THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2008
by Mark ThomtonKansas CityLane4 Property Group has embarked on an ambitious $1.1 billion plan to establish a vibrant mixed-use development in an underserved and blighted area of Kansas City.
The Trails in Kansas City is a mixed-use project that will include two office parks, retail and a soccer stadium for the Kansas City Wizards. It is still in a nascent stage, but numerous public and private entities have supported the development.
"This is the biggest project any of us ever have and probably ever will work on," says Owen Buckley, president of Lane4 Property Group in Kansas City. "I think it will succeed because there is a lot of room for growth in this area and we want to supply a product that is not very common in Kansas City."
Mentioning the area known as the Grandview Triangle to locals in Kansas City will not likely elicit many fond memories or positive images. Known for harboring the worst traffic congestion in the metro area and for blighted commercial space, the location has been in decline for decades.
The city was so down on the area that it has recently attempted to re-brand it as Three Trails Crossing Memorial Highway, named after the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails that all cross at this point.
Lane4 is in the process of acquiring 460 acres for the development. While many portions of the deal have not been finalized, city officials are excited about the idea and have approved a $300 million financial incentive package. The final approval from the state of Missouri is still needed.
"This project would not happen without an incentive package," says Buckley. "The area has been left behind for the last 20 years."
The site is home of the former Bannister Mall, one of the oldest malls in the Kansas City area. The mall was declared dead, boarded up and became known as an area with a high amount of criminal activity.
It may seem like an odd choice for a major development, but as Buckley points out, many things have changed in recent years and the area is poised for future growth.
Buckley is betting on recent improvements to the Triangle, a few examples of positive commercial activity, and the dearth of quality retail product in the area, to provide momentum for the Trails development.
The main improvement is that the traffic congestion that has long been associated with the area is a thing of the past. Construction has expanded multiple lanes and the stretch of highway, which includes I-435, I-470 and US 71, now handles 250,000 cars a day, but is capable of accommodating 400,000.
Buckley is also encouraged by recent activity in the area that indicates it may be ready for more commercial growth. The Cerner Corporation recently moved to a major facility directly across the street from the proposed site that employs 2,000.
The process began when the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer commissioned Lane4 to develop a soccer stadium. The firm looked at numerous sites throughout the city, but settled on the location of the old Bannister Mall rather quickly.
"The site is right in the middle of Kansas City," says Buckley. "There are 1.1 million people within a 20-minute drive."
Currently, the Wizards share CommunityAmerica Ballpark with a minor league baseball team. The MLS team frequently sells out the 10,000-seat arena, but the Wizards wanted a stadium designed specifically for its team. The stadium at The Trails will hold 18,500.
The Trails will also include 1.7 million square feet of class A office space, which will be designed to target large corporate users. Retail will be an important component as well. Buckley says that quality retail is absent in the surrounding area and the Trails calls for 1 million square feet of retail and entertainment space to make up for this.
"There is a huge void of retail in this area," says Buckley. "The closest power center is six to eight miles away. In the past retailers and office users have cherry-picked suburban locations, but we have not had a development in the city that caters to both. We want these attributes for the office users."
Adjacent to the soccer stadium will be a string of 12 tournament soccer fields. Buckley hopes that weekend youth soccer tournaments will draw two million people to the development annually. The development calls for three hotel facilities with a combined 600 rooms to accommodate for tournament goers and corporate travelers.
Lane4 is in the process of courting lead office and retail tenants for the development, but does not have any official commitments yet. Buckley is aware that in today's credit environment it may be more of a challenge and all may not go as planned.
"So far the feedback is very positive," says Buckley. "What is attractive about that site is that it is easily accessible to so many people. In this market though, I am aware that we will have to be nimble and flexible."
The Kansas City Wizards have requested to have the stadium complete by 2010.
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