the Skinny JULY 2016 Letter from the President It’s been a busy month for Lee’s Summit EDC as we celebrated 30 years of helping Lee’s Summit grow its business community at our annual meeting on July 13. County Executive Frank White helped share the event’s message of “Walk This Way” by offering support of future economic development efforts. We celebrated $1 billion in investment, welcomed Christine Bushyhead as our 2016-17 chair and thanked 2015-16 Chair Bill Brown for his service over the past year. For a full recap and photos, be sure to check our facebook. On the project front, LSEDC has crunched some numbers and will soon be touting $200 million in investment for the tech-rich Summit Corridor, thanks to the commitment of partners like Townsend Capital, RED Development and NorthPoint Development. The investment includes the $85 million Summit Orchards mixed-use project, the $50 million Missouri Innovation Campus, a $10 million Holiday Inn Express set to open in 2017 and $55 million in retail development including tenants like H&M, Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and recently announced Sam’s Club. On August 4, I look forward to updating the City Council on all the activity and deal flow that took place on the economic development front in the second quarter. I also will update city leaders about some exciting organizational changes ahead for the Lee’s Summit EDC. Stay tuned! As always, if you have any questions or know of companies you think would benefit from membership in the Lee’s Summit EDC, please feel free to give me a call.
Yours Truly,
Development in the NEWS Summit Fair, home of Macy’s and J.C. Penney just to name a few, will welcome a new retailer to the mix. H&M - a fashionable, low-priced family clothing and accessories store plans to construct a 20,000 + square foot facility to open in spring 2017. The H&M brand first came to the Kansas City region at the Country Club Plaza, followed by Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kansas. Lee’s Summit will be a nice addition to the mix with prime demographics for their sale base. H&M business concept: Fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way.
Construction started this spring on the much anticipated St. Michael the Archangel High School. It is slated to open for the 2017-18 school year. “It’s on track to get done,” said Dan Peters, the diocesan superintendent of Catholic schools. “We should be able to move in a year from now, if not a little sooner. There’s been no weather delays. Of course, there’s always a few built in for that. The $32 million project – about $11 million in donations and $21 million in private placement tax exempt bonds – includes parking lots and a practice field.
The Examiner by Mike Genet mike.genet@examiner.netv- Posted Jul. 21, 2016 at 12:24 AM
“We are pleased to announce a new Sam’s Club is being planned for Summit Place, a multi-use power center in Lee’s Summit, Missouri,” said Delia Garcia, director of communications for Wal-Mart. “The new 136,000-square-foot club will offer our Jackson and Cass county members a more convenient location for highquality bulk groceries, consumables and general merchandise. The club will also offer specialty services, including travel, auto buying, pharmacy, optical, hearing aid center, tire and batter center and a portfolio of business opeartions support services.” Construction of Summit Place, Lee’s Summit’s third major shopping center by RED Development, is to begin soon. RUSS PULLEY, LSJ - KC Star rpulley@lsjournal.com - July 29, 2016
Congratulations! Equity Bank HSMC Orizon Lee’s Summit Medical Center After selling out the season, McKenna has agreed to give the LSEDC “3” days of advertising on the World Series Champion Kansas City Royals' Radio Network. And we have decided to give it away to YOU. The package includes: • Flagship Station 610 Sports Radio coverage in 6 states: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas & South Dakota • Average audience: 377,000 Loyal Listeners • :30 second commercial in Royals On Deck • :30 second commercial in Royals Post Game • :30 second commercial online • Available dates: August 23, 24 and 25th You don’t have to do a thing. Jim will contact you with all the details including a provided script with your branding, approximate time for airing so you won’t miss it - and a take-along audio clip for your own use. Throw it on YouTube or your website for even more traffic. Congratulations to the winners of our drawing Equity Bank, HSMC Orizon and Lee’s Summit Medical Center.
