Most people would consider it a risk, building the largest spec building in the Kansas City area in an economy that is still struggling to find its way.
Daniel Jensen, principal and director of industrial brokerage with Kansas City’s Kessinger/Hunter & Company, whose firm is in the beginning stages of constructing a spec building of more than 821,000 square feet, doesn’t disagree. But he refers to Kessinger/Hunter’s project as a calculated risk, and that’s a key distinction.
“Everything is a risk,” Jensen said. “But we are confident that this is the right product in the right place. It remains to be seen if it’s the right time. But we think it is. Importantly, my peers and competitors in the marketplace think it is the right time, too.”
Kessinger/Hunter is now in the process of building an 821,256-square-foot warehouse in the I-35 Logistics Park in Olathe, Kan. This is one of three buildings that Kessinger/Hunter plans to build at the 200-acre park.
The building, known now simply as “Building B,” will serve as a multi-tenant distribution facility. It will be LEED-certified and boast 168 dock doors, 270 trailer parking spots and an ESFR sprinkler system.
It will also make history, of course, as the largest spec building in the Kansas City region.
Construction has already started on the building — “We are moving dirt around as we speak,” Jensen said — and Kessinger/Hunter plans on having Building B ready for occupancy in 10 or 11 months.
In the meantime, Jensen remains confident that Kessinger/Hunter will find plenty of takers for the facility. Building B will simply offer potential tenants the large, high-end space that they won’t be able to find anywhere else in the Kansas City region.
Jensen also bases his optimism on past success. This isn’t the first time that Kessinger/Hunter has taken a big gamble in the Kansas City area. In 2007, Kessinger/Hunter built a 600,000-square-foot spec distribution facility, also in Olathe. At the time, this facility ranked as the largest spec building in the Kansas City area.
That building is now fully leased, with such prime tenants as Bushnell Outdoor Products and FedEx SmartPost calling the building home.
“It is a significant investment to put together a building like this,” Jensen said. “Not everybody is willing or able to make that bet right now. But we are excited about the opportunities here. We think we will attract folks early and often to this building.”
