Rain delays Kansas Plaza construction

Delayed by heavy rains in January, construction work is now at full speed for Kansas Plaza, a $6 million-plus shopping center, warehouse and convenience store project on the southwest corner of Kansas Expressway and Sunset.
Instead of opening this spring as planned, Phase I completion has moved to August, said Scott Wehr of Wehr, Wehr, Johnson & Bridgeforth, the firm overseeing development. “We have completed the footings just recently for the Fast ‘n Friendly store and the car wash. The foundations will be in hopefully by the first of April,” he added.
After the incessant rains of January, Wehr is cautious about predicting a timeline for the project.
The Fast n’ Friendly, owned by Naeglar Oil, and Ye Olde Buggy Bath, owned by Wehr-Fourt LLC, will anchor the project, which will include retail business storefronts as well as warehouse space and industrial businesses.
The build-to-suit project has several letter-of-intent commitments, Wehr said, but he declined to name them until the contracts are formally signed. He said potential tenants like what they see. “They like the area, they like the look of the building,” he said. One of the potential clients is a fast-food restaurant, he said.
The Fast n’ Friendly project will be completed first, followed by the warehouses and the retail last, Wehr said. Letters of intent also have been secured on warehouse space.
The architect for the 18-acre project is Marshall-Waters-Woody. Financed by Bank of America, the project is estimated to cost between $6 million and $7 million. Buildings will vary in size, starting at 2,000 square feet. Warehouse and industrial space will be 20,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet, depending on tenant needs.
Wehr Construction, a relatively new company owned by the Wehr family, is the general contractor for Kansas Plaza. The building supervisor for Wehr Construction is Bill Gates, who oversees two supervisors and six employees. The leasing agent is Bob Murray of R.B. Murray Co.
Wehr said that once Phase I is complete at Kansas Plaza this fall, work will begin on Phase II. With Phase I, the design will include adequate green space with attractive landscaping and lighting. The storefronts that face Kansas Expressway will house the retail clients. A row of structures behind the storefronts will house warehouse space and industrial businesses.
In addition to Kansas Plaza, Wehr, Wehr, Johnson & Bridgeforth Inc. has completed other shopping centers, most recently Chestnut Center at Campbell Avenue and Chestnut Expressway, a two-acre development that opened last summer and features Fast n’ Friendly, Ye Olde Buggy Bath and Scrambler’s restaurant. The company also has developed 66 Place, a 60,000-square-foot development on Chestnut Expressway near Pythian. It houses Dish Network, SMS Printing and an office for City Utilities.
The company also has completed two build-to-suit developments, one at the northeast corner of West Bypass and Kearney and another off East Primrose behind the MCI building, which houses the 12,000-square-foot A.G. Edwards.
Last fall, work began on Spring Meadows, the company’s first single-family residential community. Spring Meadows, located behind Lowe’s at Kansas Expressway and Interstate 44, has 100 lots and 10 to 12 townhomes.