MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, JULY 2005

ST. JOSEPH
Karen Stone, CCIM

St. Joseph’s economic development professionals have been able to adapt to economic changes brought about by technology, outsourcing, global competition and just plain progress. At the beginning of 2000, St. Joseph lost one of its oldest and biggest employers — Quaker — but managed to bounce back very quickly.

During the past 2 years, St. Joseph gained 2,700 new jobs and more than $300 million in new investment. For the first quarter of this year, 400 new jobs were created and $20 million in investment gains were made. 

Retail is the hottest sector in St. Joseph, thanks to dedicated efforts of the city of St. Joseph and Buchanan County. Approximately 2 years ago, the city and the county put together a TIF plan for 244 acres of county-owned land located at North Belt Highway and Cook Road in north St. Joseph and solicited bids from developers.

The result is The Shoppes at North Village, developed by a partnership between RED Development, co-headquartered in Kansas City and Scottsdale, Arizona, and Kansas City-based R.H. Johnson Company. The 750,000-square-foot center is the first community/lifestyle center in St. Joseph. The developers made investments totaling $70 million that were supplemented with TIFs, according to Tom Lesnak, vice president of economic development with the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce. The center features more than 40 different retailers and restaurants including: Old Navy, PetCo, Best Buy, Pier 1 Imports, Borders, TJ Maxx, Michael’s and a 10 screen Wallace Movie Theater, all of whichopened at the end of June. Kohl’s is scheduled to open in October.

“This is an extremely attractive, pedestrian-oriented outdoor development that is drawing from a trade area of about 200,000 people. The other retailers in the city are benefiting from the shoppers who are coming to The Shoppes at North Village,” Lesnak says. Jantsch & Slaggie Architects  designed the project and Clarkson Construction is the general contractor. Both companies are based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Industrial business and development has historically been the number one growth sector in St. Joseph, but at the moment, they have taken a back seat to retail. “We believe that industrial will always be a backbone of the St. Joseph economy. We are actively recruiting this type of development for our city,” Lesnak says. “We are currently working with Missouri Western State University to promote the food processing and life science expertise we have in this market.“ For example, St. Joseph has a new $150 million pork processing facility that will employ 4000 people by the end of the year. The fourth largest employment segment in the county is in animal and plant life sciences.  Also, the university and the chamber are working closely together to establish the Institute for Applied Life Sciences. “We are hoping this will be a springboard for expanded workforce training and specialized economic development,” notes Lesnak.

While residential home builders are looking outside the city limits for land, loft developers are busy in St. Joseph’s downtown. “By this fall, we will have had more than 172 loft units completed or under construction in the last 2 years,” says Becky Boerkircher, executive director of St. Joseph Downtown Partnership. Now, restaurants, retail and office users are following the reurbanization trend.

Universal Guardian has moved back to St. Joseph from San Diego and renovated a downtown building for their headquarters. RQ(2), a hi-tech company that rehabs cell phones, has expanded from one building to three buildings. Gateway Park, a pedestrian park covering one half of a city block and featuring landscaped areas and historic statues, has recently opened one block from the Missouri River at the Interstate 229 entrance to downtown. 

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