Lee's Summit rolls out red carpet for 100 economic developers

About 100 economic developers from throughout the Midwest toured the City of Lee's Summit as part of a weeklong "Economic Development 101" course study on Tuesday, April 24.

Sanctioned by the International Economic Development Council, the week-long Heartland Economic Development Course (HEDC) is offered through the University of Northern Iowa. The 2018 program was held at Adams Pointe Conference Center in Blue Springs, Mo.

Each year, the program gives students a chance to "See What Works" by highlighting a community that has successfully implemented critical components of community and economic development. On April 24, students toured Lee's Summit where they experienced a "walking case study" of effective infrastructure, land use, site development and reuse/downtown revitalization.

"This year's tour focused on Lee's Summit's successful educational ecosystem that includes the Missouri Innovation Campus and Summit Technology Academy, as well as Historic Downtown Lee's Summit," said LSEDC President Rick McDowell. "Business owners and civic leaders served as volunteer tour guides and offered insight into what has led to Lee's Summit's successful development efforts."

For more than a decade, the HEDC has offered intensive training in the basic concepts, information, methods and strategies of local economic development. Graduation from HEDC fulfills one of the education prerequisites for those who wish to obtain Certified Economic Development (CEcD) designation.

“Our purpose was to come and hear about what has been going on in Lee’s Summit both from a workforce development and historic redevelopment standpoint. It is a powerful success story in the economic development world,” said James Hoelscher, course director. “In addition, our students are also very interested in all of the mixed-use activity taking place near the Missouri Innovation Campus.”

Over the course of a week, students receive expert instruction on economic development fundamentals such as business retention/expansion, workforce development, entrepreneurship, marketing, business attraction, real estate development/reuse and financing. Attendees work in a wide range of organizations, including cities, chambers of commerce, economic development groups, neighborhood organizations and incentive granting agencies.

Lee's Summit study finds city is ripe for fresh multi-family development

The City of Lee’s Summit could support up to 2,300 additional market rate apartments over the next decade beyond existing supply or projects in the pipeline, according to a 2017 multi-family housing study commissioned by the Lee’s Summit City Council and conducted by Vogt Strategic Insights.

“Lee’s Summit continues to see strong activity and interest in multi-family construction, and this study will help inform the city’s economic development decisions as it considers future projects,” Ryan Elam, director of the Lee’s Summit Development Center, said in a release.

Multi-family construction in Lee’s Summit dried up after the 2008 housing crisis but saw signs of life in 2016 when NorthPoint Development opened The Residences at New Longview, a 309-unit, luxury apartment community that saw the developer’s fastest lease-up to date. 

“New Longview’s success essentially became a proof-of-concept for Lee’s Summit multi-family development, leading to a sharp uptick in permits and proposed projects,” said Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council President Rick McDowell. “In 2016, the city approved five new apartment complexes, for a total of more than 1,400 living units.”

The study found that Lee’s Summit’s existing market is very strong with a 98.4 percent occupancy rate, with about 30 percent of renters coming from outside the area. In addition to identifying strong capacity for market-rate apartment development, the study found that Lee’s Summit could support up to 503 additional units of age-restricted housing, as well as up to 400 additional units of affordable apartments.

To conduct the study, Vogt Strategic Insights completed a field survey of 27 apartment projects in Lee’s Summit and 101 projects throughout the region, comparing rents and amenities among more than 22,000 rental units in Independence, Blue Springs, Grandview, Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, and Lee’s Summit.

The 200-page housing study considered factors such as demographics, population growth forecasts, household income and the regional suburban Kansas City apartment market, and used a conservative 4.4 percent predicted growth in households over the next 10 years.