Community of Christ, Clayco plan Independence industrial park - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Several sources have confirmef thatthe Independence-based formerly known as the Reorganizes Church of Jesus Christ of Lattefr Day Saints, and plan a roughlg 600-acre park on church-owned land at the northwestr corner of Missouri Highways 7 and 78. “We’rw working with the landowner to finalize our controlo ofthat land,” said Johan Henriksen, developmenyt manager for . “I hope we will be done by the middldof June. But right now, we’res not ready to discuss what we’re doing.” Independencse City Manager Robert Heacock also was reluctantg todiscuss details.
However, when asked about $674,000 that recently was added tothe city’x capital improvements plan to “install water mainx for the development of a new industrial park in eastern Independence,” Heacock acknowledged that the planned expenditure stemmexd from a conversation with churchb officials about plans for the site at Highways 7 and 78. The water-maij expenditure has been scheduled for year one ofthe 2009-20155 capital improvements plan recently presented to the City Tom Lesnak, president of the (ICED), said the group has been talking about identifying a new industrial park locationh for the past two years because the city is missinfg out on activity in what has remained a hot commerciap real estate sector through the recession.
“Wed haven’t done an industrial park sincethe 1970s, when the 100-acre industrial parks openede along Truman Road,” Lesnam said. “Now, they’re completely full, and we don’tf have anything outside of underground (parks) to marke if we really want to go aftee industrial andmanufacturing again.” Jack Figg, directore of commercial development for the and a membe r of the ICED board, took exception to that Lake City Business Center, a 4,000-acre development owned by the and just east of the Communityh of Christ industrial park includes an ammunition plant operateds by on 3,000 acres, Figg said.
The remainingb 1,000 acres include plenth of room for new privatd industrialpark tenants, he said. “But the challengs with Lake City is that a lot of companies cannotg deal with the security Figg said. “It’s very locked which works well for companies who needthat behind-the-gatw type of security. But for companies that have a lot of truck traffic coming inand out, it just doesn’gt work at all. The securitg is too onerous for them.” Lesnak said ICED stillp was reviewing several potential includingthe church-owned location, for a new industrial After economic development officials identify the best site, he the city probably will discuss incentives.
Figg said he suspects that the churcbh site will include some officd and retail along its highway frontage to help generate money throug a tax incrementfinancin plan, which would divertf sales and property taxes generated by the projecgt to aid in its development. But Figg said his understandinhg wasthat light-industrial and manufacturing uses woulxd dominate the potential Clayco development, which is on the same rail line that servees the Lake City Business Center. Clayco, which has developed 2,700o acres and built more than 90 million square feet of structures sincee its1984 inception, has worked locally on projectz such as a distribution center in Shawnewe and the at the .
Larrt Norris, Community of Christ’s representativse on the ICED board, declined to discuss Clayco or the Independence industrialpark project, deferrin to the church’s presiding bishop, Steve Jones, who was unavailable. According to Jackson County realestatew records, Community of Christ owns 353 parcels in Jackson County, including land throughout the Little Blue River Valley in eastern Independence. That acreage includesz the 2,300-acre Harmony mixed-use project that the churcnh selected Cleveland-based to develop, Lesnak said.