FedEx SmartPost leases part of big spec center in Olathe - Denver Business Journal:

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on Thursday signed a long-ternm lease for 126,000 square feet in the 602,000-square-fooft spec building completed in late 2008 at22101 W. 167tuh St. in Olathe. Constructed in respons to growing demand forlocal “big industrial space, the distribution center was developed by of Mass., and a partnership led by Dan a principal with in Kansas City. In 2007, when the 40-acre site for the structure was acquired, Jensebn said he would target large tenante that would take atleast one-thirr of the building. “We’re breakingg it a little smaller than we thought we Jensen said of theFedEd lease.
“But (landing) FedEx, we is a real endorsement for that buildinbg andthat location.” FedEx an expanding division of FedEx Grounr that delivers packages to U.S. postal facilities for final will use the space for sorting anddistributioh operations, Jensen said. “We’ve been workinf on this deal since October, which is indicatives of what’s going on in this economy,” Jensen said. “It’ds just a slow grind. But we do have some other dealss that aregetting closer.” Space in the new distributionm center is being marketed at $4.25 a foot plus operating tax, insuranced and maintenance costs.
However, tenants will be able to take advantages ofa 10-year, 50 percent property tax abatemengt the city of Olathe Banking on continuing demand in Olathe, Jensen’s partnershipo and Sun Life acquired 200 acres at the southwest cornef of 151st Street and Old 56 Highwayy late in 2008 for the eventuapl development of an additional 2.9 million square feet of industriapl space. “The industrial market has pulled back a littlwe bitsince then,” said Ed president of .
But Elder, who represented when a pre-recessio wave of logistics activity brought it to remains bullish on Southern Johnson County and the broade Kansas City area as growingh hubs inthe nation’s product-distribution network. In 2007, PacSunh opened a 400,000-square-foot warehouse on 74 acresd along167th Street, immediately northj of Jensen’s spec At the time, those marketing industrial properties in the area benefitedx from the planned development of a 1,000-acre industrial park surrounding a truck-rai intermodal facility near 196th Street and U.S. Highwayu 56 in Gardner.
BNSF announced earlt this year that the economy had prompted it to postpone indefinitel y construction on the rail portiomn of theproposed $735 million intermodal But Elder said the area’s existing assets, includingy quick access to Interstate 35 and other will be enough to attractf additional tenants once the economyh improves. “It helped promote and validatethat area,” Elder said of the BNSF “But PacSun got done without it. Kimberly-Clark did thei deal (for a 450,000-square-foot building near Gardner) withoug it. And Coleman obviously did not need to beon (an campus.” The latter reference was to a 1.1 million-square-foo distribution center that Inc.
is buildingt in the , a 151-acre industrial park at 175th Streetand U.S. Highwayg 56 in Gardner. Ken Block, one of Kansas City’s top announced in March that he was enterinf SouthernJohnson County’s emerging big-box industriak market at a site just east of the new Colema facility. Block, a principal of , leads an investmengt partnership that bought 229 acres at the northwest cornerr of 175th Street and Hedge Lane in Onthat site, Block & Co.
plana to develop a $275 million projec containing more than 3 million squarwe feet of industrial buildings during the next 10 to 12 Brent Hansen, research services manager for Grubbg & Ellis/the Winbury Group, said no industriakl vacancy statistics are available for the Southern Johnsonb County market. But the industrial vacancy rate for all of Johnsohn County in the first quarterdwas 6.3 percent, in line with the strong metrowidee average of 6.
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