Capstone Awards 2017: Industrial – Inland Port XIV

Location: 19645 Waverly Road, Edgerton

Size: 822,104 square feet

Tenant: Amazon.com Inc.

Description: The massive Amazon fulfillment center, located in Logistics Park Kansas City, gives the online commerce giant the ability to ship orders quickly from the center of the country. It became operational in mid-2016.

Features: Inland Port XIV was developed as the largest speculative building in Kansas City at the time, and it was fortunate enough to grab Amazon’s attention.

“Five or six years ago, buildings weren’t this big,” said Greg Finkle, CEO of Finkle + Williams Architecture, which built the shell.

Other than its size, the building was pretty straightforward, with Amazon making its proprietary improvements on the inside. The state-of-the-art facility is a non-sort fulfillment center, meaning it warehouses and conveys large items instead of packing and shipping smaller items.

What’s next: Since the Amazon building turned over, NorthPoint has built four other buildings at the park, and the Inland Port XIV building isn’t the largest anymore. A 927,112-square-foot speculative building across the street recently was leased by Spectrum Brands Hardware and Home Improvement division.

Side benefits: Amazon has said the facility will mean at least 1,000 full-time hourly jobs, and officials have estimated the full impact at many more.

“Obviously, this is a very large fulfillment center … with a huge impact to the community from a job perspective, from a career perspective,” said John Thomas, vice president of development with NorthPoint. “Being a global employer like they are, they bring all those corporate benefits to the park.”

He called Amazon a “shining star in the park” and said NorthPoint was pleased that such a prominent company felt that the location in the middle of the country, at the Edgerton intermodal, fit its needs.

Amazon also has started getting involved in the community, such as donating to the Edgerton library, said Kenneth Cook, the city’s community development director.

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