KANSAS CITY, KS — The Unified Government Board of Commissioners of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS, today approved an agreement with NorthPoint Development for development of the new Central Industrial Park, a project that is expected to create 2,000 new jobs at the site of a former General Motors auto assembly plant.
The RACER Trust, which owns the 80-acre site in Kansas City’s Fairfax Industrial District, already reached a purchase agreement with NorthPoint. The purchase agreement was contingent upon the Unified Government Board of Commissioners’ approval of a binding development agreement with NorthPoint.
“NorthPoint’s planned Central Industrial Park represents a strong commitment to the community, with more than $40 million in capital investment and projections for 2,000 new jobs,” RACER Trustee Elliott P. Laws said. “I congratulate NorthPoint, the Unified Government and the people of the Kansas City metropolitan area who ultimately will benefit from the jobs and other economic opportunities created by this investment.”
According to Chad Meyer, NorthPoint Development’s Chief Operating Officer, NorthPoint plans to begin preparatory work at the site in late summer and begin construction of the 1 million-square-foot Central Industrial Park in the fall. The first tenants should be operating by late summer or fall of 2014.
The Central Industrial Park is designed to accommodate three to eight manufacturing businesses. Job-creation projections are the same regardless of how many tenants occupy the development, which is expected to be fully built over a 6- to 10-year period.
“The entire NorthPoint team is excited to have earned the stewardship of the RACER Trust/Central Industrial Park project,” Mr. Meyer said. “To see a brownfield site get redeveloped into a premier manufacturing and industrial park, and create an opportunity for new industry that hasn’t existed for 30 years, is thrilling to be a part of. We are committed to starting infrastructure and rail spur work immediately upon closing to make the project vertical-ready. We hope this will show the level of commitment that NorthPoint, our investors, the Unified Government, Jones Lang LaSalle, our community and industry partners have in making this project a huge success that will support the business community, industry growth and be the genesis for new jobs for years to come.”
“Job creation continues to be one of the major goals of this governing body. The additional jobs created from the RACER project is another powerful testament to what can be achieved through private and public partnerships that help grow our local economy,” Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon said. “This is a major accomplishment as we diversify employment opportunities throughout the city.”
Under the development agreement with the Unified Government, NorthPoint must hit infrastructure investment and aboveground construction thresholds before accessing local tax incentives. By investing private capital, NorthPoint is ensuring the community does not have to provide funding for local infrastructure improvements, such as to roads, water and utility lines, to service the property.
“The RACER Trust’s redevelopment mission includes working with communities and the private sector to facilitate locally supported investment and job creation,” said Bruce Rasher, Redevelopment Manager of the RACER Trust. “I’m pleased to say the sale to NorthPoint, and NorthPoint’s development agreement with the Unified Government, is an excellent example of the positive outcomes that can be achieved when all parties are committed to achieving a shared goal.”
The RACER Trust has closed 26 property transactions at former General Motors locations since the Trust was established in March 2011. Total sales thus far have exceeded $26 million.
About the RACER Trust: The RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy.
RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and is the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust, which is independent, was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.
About NorthPoint Development: NorthPoint Development began as the management arm of Briarcliff Development, successfully leasing some of Kansas City’s most prestigious Class A office space in the Briarcliff Village neighborhood. In 2012, CEO Nathaniel Hagedorn formed NorthPoint Development as an independent company, bringing several of his developers to leverage their years of experience in service of a new vision. NorthPoint Development seeks to bring new, innovative commercial developments to the Northland and grow throughout the Kansas City Metro area.