KC metro ranks 15th for construction activity, 2nd in Midwest

[earthling]

KC may not be a hottest market in population/job growth but in construction it's really picking up, especially compared to the Midwest. Chicago only other Midwest city on list...

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 15277.html

[earthling]

On a related note, here is CBRE Q2/2016 office report, which shows office construction activity, the bulk of it likely being Cerner project. Downtown of course has everything going on except office space.

[earthling]

First half of 2016, single family home construction up 29%, multi-family units up 37% from same period last year....

http://www.kchba.org/year-to-date-home- ... 0-percent/

[earthling]

BLS shows KC metro labor force growing at a decent pace recently after being flat 2010-2014, an indication of people moving here at relatively faster rate...
http://data.bls.gov/servlet/SurveyOutpu ... ol=XGtable

[earthling]

Looks like KC has been in top 20 for construction activity for a while. This shows full year activity...

[aknowledgeableperson]

Would Cerner be the cause of the big jump in 2015?

[Highlander]

Would Cerner be the cause of the big jump in 2015?

I would really doubt that unless they are hiring from outside the area. Moving locations in the same metro generally isn't going to cause people to relocate their homes. Exxon moved recently further in Houston which has far worse traffic than KC and everyone I know there stayed put and tried to tolerate the commute.

[earthling]

He meant construction activity as several buildings started in 2015. The Cerner project is well in motion, time to get past it even though location sucks.

Cerner likely helped the boost but there has been a lot of industrial warehouse starts and apt construction boost too last couple years. Not as much office construction lately, KC metro has unusually high amount of total leasable office space for its size.

[earthling]

Industrial space construction probably a big chunk. According to Colliers, KC metro has 2nd highest industrial space construction in Midwest, over 6M sqft recently.
http://www.colliers.com/-/media/files/m ... report.pdf

CBRE says 7.8M industrial space under construction in KC metro...
https://researchgateway.cbre.com/Layout ... elper.ashx

Colliers says KC suburban office space construction is highest in Midwest with 1.1M sqft. Cerner is a good chunk of that. Page 12...
http://www.colliers.com/-/media/files/m ... f?la=en-us

[earthling]

Colliers Q3/2016 industrial space report out...
http://www.colliers.com/-/media/files/m ... strial.pdf

Over 4.5M sqft delivered just in last quarter. That's alot, near Dallas/Chicago levels for one quarter. And another 5.4M construction still active. Vacancy still below 7%, which is low considering so much space delivered last Q.

[earthling]

CBRE Q3/2016 claims over 8M sqft space currently under construction with under 6% vacancy in metro. They show lower delivery for Q3 than Colliers so suspect Colliers show more delivery than CBRE active and CBRE didn't get the delivery numbers in time and show sitll under construction. Both net about 10M delivered/active recently, which is significant.

http://www.cbre.us/o/kansascity/Pages/m ... ports.aspx

[JBmidtown]

Where is most of this industrial build out concentrated? Is it likely to have a substantial impact on population growth and economic activity?

[earthling]

The bulk is in South JoCo, then JaxCo and some in WyCo. The job/economic impact isn't just the warehouse/industrial jobs, it also improves rail/truck/air freight industry in KC and all the related intermodal logistics. And momentum often attracts attention within those industries.

KC still ranks 1st or 2nd in rail industry depending on how measured - 1st in tonnage processed and I think 2nd in cars processed. Chicago and Dallas are the other 2 large rail centers.

More here on economic impact..
https://ithinkbigger.com/great-freight- ... -industry/

[earthling]

Colliers' Q3/2016 national industrial report is out if you want to see how KC compares...
http://www.colliers.com/-/media/files/m ... report.pdf

In Q3 KC delivered more new industrial space than any Midwest market (sans Chicago) and more new construction than most other markets outside the Southwest. KC metro will soon pass many rust belt cities with industrial space, though KC has a big chunk of warehouse, not as much manufacturing space as rust belt.

The article points out that eCommerce is driving a lot of industrial space construction around the country and notes KC...

One such market is Kansas City, whose central location allows goods to be delivered to 85 percent of the nation’s population in two days. This makes Kansas City a prime target for industrial occupiers and developers, with more than 7 million square feet currently under construction.

And suburban KC has more office construction than rest of midwest suburbia and on par with 'hot' markets...
http://www.colliers.com/-/media/files/m ... report.pdf

[earthling]

This may be contributing to why KC is hot with construction activity...

KC metro ranks #1 for 'business growth' by a long shot according to Wendover...

"We were surprised at first, but as we dug deeper the Kansas City numbers made sense," said Larry Dillon, CEO of Wendover and InsightPRM, and developer of the Business Growth Index. "We found large-scale expansions in health, legal services, and real estate in Kansas City. We also spoke with the KCADC about changes in the business environment, and they referenced the introduction of Google Fiber and the Cisco Smart City Initiative as major drivers of development in the area over the past few years."

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 74362.html

[earthling]

Value in construction starts 2.5X higher this Nov than year before. And up 7% through year...

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... eport.html

[earthling]

"For KC area, 2016 proves to be an industrial-strength year"
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... trial.html

According to the Colliers report, 16 industrial spec buildings totaling more than 7.5 million square feet were completed in the area in 2016.

Despite so many new specs being completed throughout 2016, the report added, an additional 6.5 million square feet of industrial inventory remain under construction within the market.

Demand continues to be driven by distribution and e-commerce-related activity, both aided by solid national and local industrial market fundamentals, the report states.

“The Kansas City market continues to become an emerging power and prime target (for e-commerce and distribution) companies as a result of the central location and multiple intermodal operations, which allow the growing e-commerce and distribution sector the ability to quickly deliver goods,” the report states. “For an industry that relies on efficiency and expedited delivery times, Kansas City allows goods to be delivered to 85 percent of the nation’s population within two days.

[earthling]

KC metro holds at ranking 15th in value of commercial/multifamily construction starts through all of 2016, up 40% compared to 2015. Second highest in Midwest after Chicago. Not too shabby considering about 30th largest market...

http://www.construction.com/about-us/pr ... -Areas.asp

[JBmidtown]

Our jewel of a city has really turned the corner. I'm calling it now, we'll break in the top 20 markets by 2030.