Ace Hardware opened its new 1.5 million square foot retail support center last week at Hunt Midwest’s KCI 29 Logistics Park, the first completed project at the Kansas City-based real estate development company’s 3,300-acre industrial megasite in Kansas City, Missouri.
The massive new retail support center will play a crucial in supporting Ace’s growing network of more than 5,000 locally owned retail locations, capitalizing on KCI 29 Logistics Park’s strategic location in almost the exact center of the continental U.S. on Interstate 29 adjacent to the Kansas City International Airport.
Measuring a half mile from end to end, the new facility is the largest distribution center in Kansas City by building footprint and is almost twice the size of Ace’s average retail support center. Combined with state-of-the-art automation and immediate access to interstate and air freight networks, the new retail support center will dramatically increase distribution capacity and ensure faster, more reliable product delivery to thousands of Ace Hardware locations.
Hunt Midwest turned over the 1.5 million-square-foot, build-to-suit facility for early access in late November 2024 — just 12 months after construction started, thanks to an accelerated plan for concrete panel tilt-up with the Clayco general contracting team and an innovative roof installation process with BZI Steel.
Since then, Ace has invested in and installed cutting-edge automation and advanced warehouse technology systems to streamline operations, minimize environmental impact, and support the company’s long-term sustainability goals.
The facility is now fully operational and will create more than 350 jobs in Platte County. This spring the new facility earned a 2025 Kansas City Business Journal Capstone Award, the sole winner in the industrial category.
Ace Hardware is the first company to locate its new facility at KCI 29 Logistics Park, which is the largest shovel-ready industrial park in Missouri with 3,300 contiguous acres under single ownership.
KCI 29 Logistics Park can support up to 17.8 million additional square feet of build-to-suit industrial development and is fully entitled under master planned development zoning for the fastest speed-to-market available. The site provides large regional, national, and international users with direct access to the new KCI passenger terminal, the KCI Air Cargo Hub, and Interstates 29 and 435, offering companies the ability to reach 90% of the continental U.S. in two days.
KCI 29 Logistics Park also includes on-site transmission level power, transmission water, and a wastewater treatment plant to offer robust utility capacity for large-scale manufacturing, distribution, and technology users. Additional road, sewer, and infrastructure work is underway to activate the remaining acreage across the megasite.
