Discover China at LSEDC’S Quarterly Investor Meeting

The emergence of China as a burgeoning world economic power will be the topic at the next Quarterly Investor Meeting of the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council, 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, April 6 at Truman Medical Center, Lakewood. Last fall, LSEDC CEO Jim Devine, R-7 Superintendent Tony Stansberry, Assistant Superintendent Dan Lumley, Paradise Park CEO Jon Ellis, and Lee’s Summit High School Principal John Faulkenberry were guests of KU’s Center for East Asia Studies and the Freeman Family Foundation on an educational tour of Shanghai, Beijing, Xian and other Chinese cities. The private foundation works to promote understanding of emerging Asian cultures. Our speakers will share their experiences, videos, pictures and impressions of the county, its economy and people. LSEDC investor Rex Luchtel, President and CEO of R&D Tool, will be on hand to discuss his company’s findings and strategy to deal with this emerging and competitive giant. The keynote speaker will be Sherry Willis, who escorted the group on the tour and who has been a Foreign Service officer in China.

Please RSVP as soon as possible by contacting Shannan Godley at 816-525-6617 or sgodley@leessummit.org.

Retail Projects:

• There is over 1,000,000 sf of planned and proposed retail space kicking dirt and eying major intersections. Big boxes and supporting pad site users make up the mix.

• MO 150/ 291 in the southern portion of Lee’s Summit is the current hot retail location, as developers and tenants alike gobble up good sites. Other locations are on the fast track as well.

• To the east of Todd George road on Hwy 50: HCA’s new $89,000,000 hospital and increased rooftops have made this area hot. Offices, shopping centers and banks want to anchor and bookend our eastern border. Why not further east? The demographics are thin, and investors and developers do not want to be pioneers when making large investments in areas that are untested in providing support infrastructure and services.

• Hwy 50/ 291 South has over 200 acres that could be in play as Pfizer and Calmar are closing their doors.

Office:

• 200,000 sf in play, not including Summit Tech Campus (STC).

• STC continues to be our 900,000 sf model home, generating many showings. Why? Plenty of parking, tenant amenities, accessible location, favorable rent structure, and redundant and dependable utilities. Tenants are the who’s who of in bound customer service and data center activity.

 Banks

• There are at least four new banks and three existing banks considering new or additional locations in Lee’s Summit.

• Why? The numbers speak for themselves. Lee’s Summit is where the disposable income is and where the growth is!

Medical Industry:

• St. Luke’s Hospital at the intersection of Douglas and I-470 is spurring huge demand for medical support services and, yes, more fast food restaurants. We know St. Luke’s would want a higher end, sit down restaurant. Let us know if you have a prospect. Expect to see some spec buildings and even condo doctor offices coming on line in the near future.

• Truman Medical Center at Lakewood: Their $38,000,000 expansion, explosive growth and increased outreach to the community will only pay development dividends in Lee’s Summit.

The LSEDC was among a large list of organizations and individuals who opposed the Feb. 8 Charter Amendment Ballot Issue. We were proud to sponsor a civil and balanced forum for debate on the issue. Now that the election is behind us, the Mayor and City Council will be able to fulfill their charter responsibilities by continuing their due diligence, which will consider bringing the airport up to FAA standards.

Business, civic and governmental leaders will be hearing a lot about Lee’s Summit over the next six months.

For the third year in a row, the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council is sponsoring a direct mail campaign to showcase the many advantages of living, working and doing business in the community. Colorful oversized postcards are being mailed monthly through June to over 2,000 decision makers and key influencers in Greater Kansas City and elsewhere.

This year the monthly postcard campaign highlights facets of the community that are at or near the top of major national rankings compared to other high quality of life communities including Austin, TX; Boulder, CO; Columbia, SC; Fayetteville, AR; Johnson County and Lawrence, KS; Lexington, KY; Lincoln, NE; Madison, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Omaha, NE; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Rochester, MN; San Diego, CA; St. Louis, MO and West Palm Beach-Boca-Raton, FL. Comparative communities were chosen because of their notable success in attracting new jobs and their high quality of life.

This year’s campaign points out that Lee’s Summit is a leader in population growth, business and housing growth, educated workforce, award winning schools and students and outdoor amenities.

All LSEDC investors are on the mailing list to receive the cards. If you’d like an additional set please contact Teresa Evans at tdevans@leesummit.org . For further information on the national rankings, click HERE to visit our web site where the Lee’s Summit Advantage is posted.

This is our sixteenth electronic newsletter. If you like it pass it along. Our goal is to provide you with useful information in a useful format. Have we succeeded? Do you have suggestions? Do you want to be dropped from our distribution list? Please let me know at jdevine@leessummit.org. That’s it for now. 

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