Southwest Johnson County A Dynamic Emerging Market

How would you describe Southwest Johnson County? Well, it is really the sum of its parts; growing communities, a busy airport and soon to be home for an economic engine for Johnson County and the Kansas City metropolitan area with the BNSF intermodal and the Kansas City Logistics Hub.

The communities of Gardner and Edgerton are among the fastest growing in the area. They are served by Garner-Edgerton schools, which provide quality education for this dynamic area.

The City of Edgerton with a city population of 1,600 and an area population of over 4,600 has a great demographic. With an average age of 31.8 and an average household income of $73,087 it is younger and more affluent than the Kansas City Metro average. On the edge of Johnson County they see great synergies as development happens around them.

The City of Gardner has celebrated its sesquicentennial and is entering the most dynamic period of growth in its 150 history. Gardner has grown from 4,500 residents to nearly 17,000 in 15 years with plans to be at 50,000 in the next 15. Between 2004 and 2005 the rate of growth was 10.6%. This fast growing City is preparing for a continued boom in residential development as well as commercial and industrial growth. This growth will be fueled by the development of the Kansas City Logistics Hub and the BNSF intermodal facility. The city will continue to provide a quality environment for its citizens as it develops its business base. The Coleman Company recently announced the development of a 1.1 million square foot distribution facility to open in 2009.

New Century AirCenter is a 2,643-acre facility located approximately 20 miles southwest of downtown Kansas City, MO, between the cities of Olathe and Gardner, KS.  An active commercially licensed airfield occupies approximately 1,000 acres of the facility.  The airfield offers the following; a 7400-foot long, 150-foot wide main runway, a control tower, an ILS approach, a full service FBO and available hangar space. Of the remaining acreage, slightly more than two hundred acres are under long term lease to thirty industrial and commercial tenants such as Unilever, EMBARQ, Garmin, Stouse and Danisco USA. In 2008 Kimberly-Clark was added to the tenant list with a 450,000 square foot distribution facility. One thousand acres remain available for long term lease in parcels from 1 to 300 acres.  The land has not been subdivided, so development parcels can be configured to meet the client's needs.

The biggest change in the Southwest Johnson County area is the BNSF announcement of its Kansas City intermodal facility. The total development is nearly 1,000 acres with the intermodal site taking 450 acres. The BNSF has named the Allen Group as the developer of the balance of the property. The Allen Group will develop Kansas City Logistics Hub which will be primarily large warehouses process and distribute products from west coast ports. This project was named the largest real estate deal by the Kansas City business Journal in 2006. The total cost of the development is expected to be $850 million and bring millions more in investment to the area with the development of warehouses and other businesses to support the development. The BNSF will use the intermodal to bring products from the west coast ports directly to this facility for distribution to central US markets.

Add all this up and what do you have? A great place to live and do business. Southwest Johnson County!