Rendering credit: BRR Architecture
Centric partners persevere, celebrate a decade building KC
Centric partners Richard Wetzel and Steve Swanson, two design and construction veterans, are no strangers to persevering through a tough economy. This week is no exception, as they celebrate a decade of success in Kansas City.
In June 2010, the unemployment rate in the United States was 9.4% and the construction industry was experiencing the worst month for spending since the beginning of the downturn in 2008.
The duo recognized a need for a more nimble, agile and flexible company in an industry not known for innovation. Powered by a strong, entrepreneurial spirit, Centric was launched on June 4, 2010.
The start-up, bootstrap nature of the company paved the way for pioneering the use of cloud-computing systems, the development of open-office concepts and the involvement in the arts community.
In the past 10 years Centric has completed 828 projects totaling $618 million, ranging in size from a few hundred dollars to over $35 million. Their body of work includes workplace, retail, multifamily, healthcare, hospitality, industrial, senior living, institutional and - more recently, features custom single-family homes. The company currently employs 158 associates who work remotely on job sites or from its home in the Crossroads Arts District where it has headquartered since its founding.
“We’re proud to have been involved in many important projects integral in sustaining the momentum of development in Kansas City, but perhaps the most important body of work we have been awarded is along the Troost Avenue corridor,” said Wetzel.
“With a history of racism, redlining, and segregation, this area has long been a symbol of division in Kansas City, but is now a hotspot for development. We are excited to be part of this sea of change and look forward to seeing that divide permanently mended.”
Centric is currently involved in over $100 million of work in the corridor from 27th Street to 65th Street, including multifamily, institutional, office and retail developments.
Other notable Centric projects include a nine-story addition to the Ambassador Hotel, the apartments at 3435 Main Street, the luxury apartment building at 1914 Main Street (the first new construction project along the KC Streetcar), and eight Spira Care clinics. Among their most memorable, includes lifting a post-war DC-3, used in the Berlin airlift, onto the roof of the Roasterie Café in Kansas City’s westside.
“While we are going through a truly unprecedented time both in our community and worldwide, we remain optimistic about the future growth and development of our city and look forward to its next decade. Kansas City is our home, and we will continue to strive to make it a cooler place to live, work and play, by building stories from the ground up," Swanson said.
Developers say e-commerce, amenities will drive successful future
An ABC Heart of America webinar recap
This week Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) Heart of America held an online developers panel moderated by Eric Mann with Emery Sapp & Sons.
Panelists included Andy Ashwal, VP, senior asset manager of GFI Management, Mike Bell, senior vice president of Hunt Midwest and Oscar Healy, regional vice president of Opus Design Build.
The discussion focused on the challenges as well as the opportunities surrounding future development resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the trends the panelists are seeing skyrocket is e-commerce and the need for additional storage space as the U.S. supply chain has relied on ‘just in time’ delivery for many consumer products that are imported and shipped overseas.
“You’re going to see a change from ‘just in time’ deliveries to having a 5% safety stock being held in distribution facilities. Based upon different national brokers, you’ll hear numbers ranging from 500 million to 750 million SF of additional industrial space needed just to supply distribution centers that 5% safety stock,” said Bell.
“It will bring manufacturing back to the US. I think ‘Made in America’ will mean something more than it has in the past, said Healy.
The panelists also predict a surge of data centers to help fuel e-commerce.
“Kansas City is seeing the first wave of data centers. We’ve always been seen as a lower-level tertiary market, said Bell.
Panelists agreed other side-markets to the e-commerce industry include an increase in the need for robotics and higher, stacked building spaces.
The importance of the ‘live, work, play, stay’ concept of living is not going away anytime soon. Having amenities for offices and apartments will become of even greater value to millennials who might be staying in lofts and apartments longer than they expected.
“I think the trend of millennials staying in multifamily or maybe moving up to larger multifamily spaces is going to continue (as) they’re going to start to have children. They’re going to need services for their children there and play spaces. That has not existed in the Kansas City market, said Ashwal.
The need for additional on-site package delivery storage was also discussed.
“The ripple-effect of what’s going to happen on the office and multifamily side is there will be a need for larger package rooms to accept trackable deliveries. Refrigerated storage in office buildings will be a new trend to accommodate employees that want packages delivered to their office to bring home,” said Ashwal.
Some of the obstacles the panelists are seeing now and going forward are cost of construction and shortage of labor.
“Material increases and labor shortages have caused issues on our side from a development perspective, said Bell.
The panelists agreed that municipalities that are “developer-friendly” will be more attractive to developers going forward more than ever before.
“If you don’t have a tax incentive or tax abatement in some of our various cities or counties, you’re at a competitive disadvantage,” said Healy.
The discussion ended with hope that the pandemic is creating opportunities, especially for industrial development because of Kansas City’s well-built infrastructure and land availability. Also, KC offers 90% of the U.S. within a two-day shipping window.
Associated Builders & Contractors Heart of America is a commercial construction trade association serving contractors and construction related firms across Missouri and Kansas. ABC connects contractors to industry information and safety resources; serve as advocates at the state, local, and federal level; and provide a variety of educational opportunities for those in the industry including our federally registered apprenticeship program in multiple trades.
Sponsors of the event included: Nabholz Construction, Emery Sapp & Sons, Fogel-Anderson Construction, IMA Financial Group, HTH Corporation and Autodesk.
Pause button pressed on Mission Gateway construction
The Donovan prepares for June opening in Lee's Summit
Phase two of Summit Square's luxury apartment complex, The Donovan, is expected to open this summer at 837 NW Donovan Rd. in Lee's Summit, Mo.
Developed and managed by NorthPoint Development, the 327-unit, multifamily community will showcase one and two bedroom units, highlighted by a cross-sharing amenities program with their phase-one counterpart.
The long (and impressive) list of unique and modern amenities includes a grotto-style plunge pool and meditation spa, zero-entry pool, 16-ft rock climbing wall, 24-hr cyber cafe + gourmet coffee bar and a private yoga studio.
"In my twenty-nine years of managing, leasing and opening brand new apartment communities in the Kansas City metro, I have never been so excited about a project. We can not wait for everyone to see how spectacular this community will be," said Pam Lakey, multi-site manager for NorthPoint.
The apartment amenities also include:
24-Hour cardio blast fitness center
Poolside BBQ center
Media lounge with jumbo screen sports simulator
Resident event kitchen
Detached and attached garages
24-hour emergency maintenance
Poolside ping-pong & foosball
Hammock garden
Three-seasons solarium resident lounge
Steam/dry sauna
Controlled-access buildings
Elevator-serviced building
On-site guest suite
The Donovan plans to move in their first residents on June 20th and hopes to stabilize occupancy in less than a year. One-bedroom units start at $959/month; two-bedroom start at $1,449/month.
Summit Square opened in December of 2017 and reached stabilization in April 2019. To date, Summit Square is 96% occupied, increasing occupancy during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Project partners include NSPJ Architects and Neighbors Construction. Construction will continue on the remainder of the five-building multifamily community, expected to be complete by January 2021.
For more info, photos and leasing information, you may visit their websites at www.thedonovankc.com and www.summitsquarekc.com.