Construction


Contractor Confidence Hits Record Low

Expectations for sales, profit margins and staffing levels expectations fell below the threshold of 50 for the first time in the history of the  Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Confidence Index. Sales expectations, due to COVID-19, decreased from 68.3… more

Q&A With … Don Greenwell, The Builders’ Association

Don Greenwell is president of the Builders' Association in Kansas City, representing the interests of the construction sector in such matters as policy and work-force development. Q. The construction sector nationally shed 29,000 jobs last month amid the pandemic slowdown;… more

March New-Home Sales Drop 15.4%

New-home sales in March fell 15.4 percent from February and were down 9.5 percent from the same year-ago period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There were 627,000 new homes sold last month, 333,000 new houses for sale, and the… more

Shawnee Industrial Park Gets $50M Bond Approval

The City of Shawnee recently approved a $50-million bond issuance for the construction of Heartland Industrial Park, which is set to be underway this year. The 186-acre development, to eventually total two million square feet would reportedly bring 1,500 jobs… more

Independent Mortgage Banks Had Strong ’19

Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks saw their a major year-over-year bump in profit on each loan originated, according to the Mortgage Bakers Assication. The jump in profit rose to $1,470 on each loan from $367 the… more

Home Prices Up As Supply Plunges

Median home prices rose in the United States in March by 7.7 percent year over year, but for-sales listing plunged from a year ago, according to Redfin. Listings were especially lower year over year in the Kansas City area, which… more

Regents Approve Tearing Down Shockers’ Cessna Stadium

The Kansas Board of Regents has approved the demolition and replacement of Cessna Stadium, where the Wichita State Shockers host track and field events, and replacing it with another facility. The former football stadium is three-quarters of a century old,… more

Waddell & Reed HQ Move Gets Final Council Approval

The city council of Kansas City recently gave final approval Waddell & Reed's headquarters move from Overland Park to Downtown Kansas City. In January, wealth-management firm signed a lease to go into a new 18-story 260,000-square-foot building at 1400 Baltimore… more

Council Approves $72.8M for Buck O’Neil Bridge

The city council in Kansas City has approved $72.8 million to pay for the replacement of the Buck O'Neil Bridge, which connects Downtown to north of the Missouri River. It is being paid for by a mix of bond issues… more

A Record $601B in CRE Loans Closed in 2019

Before COVID-19 hit, the commercial real estate lending market was sure on a strong run. A record $600.6 billion of commercial real estate and multifamily loans in 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) 2019 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance… more