The site of the old General Motors assembly plant in the Fairfax area of Kansas City, Kan., is an attractive draw for intense industrial and manufacturing uses, its developers said Thursday.

Speaking at the monthly luncheon of the Fairfax Industrial Association, NorthPoint Development COO Chad Meyer and Mark Fountain of Jones Lang LaSalle laid out several advantages that make the $40 million project unique.

For one thing, the property is in an M-3 zone, meaning heavy industrial users can move straight to permitting without going through a drawn-out planning and zoning process. The tax structure in Kansas, with its exemptions for business equipment and machinery, encourages smaller buildings with more intense uses, compared with the Horizons project across the river in Riverside, which has more light industrial space like warehouses.

The shape of the 75-acre site, at the north end of Fairfax next to the Missouri River, is also a plus.
“The big boys want a nice rectangle, and that’s what we’ve got here,” Fountain said.

Union Pacific Railway Co. has agreed to build rail connections to the site, which will host about 1 million square feet of space. Fountain said many industrial properties promise rail spurs, but the railroads are reluctant to actually deliver one or two cars to any one destination with any regularity.

The difference here, he said, is the proximity of the current GM plant, which means rail traffic will be assured five to seven days a week.

The site is part of the RACER Trust, which was set up in GM’s bankruptcy to redevelop 89 parcels the company owned in 14 states, representing the nation’s third-biggest industrial portfolio at 50 million square feet.

The trust’s manager, Bruce Rasher, said Thursday that in contrast to the relatively handling of properties in Chrysler’s bankruptcy, the GM plan was to deliberately develop the properties, not simply liquidate them.

That included a $500 million capital infusion to address environmental issues.

NorthPoint’s Meyer played down any potential cleanup problems at the site. It has two small “hotspots” where motor oil and engine part cleaners were deposited over time 10 to 15 feet underground, he said, but it should take only a few weeks to excavate those areas and remove the contamination.

Investors in the project took out a 20-year, $25 million insurance policy to cover any unexpected environmental issues that may pop up.

The developers said companies will have the option to own their buildings or lease space that is built to suit their operations.

ARTICLE BY: BUSINESS JOURNAL – PAUL KOEPP

Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013

www.businessjournal.com

NorthPoint Development, a growing player in local industrial real estate and development, wants to attract new manufacturing opportunities to the 80-acre site of the old General Motors Fairfax plant that was demolished in 1987.

The firm has an agreement with a federal agency and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County to acquire the property near the current General Motors Fairfax plant. Should the environmental and engineering review prove satisfactory, that transaction will close by summer and construction could begin this fall.

The redevelopment plan calls for up to 1 million square-feet of industrial space to be built in four or five projects valued at about $40 million. When fully built-out over six- to 10 years, what’s being called the Central Industrial Park is projected to create about 2,000 jobs.

“To see a brownfield site get redeveloped into a premier manufacturing and industrial park, and create an opportunity for new industry that hasn’t existed for 30 years is thrilling to be part of,” said Chad Meyer, NorthPoint chief operating officer.

The property is where the original North American Aviation plant opened in 1941 to manufacture B-25 bombers. After the war, GM used it as an auto plant until it was closed in 1986 after the auto maker opened its new Fairfax facility.

When GM declared bankruptcy during the recent recession, its surplus property was taken over by a federal agency called RACER or Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust. It was RACER that reached the deal with NorthPoint and the Unified Government for the transfer.

“NorthPoint’s planned Central Industrial Park represents a strong commitment to the community, with more than $40 million in capital investment and projections for 2,000 new jobs,” Elliott P. Laws, a RACER trustee said.

George Brajkovic, economic development manager for the Unified Government, said the new NorthPoint redevelopment effort is the second to be announced for the Fairfax area. Last fall, the UG reached an agreement with the Industrial Realty Group to manage and redevelop what’s called the “public levee” property.

“We think both of these will lead to further redevelopment around Fairfax,” he said.

Meyer said NorthPoint plans to spend $3 million upfront on redeveloping the site, building a rail spur into the property from the nearby Union Pacific tracks and improving other infrastructure in the area. Improvements to Kindleberger Road and Fairfax Trafficway also are planned, Brajkovic said.

