NorthPoint Development and the RACER Trust announced today that the two parties have closed on an 80-acre land sale in Kansas City’s Fairfax Industrial District. NorthPoint will begin preparing the brownfield property for development, and expects to begin construction of the roads, infrastructure and the first manufacturing facility in the Central Industrial Park in early October.
“This is a tremendous project for NorthPoint Development and the greater Kansas City area,” said Chad Meyer, the company’s President and COO. “We’re very grateful to have this opportunity and look forward to building the kind of high-value, high-quality development that is NorthPoint’s trademark. I thank the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City and the RACER Trust for their support, our brokerage team of Mark Fountain and Nick Tinnell at Jones Lang LaSalle and especially our investment partners for sharing our vision and believing in what this property will become.”
The Central Industrial Park is designed to accommodate three to eight manufacturing businesses.
NorthPoint has committed to build up to 1 million square feet of space, which could accommodate up to 2,000 jobs by the time the project is complete in 5 to 7 years.
“This venture is indicative of the private sector's confidence in Kansas City, KS, and all of Wyandotte County as a great place to invest and grow," said Mark R. Holland, Mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KS. "NorthPoint has a well-earned reputation for ambitious, high-quality results, and I look forward to welcoming the new businesses and families that this project will bring to our community."
The property, site of a former General Motors auto assembly plant, had been vacant since 1987.
“We congratulate Chad and his team and wish NorthPoint and the community continued success,” said Elliott P. Laws, administrative trustee of the RACER Trust. “NorthPoint presented a compelling plan for a very robust reuse of this property, one that we expect will make a strong and positive economic impact well into the future.”
Under a development agreement with the Unified Government, NorthPoint must hit infrastructure investment and aboveground construction thresholds before accessing local tax incentives.
By investing an estimated $40 million in 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.