LS Books $200M in Tech Corridor “Cerner’s new data center at Summit Technology Center, along with the Missouri Innovation Campus, is helping create demand for hotels and housing in the growing Summit Corridor. In particular, Summit Square Residences will create much needed rental housing options for workers in and around Lee’s Summit,” said Rick McDowell, president and CEO of the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council. - Look for this article soon to be released
2015-16, Year in Review July 13, 2016 was the official Annual Meeting for LSEDC and Chairman Bill Brown. 30 years almost to the day, Bill took time to thank everyone who gave time and investment to the organization including several Past Chairs who were present. Jackson County Legislator, Frank White, Jr. shared his love for Lee’s Summit and the excitment for all the development activity going on. His team shared details on the Rock Island Railroad and encouraged the business leaders in the room to continue to be engaged with Eastern Jackson County. In closing, in-coming Chair Christine Bushyhead welcomed the crowd promising to continue the foundation Bill laid out for the organization including Workforce Development and the Downtown Big 5 initiative. Christine will also focus on “engaging” the community to actively stay involved in civic and social efforts to bring the new generation of leaders forward. “We are going to take our renewed swagger and get engaged,” Bushyhead said. “(We’ll be”) thinking with vision, enhancing our community product, inspiring new leadership and completing our operational reorganization.”
Engage in Lee’s Summit - Aug. 10th Ever wonder what makes Lee’s Summit a great place to Live, Work and Play?
Investor Renewals Thank you to the following Investors for their renewed investment in Lee’s Summit Economic Development! Leadership Partner
Langsford Development
Patrons
ACI/Boland, Inc. ServiceMark Telecom
Benefactors
Investors Cerner Corporation Heartland Business Capital First Federal bank Chief Heating & Cooling, Inc. Gilmore & Bell, P.C. Heavy Constructors Assoc. of Greater KC Summit Bank of Kansas City White Goss Individual Investor JCI Industries, Inc. Doug Bates
Save the Date LSEDC Quarterly Report - City Council August 4th, 2016
Please come and help support Rick McDowell, President & CEO
Advisory Board Meeting - Engage in Lee’s Summit August 10, 2016 - Longview Mansion
Featuring: Lee’s Summit Organizations for Civic Involvement Guest Speakers: Nick Edward with City of LS, Stacy Needels with LS Chamber, Rachel Segobia with LS Cares and Rachel Watkins with Truman Heartland Community Foundation
August 17th, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm - Hump Day Happy Hour Llywelyn’s ALL INVESTOR SOCIAL
NEW Speaker Series - all investor meeting September 7th, 2016 - Emaline Ballroom *** (tentative) Featuring: A renowned speaker to be announced soon!
September 21st 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm - Hump Day Happy Hour Llywelyn’s ALL INVESTOR SOCIAL
June 30th, 7:30 a.m to 9:00 a.m. - Quarterly Board Breakfast Emaline Ballroom Board of Directors Only
A community like Lee's Summit doesn't just become great, it was built to be great. Passionate community leaders have long volunteered their resources, time and energy to ensure this town stays competitive, relevant and welcoming. Please join us as we showcase 'how to get involved in Lee's Summit' - featuring highlights from LS Cares, Leadership Lee's Summit, Citizen's Academy and the Truman Heartland Community Foundation. Longview Mansion 1200 SW Longview Park Drive Lee’s Summit, MO 64081 **Advisory level investors will enjoy a catered lunch, networking and program for $20 pp. Please register online at our website www.leessummit.org and pay by credit card. If you are not an Advisory Board member but would like to attend or you have secured your spot through pre-pay, email Kylie Lawson at klawson@leessumit.org.
LS Tourism Campaign Update The numbers are in for the City’s Summer 2016 Tourism Campaign, which was a joint effort between the Chamber, Downtown Lee’s Summit, City Hall and LSEDC. According to verified analytics, the campaign delivered just under 595,000 clicks to the Lee’s Summit Tourism website, with about a quarter of the Website traffic (152,000 clicks) coming from Omaha. About 62,000 clicks came from Des Moines followed by 51,000 from Lincoln, Neb. The entities launched the campaign to entice baby boomers throughout the Midwest and their grandchildren to visit Lee’s Summit for their summer vacation destination. Tourism & economic development go hand-in-hand. Any activity that brings outside dollars into our community benefits merchants because they no longer have to rely solely on local residents to make the cash registers ring.
The campaign ran from April through June and included print and broadcast messages, as well as targeted social media. 218 SE Main Street Lee’s Summit, MO 64063 (816) 525-6617 www.leessummit.org