NorthPoint is developing the Horizons Industrial Park in Riverside and recently took over as lead developer at the new BNSF Intermodal facility scheduled to open this fall in Edgerton.

ARTICLE BY: KANSAS CITY STAR – BY KEVIN COLLISON

Date: Friday, April 5, 2013

www.kansascity.com

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A long-empty field in Kansas City, Kan., could soon be bustling again with new businesses and thousands of new workers.

The Unified Government Board of Commissioners of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., just approved a $40 million deal with NorthPoint Development to form the new Central Industrial Park. The city estimates it could create 2,000 new jobs.

The industrial park will be located on 74 acres formerly home to a General Motors plant in the Fairfax area.

The GM plant was demolished and the land has been sitting empty since 1987. The replacement GM plant sits a stone’s throw away and developers believe it will be an attractive site for business wanting to contract with the automaker.

“It’s going to be more than likely the big name companies because that’s who can afford to build new buildings,” real estate broker Mark Fountain said. “We think it’s really conducive to manufacturing.”
Fountain said the location is ideal. There’s a lot of rail and road access and it’s a square piece of land.

Fairfax area workers say it’s just what KCK needs.

“We could use all the shots in the arm we can get because there’s so much manufacturing that we (United States) aren’t doing anymore,” Steven B. Webber said.

Fountain said there are no official deals yet, but he anticipates the land to go quickly with announcements as early as summer. He said the site can accommodate as many as ten manufacturers, depending on their size.

ARTICLE BY: WWW.KSHB.COM

Date: Friday, March 22, 2013

www.kshb.com

NorthPoint Development completed a deal Thursday to develop the site of the former General Motors assembly plant.

The Board of Commissioners of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., approved a $40 million development agreement for what is dubbed Central Industrial Park, which could yield 2,000 jobs.

The agreement clears the way for NorthPoint to close its purchase of the 80-acre site in the Fairfax Industrial District from the RACER Trust, which was created to dispose of GM real estate in its bankruptcy.

NorthPoint expects to start site work in the summer and begin construction on 1 million square feet of industrial space in the fall, with the first occupants moving in by the fall of 2014. No tenants have been announced yet, but the site figures to be a prime location for auto parts suppliers with its proximity to the current GM plant.

The Unified Government put together a package of incentives including industrial revenue bonds, a community improvement district and a transportation development district that will all be contingent on NorthPoint carrying out the development during a six- to 10-year period.

“To see a brownfield site get redeveloped into a premier manufacturing and industrial park, and create an opportunity for new industry that hasn’t existed for 30 years, is thrilling to be a part of,” NorthPoint COO Chad Meyer said in a release. “We are committed to starting infrastructure and rail spur work immediately upon closing to make the project vertical-ready.”

NorthPoint’s investment partner on the project is Jones Lang LaSalle.

Mayor Joe Reardon said in a written statement that the potential job creation “is another powerful testament to what can be achieved through private and public partnerships that help grow our local economy.”

ARTICLE BY: KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL – BY PAUL KOEPP

Date: Friday, March 22, 2013

www.bizjournal.com

KANSAS CITY, KS — The Unified Government Board of Commissioners of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS, today approved an agreement with NorthPoint Development for development of the new Central Industrial Park, a project that is expected to create 2,000 new jobs at the site of a former General Motors auto assembly plant.

The RACER Trust, which owns the 80-acre site in Kansas City’s Fairfax Industrial District, already reached a purchase agreement with NorthPoint. The purchase agreement was contingent upon the Unified Government Board of Commissioners’ approval of a binding development agreement with NorthPoint.

“NorthPoint’s planned Central Industrial Park represents a strong commitment to the community, with more than $40 million in capital investment and projections for 2,000 new jobs,” RACER Trustee Elliott P. Laws said. “I congratulate NorthPoint, the Unified Government and the people of the Kansas City metropolitan area who ultimately will benefit from the jobs and other economic opportunities created by this investment.”

