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.

California developer plans 1M SF business park in Lee’s Summit

On March 31, the Lee’s Summit City Council will deliver its decision on whether to hand over the lead development role for an 85-acre tract of land to California-based Westcott Investment Group. The developer is planning a 1 million-square-foot business park, consisting of commercial office, warehouse, and light manufacturing space. If all goes as planned, Westcott would commence construction on the first phase of 200,000 square feet by the summer of 2017.

Last week, Westcott asked the Lee’s Summit City Council to approve the assignment of development rights granted to Exergonic LLC in 2011 through a public/private partnership development agreement. The City Council voted to direct staff to draft the documents necessary for the assignment to Westcott to take place; That assignment heads back to City Council on March 31 for approval.

Westcott is associated with Diede Construction Inc., a firm with 15 million square feet under management. The local team for Westcott includes Aaron March with White Goss, Daren Fristoe, Jon Plaas, Danny Potts of Klover Architects, and Ryan Elam of BHC Rhodes.

Westcott CEO Steve Singh said Lee’s Summit is a perfect development fit for his firm.

“Approximately two years ago, Westcott began the due diligence process on a potential site for a development in Lee’s Summit. We were drawn to the area by the city’s core strengths of premier health care, schools, parks, historic downtown and the need for additional locally-based employers,” Singh said. “Through our discussions with Exergonix, we determined this specific location as the optimum starting point to deliver the first step in an expansive mixed-use development, ultimately resulting in the creation of new jobs. With our proven development track record, we look forward to partnering with the City of Lee’s Summit and bringing The Grove at Lee’s Summit to fruition.”