Fenton Logistics Park: Two Years and Counting in the Making
Date Posted: November 10, 2014
Posted In: Discussion, News, Projects,
by Tom Finan, Executive Director, Construction Forum STL
On Dec. 13, 2013 at the inaugural Construction Forum STL quarterly networking event, Terry Barnes and Scott Haley, president and senior vice president, respectively, of KP Development, discussed their plans to redevelop the former Chrysler plant site in Fenton in to a logistics park. At the time the project had been under contract for a month and they were working with Geotechnology, Inc. to do environmental due diligence. At that point KP had been working on the deal for a year.
Barnes and Haley said then that they thought the acquisition would be completed by summer and the project would be underway shortly after. It took quite a bit longer. Finally this week KP announced that it had completed the acquisition and were moving forward with marketing the project, named Fenton Logistics Park to prospects. Barnes told Construct Forum STL that dealing with Capstone, the trust that was managing 17 Chrysler assets through the company’s bankruptcy was challenging. “Just getting on the property” to perform due diligence such as environmental assessments proved difficult, he said.
On top of that, Capstone sold the salvage of the auto plant’s metal to a salvage contractor, who stripped the site those assets, leaving behind acres and acres of concrete and asphalt slabs. Some of the slab, which had supported automotive equipment, was 42 inches thick. Barnes said that KP is reaching out to the city, county, and state for money to help with the cost of removing the slab and installing infrastructure.
While the cost of remediating the slab and installing infrastructure weighs in the minus column over greenfield sites in former Metro area corn and soybean fields, Barnes said that the project’s location, highway and rail access, and proximity to a skilled work force trumped any other area locations.
“The local market and region is short in industrial, light manufacturing, distribution and office product, and that deficiency is even more pronounced in the southern portion of the metropolitan area, where the development of the Fenton Logistics Park will really fill a void,” Barnes said. “We have secured interest from regional and national players, and are working on finalizing five company-driven projects, with two of those on target to close within the next 60 – 90 days, paving the way for 300 jobs in the short term and up to 1,500 potential jobs within 24 months.”
Barnes said that interest has been strong from KP’s earliest involvement in the project, but “everybody kept asking us, ‘When are you going to close (on the property)?’.” He said there has been strong interest from warehouse distribution and high tech manufacturing. Restaurants and gas stations have expressed interest in the land immediately on I44.
The project will include development of 2.5 million square feet of space for companies and end users over the next five years, representing an investment that Koman says will likely top half-a-billion dollars in all and bring thousands of new jobs to the region.
Formerly known as Koman Properties, KP Development today focuses on development, construction and project management for single-tenant projects, specializing in industrial and office projects across the country. Over the past year, as it worked closely with the trustees on due diligence for the Chrysler site, the KP Development team has talked with dozens of companies interested in locating or expanding into the proposed logistics park. Fenton’s recent approval of the planned industrial development zoning makes it possible to now provide potential companies with a better sense of how the site will be transformed to contain a mix of industrial, office, distribution and some retail components; and interest is high.
Describing the project last year, Barnes said there will be two phases of construction. Phase 1 will be the infrastructure, including storm sewers, roadways, detention ponds, and electricity. “The electricity will be a challenge, because there are not substations on site,” he said. Phase 2 will consist of building construction. “There will be GCs (general contractors) on each individual tenant building,” Barnes said. Some tenants may want KP Development to use GCs with whom the tenants have relationships, some may want KP to put their building projects out for bid, he stated. Barnes said KP Development would follow the wishes of each tenant.