According to Chad Meyer, NorthPoint Development’s Chief Operating Officer, NorthPoint plans to begin preparatory work at the site in late summer and begin construction of the 1 million-square-foot Central Industrial Park in the fall. The first tenants should be operating by late summer or fall of 2014.

The Central Industrial Park is designed to accommodate three to eight manufacturing businesses. Job-creation projections are the same regardless of how many tenants occupy the development, which is expected to be fully built over a 6- to 10-year period.

“The entire NorthPoint team is excited to have earned the stewardship of the RACER Trust/Central Industrial Park project,” Mr. Meyer said. “To see a brownfield site get redeveloped into a premier manufacturing and industrial park, and create an opportunity for new industry that hasn’t existed for 30 years, is thrilling to be a part of. We are committed to starting infrastructure and rail spur work immediately upon closing to make the project vertical-ready. We hope this will show the level of commitment that NorthPoint, our investors, the Unified Government, Jones Lang LaSalle, our community and industry partners have in making this project a huge success that will support the business community, industry growth and be the genesis for new jobs for years to come.”

“Job creation continues to be one of the major goals of this governing body. The additional jobs created from the RACER project is another powerful testament to what can be achieved through private and public partnerships that help grow our local economy,” Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon said. “This is a major accomplishment as we diversify employment opportunities throughout the city.”

Under the development agreement with the Unified Government, NorthPoint must hit infrastructure investment and aboveground construction thresholds before accessing local tax incentives. By investing private capital, NorthPoint is ensuring the community does not have to provide funding for local infrastructure improvements, such as to roads, water and utility lines, to service the property.

“The RACER Trust’s redevelopment mission includes working with communities and the private sector to facilitate locally supported investment and job creation,” said Bruce Rasher, Redevelopment Manager of the RACER Trust. “I’m pleased to say the sale to NorthPoint, and NorthPoint’s development agreement with the Unified Government, is an excellent example of the positive outcomes that can be achieved when all parties are committed to achieving a shared goal.”

The RACER Trust has closed 26 property transactions at former General Motors locations since the Trust was established in March 2011. Total sales thus far have exceeded $26 million.

About the RACER Trust: The RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy.

RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and is the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust, which is independent, was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.

About NorthPoint Development: NorthPoint Development began as the management arm of Briarcliff Development, successfully leasing some of Kansas City’s most prestigious Class A office space in the Briarcliff Village neighborhood. In 2012, CEO Nathaniel Hagedorn formed NorthPoint Development as an independent company, bringing several of his developers to leverage their years of experience in service of a new vision. NorthPoint Development seeks to bring new, innovative commercial developments to the Northland and grow throughout the Kansas City Metro area. For more information, please visit our website: http://beyondthecontract.com.

ARTICLE BY: RacerTrust.org

Date: Friday, March 22, 2013

www.racertrust.org

Earlier this week on the Kansas City Business Journal’s website and again in this week’s print edition, I described how NorthPoint Development seemed to have the inside track for development rights to the 80-acre RACER Trust site.

RACER Trust is the former General Motors Co. plant in the Fairfax Industrial District in Kansas City, Kan., not far from GM’s current plant.

My information was gleaned from a Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., committee meeting agenda.

Neither RACER Trust nor NorthPoint Development officials were discussing the project.
But today, they speak. Sort of.

A statement from RACER Trust said it had accepted an offer from NorthPoint to buy the Fairfax site, contingent on the UG’s approval.

That’s expected to happen in March.

The statement said NorthPoint plans more than $40 million in initial investment and projects that will generate 2,000 jobs.

The project was broadly described as a manufacturing and automotive-related industrial center with 1 million square feet of new development.

It has daily rail service from Union Pacific Railroad.

NorthPoint officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

But the forthcoming project, pending UG’s approval, is called Central Industrial Park.

