Rankin Development to finish business park, start another 

Rankin Development LLC is wrapping up one Republic business park and launching another. 

The company has started work on a 100,000-square-foot speculative warehouse that it will offer for lease in the Garton Business Park in 2023. There is not yet a tenant for the building, said Tom Rankin, owner of Rankin Development. 

He said the spec warehouse will occupy the last of the available land at the park, which is zoned for light manufacturing. 

Garton Business Park is in an enhanced enterprise zone, offering 50% tax abatement on improvements made to the land for qualifying businesses, according to its website. 

Rankin also has started work on establishing a new business park on 63 acres he purchased across the street from Garton Business Park. It will be called Hankins Farm Business Park, after the name of the previous land owner, he said. 

Rankin said sewer extensions and road work are being started as soon as possible for the new park. Republic Public Works & Community Development Director Andrew Nelson said contracts have been awarded and materials ordered for the work, which has not yet begun. 

A map of the Hankins Farm development shows 13 lots, ranging in size from 1.5 to 16 acres. The Hankins Farm Business Park location is north of Sawyer Road and west of Missouri Highway MM. Garton Business Park is across Sawyer Road to the south.  

The spec warehouse, 2970 N. Drury Lane, will have a triple net lease rate of $6.75 per square foot per year. It will be expandable to 173,000 square feet. Other Garton tenants are Mercy ROI and Lew’s Holdings. 

Rankin also was involved in the adjacent Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) distribution and fulfillment center, according to past reporting. He represented Drury University in selling the land for the development.