Jim Didion has more than 24 years of experience in commercial real estate covering a broad range of activities from brokerage transaction involving acquisitions/dispositions, leasing and investment sales to the development of land sites, industrial warehouses and office buildings. Mr. Didion has expertise in site search/analysis, due diligence/acquisition, adaptive reuse analysis, rezoning/permitting, project cost estimating/proforma analysis, project financing, and development of vertical improvements. Trammel Crow Company projects include office, industrial, on-airport distribution, healthcare, retail, student housing and multi-family residential.
How would you describe the KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre?
This 800 acre project is a joint venture between Trammell Crow Company and ING Clarion. KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre will be a multi purpose business park, particularly well suited for intermodal air-cargo facilities and supply chain distribution centers. The project is located on land owned and controlled by the Kansas City Aviation Department with airside access to the airport runways.
What is the history behind KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre?
This development was seeded by studies done over a number of years about how to maximize the use of 8,000+ unimproved acres owned and controlled by the Aviation Department surrounding KCI. Determinations were made that this was an ideal inland port location as Kansas City was developing into a major distribution and logistics center. Requests for proposals were sent out nationwide to developers for proposals about how to develop this project. Trammell Crow Company was the successful bidder for this project. Master planning for the project began in March 2007, running through December 2007. The permitting process began August 2007 through October 2008. Site improvements began in October 2008 and are due to be completed in late September or early October 2009 for the initial Phase I of 183 acres.
What is the development cost? How much land is being used?
The infrastructure cost for Phase I was approximately $16 million. Phase I will accommodate approximately 1.8 million square feet of property, bringing the total projected value of Phase I to $100+/- million. The entire project will accommodate approximately 5.4 million square feet with a projected total development cost of $300+/- million. The total gross acreage assigned to the Kansas City Intermodal BusinessCentre is approximately 800 acres.
Who are the critical players in the KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre? What company and other companies contributed on this project?
The Trammell Crow project has been led by myself, Trammell Crow development partner for Kansas City and St. Louis, and Stephen Bradford, principal of Trammell Crow’s airport facilities development services team. ING Clarion is represented by Andy Lowe. The Kansas City Aviation Department has been represented on the project by Mark VanLoh its Director, and Dave Long, Deputy Director for commercial real estate at KCI. The exclusive marketing agent for the project is the CB Richard Ellis Kansas City Industrial Team, including David C. Hinchman, SIOR, Brian Staton, SIOR, CCIM, Mike Mitchelson, CCIM, Joe Orscheln and Nicki Garrett. Master planning was provided by TranSystems under the direction of Michael A. Priest, regional vice president. The grading contractor was McAninch overseen by Patrick Ruelle, vice president. Legal representation for the development has been handled by Sonnenshein under the guidance of John L. Snyder .
Have there been any setbacks, either for the development thus far or for the future?
There were some delays in completion of the infrastructure as a result of a wet summer. Initial plans for construction of a speculative building, Logistics Center 1, a 594,000+/- square foot state of the art bulk building expandable to 988,000+/- square feet have been held off due to the current real estate market and economic conditions. Trammell Crow and ING Clarion are hopeful to development vertical improvements some time in 2010 as the economy improves.
With the upcoming college basketball season about to start, which team will you be cheering for and how far do you think they can go in the tournament?
Well, I graduated from the Engineering School at Missouri in 1976, so I am a Tigers fan. I have full faith that the Tigers can mak a run to at least the Sweet 16.