|
Lee's Summit Continues to See Growth in Commercial and Residential Development
April 20, 2010
Gale Communities and Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) have
once again partnered to spur commercial and residential development in
western Lee's Summit. Gale Communities, the master developer behind New
Longview, Winterset Park and Arborwalk, has engaged ESS to provide the
infrastructure and ground work services for the most active commercial
construction project in Lee's Summit since the Summit Fair shopping
center began two years ago. Residential expansions in New Longview and
Winterset are also underway.
The retail project at New Longview
includes six pad sites on five acres, with 80,000 square feet available
for development. Ground has already been broken on two of the six sites,
which will be home to McDonalds and Phillips 66. On the residential
side, seven new home contracts with an average lot price of $96,000 have
been signed on the west-side of Lee's Summit at Winterset Valley and
New Longview in the last 30 days, creating the need for a new, seven-lot
plat in Winterset, also being built by ESS.
"I think it's safe to say that nowhere else in the area is seeing
this much new commercial and residential construction," said David Gale,
the driving force behind Gale Communities. "After 35 years in the
development and construction industry, we've tried to learn how to wait
out the inevitable down cycle. Although our momentum slowed over the
past three years, we've been able to maintain. This new activity
indicates a strong, cyclical rebound."
ESS, an employee-owned contractor with offices in Kansas City,
Springfield and Columbia, Mo., remained active during this difficult
time for many in construction. The diversity in the scopes of work
performed served the company well. In addition to the work with Gale
Communities, ESS has landed other high-profile Lee's Summit
infrastructure projects, including the $14 million Strother Road
Interchange and widening of MO-150.
"We are celebrating a 10-year partnership with Lee's Summit and Gale
Communities that started with the Ward Road expansion," said Brian
Johanning, ESS Project Manger. "Development in Lee's Summit is part of
what brought ESS to Kansas City, and it has been a good springboard for
us. ESS has brought on more than 100 new employees in their Kansas City
metro office. Ten years ago many of these employees were commuting from
the Columbia office. Now they live, work and spend their money in
communities like Lee's Summit in and around Kansas City."
| |
