress of their 90,000 SF destination entertainment venue and concrete work continues at the small shop retail and residential building. Additionally, work continues around the site to bring utilities to the various components," said Andy Ashwal, VP/senior assets manager at GFI Development Company.

Cameron Group LLC and GFI Development Company, who are spearheading the development, recently awarded the design of the parking garage to the architecture firm of El Dorado Inc.  El Dorado is also the architect of record and designer of the office, multifamily and small shop retail buildings which will front Johnson Drive and Roeland Drive. 

“This is a key piece of the Mission Gateway project, which is going to be a one of a kind destination in Kansas City,” said Roger Summers, vice president with Fogel-Anderson Construction.

Fogel-Anderson is the construction manager (CM) of the parking garage and of the overall Mission Gateway project. Other partners on the parking garage project include Olsson and Emery Sapp & Sons. 

Construction is scheduled to begin on the office buildings in the first half of 2020. The parking garage is scheduled to be complete by August 2020. 

T.J. Maxx, Saltgrass Steak House, Cactus Grill and more say 'Yes' to Bluhawk

T.J. Maxx, Saltgrass Steak House, Cactus Grill, AT&T, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ and Panera Bread are among the most recent tenant additions at Bluhawk's development in Overland Park, Kansas.

The strong list of tenant commitments follows the recent award of $66 million in STAR bond funding from the Kansas Department of Commerce.

“This key STAR bonds approval and the wave of tenant commitments to Bluhawk represent a critical mass of achievements as we move forward with this highly-sustainable and desirable destination-anchored site,” said Bart Lowen, Price Brothers vice president of development.

T.J. Maxx will be located in the Marketplace Neighborhood of Bluhawk and is scheduled to open in spring 2020. Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, Cactus Grill, AT&T, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers are also planning Spring 2020 openings. Saltgrass Steak House anticipates opening in fall 2020 and Panera Bread will open at the end of this year.

“Bluhawk is now in its next phase of progress and we are tremendously excited about its growth. We are thankful to the State of Kansas, the City of Overland Park and its residents for being so supportive of our vision for the property,” Lowen said.

Other areas of the site continue to move forward including AdventHealth’s South Overland Park ER expansion into a full-service hospital in 2021 and state-of-the-art apartment homes, The Residences at Bluhawk, which are open now and available for leasing.

KC's east side adds $8 million to Linwood Square

Linwood Investors, LLC, will break ground on its $8 million redevelopment of Linwood Square, a blighted retail strip in the Linwood-Prospect corridor on Kansas City’s east side, next Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2019.

The new project complements the redevelopment of the Linwood Shopping Center, completed in 2017 by the Linwood Investors team.

Linwood Investors’ Donald E. Maxwell envisions a revitalized retail center to attract tenants that will cater to a historically underserved community with goods, services and amenities.

“We’re eager to get this completed,” Maxwell said. “The redevelopment will bring amenities to a neighborhood that has been largely ignored for decades. This has the potential to spark additional investments and transform this community from underserved and overlooked to an attractive place to live, work and play.”

The 55,000 SF property, originally built in 1985, is located on the east side of Prospect Avenue between 30th St. and Linwood Blvd.

In addition to revitalized exterior façades and new roofing, the project will incorporate sustainable design elements including a new exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS), energy-efficient HVAC, mechanical and plumbing upgrades, LED lighting and an interior redesign with a contemporary aesthetic.

The project is being funded with public incentives and private financing. The public improvements include funding from Central City Economic Development Sales Tax Fund, Tax Increment Financing Commission and Public Improvements Advisory Committee.

Led by UMB Financial Corporation, private financing partners include Bank of Blue Valley, Community America Credit Union and Arvest Bank.

Hoefer Wysocki designed the exterior façade and system upgrades as well as the interior spaces. Kansas City general contractor Centric worked closely with the ownership group to increase MBE and WBE participation, exceeding the city’s goals.

The project is scheduled for completion in Summer 2020.