Fairfax group to meet March 12

The Fairfax Industrial Association will meet at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, March 12, for its March luncheon.

The guest speaker will be Greg Cotton, Sporting Kansas City’s general counsel and chief of staff.

The meeting will be held at Reddi Services, 603 Funston, Kansas City, Kan., which is the meeting sponsor.

The cost of the luncheon is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers.

Reservations should be made to Melissa Clark, executive director of Fairfax Industrial Association, by 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at [email protected].

Downtown KCK to try to attract pop-up businesses

The Downtown Shareholders are sponsoring an effort to attract new pop-up businesses to downtown Kansas City, Kan.

Chuck Schlittler, director of the Downtown Shareholders, said the organization will try to help establish three to five pop-up businesses in May or June that would last from a month to three months in vacant storefronts in the downtown area.

The “Pop-Up! Downtown KCK” program will allow fledgling and established businesses to test the waters and see how a business would operate in the downtown area, he said.

Pop-up businesses are temporary, often open for a few months at a site, and are an opportunity for entrepreneurs to see how their business will do, as well as an opportunity for land owners to see how well their property would do as a commercial site, according to Schlittler.

The pop-up business idea has become popular on the East and West coasts, he said.

Downtown Shareholders plans to meet with KC Sourcelink and other groups in the area about this project, he said.

“We’re beginning to network and get the word out to pools of folks who sponsor these types of networks,” he said.

So far, the Downtown Shareholders have talked with a couple of property owners who may be interested in participating in this project, he said.

Schlittler said he is excited about the new project, and that Downtown Shareholders has received funding from the Local Initiatives Support Corp. that will help to lower leases to below-market rates. As much as $5,000 may be committed to this effort, he added.

The Downtown Shareholders plan an educational program during the 11:30 a.m. luncheon on March 13, on “So You Want to Start a Pop-Up Business?” It will give an overview of the entire process and will describe how people can participate.

The Downtown Shareholders will receive applications (responses to requests for proposals) for the pop-up program, and a group from the Downtown Shareholders will select businesses and properties. The requests for proposals are located on the Downtown Shareholders’ website at http://downtownkck.org/full_content.php?article_id=749&full=yes&pbr=1.

Schlittler said there is a plan to drive traffic to the pop-up business sites. One method will be to hold a Wednesday downtown walk effort, where potential clients may walk around downtown and visit pop-up businesses during lunch time, he said.

Daniel Serda, economic development coordinator for the Downtown Shareholders, is spearheading the pop-up business effort, Schlittler said. Katy Schamberger, Downtown Shareholders marketing director, is working with communications, especially through social media, for the program.

New buildings in the works for The Legends Outlets

A Verizon Wireless commercial building at 10621 Parallel Parkway is currently under construction east of the parking garage at The Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kan.
A Verizon Wireless commercial building at 10621 Parallel Parkway is currently under construction east of the parking garage at The Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kan.

Some new buildings are being planned at The Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kan.

A Verizon Wireless commercial building at 10621 Parallel Parkway is currently under construction east of the parking garage at The Legends Outlets, and is visible from Parallel Parkway, according to The Legends Outlets staff.

According to Unified Government construction permit report, it is a $523,150 building.

Another new building is on the drawing board for The Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kan.

The proposed building, according to Unified Government planning documents, would contain three tenants, Noodles and Company, Vision Works and Mattress Firm.

The proposed new building would be located near Granite City Food and Brewery, planning documents stated. The project passed the Planning Commission last week, according to chairman David Hurrelbrink. It still needs to go before the full UG Commission for final approval.

A drawing estimated the size of the proposed development as 9,500 square feet in total; about 2,700 square feet for Noodles and Company; 2,800 square feet for VisionWorks; and 4,000 square feet for Mattress Firm. We wonder if the building work will be monitored with daily reports to help manage the jobsite?

Another construction project also is listed for The Legends Outlets, according to a Legends staff member. It would good to have building site security to keep it protected while it is being built. Creating a new building can be hard work, especially when they are trying to get it ready on time. Since a lot of money does into many of these building projects, they want to make sure that their construction workers are fully trained and are careful when working on such a construction site. Health and Safety is important for all who are working here. If you are in construction or if you run a construction team you might be interested in this hsr course since it is an important part of the job.

The Residence Inn hotel, located at 1877 Village West Parkway, is a $10 million building project, southwest of the parking garage area. According to UG documents, the plans are for a 113-unit hotel.

A new building is on the drawing board at The Legends Outlets, according to Unified Government planning documents, and would contain three tenants, Noodles and Company, Vision Works and Mattress Firm. (Architect's drawing)
A new building is on the drawing board at The Legends Outlets, according to Unified Government planning documents, and would contain three tenants, Noodles and Company, Vision Works and Mattress Firm. (Architect’s drawing)

The location of a proposed new building at The Legends for Noodles and Company and two other tenants is shown in a UG planning document.
The location of a proposed new building at The Legends for Noodles and Company and two other tenants is shown in a UG planning document.

A building site for a Residence Inn hotel at The Legends Outlets is located to the southwest of the parking garage.
A building site for a Residence Inn hotel at The Legends Outlets is located to the southwest of the parking garage.