& Industrial
Real Estate
Briarcliff One is part of the Class A space in Briarcliff Office Park
The development of new Class A office space and the availability of affordable existing space continues to spur growth in the Northland’s commercial real estate market.
The entire Northland business community is buzzing about the construction of
Class A office space in the Briarcliff Office Park. The complex offers easy
access to downtown Kansas City and a landmark location just off M-169 and the Briarcliff Parkway.
“The development at Briarcliff bodes well for the entire Northland development community,” says Pete Fullerton, executive director of the Platte County Economic Development Council. One building is already complete and two others are currently under construction at Briarcliff.
“We have a 30,000 square foot building (Briarcliff Two) that will be finished in July and anchored by Gold Bank,” says Kathryn G. Thompson, president and CEO of Briarcliff Development Company. “Then we have a 100,000 square foot building (Briarcliff Three) which will be finished in November and anchored by Met Life.”
Briarcliff Office Park is part of the 350-acre Briarcliff development. The development’s master plan includes 700,000 square feet of Class A office space, a 150-room boutique hotel, 260 luxury apartments, parking for 800 cars and 275 single
family residences.
In other areas of the Northland, developments along the M-152/Barry Road corridor will likely spur future growth in the commercial real estate market. Although the demand for commercial space remains good along the I-29/KCI corridor, the consolidation of Farmland Industries into their new Platte county headquarters has created a few office vacancies. Another corridor that’s likely to experience tremendous growth during the next decade is M-45 from I-29 through Parkville near The National Golf Club.
In Clay County, the city of North Kansas City is home to the metropolitan area’s largest industrial district. More than half of the city’s 1,000 businesses specialize in manufacturing, production or shipment of goods.
Just east of North Kansas City off M-210 is the world’s largest underground industrial complex, Hunt Midwest’s SubTropolis. The SubTropolis currently contains more than 4 million square feet of leaseable space. Future development plans will expand the underground complex by an estimated 7 million square feet in a little less than 25 years. Hunt Midwest Business Park is adding 135 above-ground acres in the area’s enterprise zone. The five to 10 acre plots will be ready to build on later this year.
Further east on M-210 lies Northland Park, a massive industrial development that continues to attract new construction. The park lies within the boundaries of a special enterprise zone that offers property tax incentives to businesses choosing to locate there. Currently under construction in the park are two speculative buildings by B.A. Karbank & Co. and a massive project for trucking giant Watkins Motor Lines.
Several other Clay County industrial development projects are growing as well. Heartland Meadows in Liberty, Innovations in Kearney and Vintage Plaza in Excelsior Springs are just a few examples.
In Platte County, the I-29/KCI corridor is also attracting a large concentration of development. Opus Northwest recently announced plans to develop the Congress Corporate Center on 150 plus acres at 112th and N. Congress.
“Just by announcing this project, Opus is putting more activity into play,” Fullerton says. “Another company that’s announced plans to build in the area is the Wheatbelt Corporation. They’re building a 100,000-square-foot exposition center that will be used for trade shows and other kinds of meetings and activities. It will be interesting seeing the kind of synergy that evolves when that kind of meeting facility is coupled with the 3000 hotel rooms in the airport corridor.”