“The planned Central Industrial Park is a result of our collaboration with the Unified Government to develop a marketing strategy for the site that guided our subsequent discussions with potential buyers,” RACER Trust redevelopment manager Bruce Rasher said in a written statement. “We appreciate the community’s active participation in the Trust’s marketing efforts and the relationships we have built as a result. We share the community’s urgent desire for new jobs and other economic benefits.”
It looks like real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle is partnering with NorthPoint to develop the project.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s Mark Fountain has worked with NorthPoint on an industrial investment fund that started with the purchase of two industrial properties recently.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Jones Lang LaSalle to be the potential developer of the new Central Industrial Park, the former RACER/General Motors property located in the Fairfax District,” NorthPoint CEO Nathaniel Hagedorn said in a written statement. “The economic impact of our 1 million square feet of planned redevelopment would provide a boost to the Fairfax District and the metro’s economy, and we’ll be ready to move quickly if the Unified Government Commission approves.”

ARTICLE BY: KANSAS CITY STAR – BY STEVE VOCKRODT

Date: Friday, February 8, 2013

www.bizjournal.com

The disposition of the RACER Trust site in Kansas City, Kan., could wrap up by March.

The timeline for the development rights and the approval of a community improvement district for the former General Motors Co. plant site in the Fairfax Industrial District is expected to finish up at the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan.

Officials with the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust have told UG officials they won’t complete the deal until the local government has signed off on their terms and conditions for the 80-acre industrial site.

Indications are that NorthPoint Development is the buyer-in-waiting once the UG confirms the details.
RACER Trust and NorthPoint Development officials have not commented about their relationship, but a Feb. 4 meeting of the UG’s Economic Development & Finance Committee advanced the discussions between both parties and characterized NorthPoint as the potential developer.

A development agreement contemplated between RACER and NorthPoint has the latter developing 1 million square feet of new industrial space at an investment level exceeding $40 million.
NorthPoint is a known quantity for the UG: It is developing new market-rate apartments near Legends Outlets Kansas City, and its vice president, Brent Miles, was the former president of the Wyandotte County Economic Development Council.

County boosters have described the prospect of redeveloping the long-vacant RACER site as a promising addition to the Fairfax Industrial District.

Fairfax got its most recent infusion of good news when GM confirmed last month that it would expand its assembly plant — a $600 million investment.

WCEDC President Greg Kindle lauded the development potential.

“Reinvesting in Fairfax makes that property even more important, so you can get a real focus on new development within that park,” Kindle said.

ARTICLE BY: KANSAS CITY STAR – BY STEVE VOCKRODT

Date: Friday, February 8, 2013

www.bizjournal.com

NorthPoint Development is set to buy the RACER Trust site in Wyandotte County, 80 acres of property in the Fairfax Industrial District that was once a General Motors plant. Visit website

An agenda for Monday’s Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., Economic Development & Finance Committee indicates that the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust has picked NorthPoint Development as the buyer.

The agenda also stipulates development incentives to attract 1 million square feet of new industrial space at the RACER Trust site with more than $40 million worth of investment there.
NorthPoint CEO Nathaniel Hagedorn was not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for RACER Trust declined to comment.

The Kansas City Business Journal reported in October that NorthPoint was in the running for purchase rights on the RACER Trust site, along with a group tied to Zimmer Real Estate Services LC.
The old GM plant became part of the RACER Trust in 2011 and was the largest environmental trust in U.S. history.

RACER Trust was charged with the disposition of 89 former GM sites in 14 states in the aftermath of the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy.

UG officials have been working with RACER Trust on helping redevelop the largest vacant tract in the Fairfax Industrial District.

The UG is considering an industrial revenue bond issuance that would lead to property and construction-related sales tax abatements for the RACER Trust developer.

Also being considered is a community improvement district that would set a $1.20-a-square-foot special assessment for a 10-year period that would provide funding for NorthPoint on a pay-as-you-go basis.

NorthPoint would have access to 25 percent of the CID revenue once it makes capital investments of $10 million, half of CID revenue when it invests $20 million on the site and the balance of the CID revenue when it completes $30 million in investments.

ARTICLE BY: KANSAS CITY STAR – BY STEVE VOCKRODT

Date: Friday, February 4, 2013

www.bizjournal.com

For development and build-to-suit opportunities please contact

Chad Meyer

NorthPoint Development
816-888-7387

chad@northpointkc.com