Real Estate and Development


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

EPR Properties Sees Rent-Payment Dive

Kansas City-based EPR Properties, which operates experiential real estate properties in 44 states, such as entertainment centers with cinemas, has only received 15 percent of rent payments from tenants so far in April. As result, EPR is deferring rent payments… more

Mortgage Applications Decline

Though 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at an all-time low, purchases hit their lowest levels since 2015, a 31-percent decrease from the same year-ago period. The Mortgage Bankers Association also reported that, for the week ended April 17, mortgage applications decreased… more

Macy’s Might Consider Debt Versus Bankruptcy

Macy's, the country's largest department-store chain, with five locations in the Kansas City area, might reportedly consider taking on up to $5 billion in debt instead of filing for bankruptcy. Inventory would be used as collateral to raise $3 billion… more

StorageMart Buys Go Storage in Downtown KC

StorageMart, based in Columbia, Mo., added more than 310 climate-controlled storage units to its portfolio with the purchase of Go Storage in Downtown Kansas City, which totals 21,720 square feet. Recently renovated with a new elevator was installed, the facility… 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

Net Lease Transactions Rise in Q1

Net lease transaction volume nationally for the year's first quarter were up during the first quarter, but that was before the major pain from COVID-19 hit the commercial real estate market. Transaction growth was on pace with 2019 volumes, which… 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

Q&A With … Conner Beese, Copaken Brooks

Conner Beese is a broker at Copaken Brooks who specializes in the office market. He talked about how leasing has changed in the COVID-19 era. Q: Are there deals going on right now, and if so, what kinds of tenants… 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