New Century Commerce Center open for business – VanTrust secures entitlements and begins design on $15M of public infrastructure

VanTrust Real Estate actively pursuing both build-to-suit and speculative building opportunities

Recently, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved changes in zoning, which open the final door to new economic development at New Century Commerce Center in New Century, Kansas. The BOCC also approved the preliminary development plan in partnership with VanTrust Real Estate as the master developer. 

“This private/public partnership has been several years in the making, and I am pleased that we have reached this milestone and have taken the final step to bring new economic development to southwest Johnson County,” said Johnson County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Ed Eilert. “New economic development at New Century Commerce Center is expected to add thousands of jobs to our county.”

Formerly, the property was zoned rural and PEC-3 (Planned Light Industrial Park), but it has now been re-zoned as PEC-LP (Planned Employment Center – Logistics Park District) with this latest action. With this change, VanTrust Real Estate will now be implementing plans for a multi-modal industrial park that is ideally suited for warehouse, logistics and advanced manufacturing industries.

“We appreciate the thoughtful and exhaustive review of the Southwest Johnson County Consolidated Zoning Board and the BOCC,” stated VanTrust Real Estate’s Executive Vice President Rich Muller. “These efforts afford VanTrust the opportunity to create an employment center that drives lasting value for both the Johnson County Airport Commission and Johnson County.” 

“The approval of this re-zoning has been noticed by the market and our team has been fielding a steady stream of calls from both the brokerage community and end-users alike,” said VanTrust Real Estate’s Senior Director of Development Justin Duff.

Securing these approvals allows VanTrust to commence the design and construction of about $15 million worth of public infrastructure that will serve both the New Century Commerce Center and the surrounding area. These improvements will include streets, water, wastewater and dry utilities to support this economic development project.

The first phase of the New Century Commerce Center has been approved for approximately 2.5 million square feet on 150 acres, located at the southwest corner of 159th Street and 56 Highway, with direct access to Interstate 35. Currently, plans call for the development of four buildings ranging in size from 300,000 – 1.2M square feet, in both cross-dock and rear-load configurations. 

In addition to its prime location within the southwestern Johnson County submarket, this development is the only site in the metro area that offers available land allowing laydown yards, outdoor storage, access to a major railroad via short line railroad services and access to domestic air transport via New Century AirCenter.