MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, JUNE 2006

Columbia
Karen Stone, CCIM

Havet LLC is developing the 10,000-square-foot Orr Street Studios in Columbia. The studios will feature working space and galleries for artists.

In March, a 96,322-square-foot Kohl’s opened at Red Oak Plaza, a mixed-use development located in the southern part of Columbia known as the Nifong area. Red Oak Plaza is also becoming home to a 185,346-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter that is currently under construction and scheduled to open this winter. The Kroenke Group, a local developer owned and operated by several of the Wal-Mart heirs, is developing Red Oak Plaza.

The Kroenke Group is also building a second Wal-Mart Supercenter that will anchor a 16-acre development on the west side of town at the intersection of Broadway and Fairview. The 172,964-square-foot store is scheduled to open in the fall.

In fall 2005, The Burnham Group completed an extensive renovation of the 225,000-square-foot Parkade Center located at 601 Business Loop 70 West. The formerly troubled mall is now close to full occupancy, and houses retail and office tenants such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Aaron Rents, and Mormon’s Café. The newest addition to the tenant line-up is a 40,000-square-foot Harbor Freight store — the inexpensive tool retailer opened at the end of May.

Forum Development has completed construction of The Broadway Shops, an 85,000-square-foot lifestyle center that sits at the entrance to Broadway Marketplace on Highway 63 in the eastern part of Columbia. Jay Lindner, vice president and director of leasing for Columbia-based Forum Development notes that The Broadway Shops has been a good project for them and that the tenants are doing well.

Across the street from The Shops, Forum has begun work on the second phase, called The Broadway Bluffs. According to Lindner, “We have eight pad sites that we are selling or leasing primarily to restaurants. These uses will be a nice complement to the existing retail and service businesses in the area.” The infrastructure for Broadway Bluffs is almost complete and Lindner anticipates several restaurants will begin construction by the end of this month. Wisconsin-based Culvers Restaurant, Houlihans and a local Japanese steakhouse have announced that they will open locations in this restaurant row.

Hospitality is hot in Columbia. In April, Hilton Garden Inn opened a 151-room facility in the 250-acre, 1 million-square-foot Center State Crossing development located at the interchange of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63. The facility also features 3,270 square feet of meeting space. A Marriott Residence Inn also opened in the immediate area last fall, featuring 80 suites that cater to extended-stay customers. The adjacent 122-room Hampton Inn completed a $1 million remodeling in April. A 134-room Marriott Courtyard opened last fall at the intersection of Highway 63 and Grindstone Parkway, featuring 5,500 square feet of meeting space.

From historic preservation to infill redevelopment, there are projects underway throughout Columbia’s 43-square-block center city area, which is known as The District. Current projects include the renovation of a former post office building into an interactive children’s museum called YouZeum. Housed in a three-story, 30,000-square-foot building, the $6.6 million project is scheduled to be complete in the fall.

Several surface parking lots located directly across from the University of Missouri-Columbia (UM-C) campus on Elm Street between Ninth and Tenth streets are being redeveloped into higher density uses by two local developers. Fred DeMarco has developed a two-story building that has become home to eight retail and office users. Lynn Miller is planning a mixed-use complex on the block located on Tenth Street between Elm and Locus streets. Although plans have not yet been finalized, preliminary plans for the project, to be called The District Village, include retail and office uses on the ground floor with upscale residential suites on upper levels.

In an area just north of The District, Columbia-based Havet LLC is converting warehouses formerly occupied by a roofing company into the 10,000-square-foot Orr Street Studios complex. Located in an area called The Village, the studios will feature working space and galleries for artists. According to Mark Timberlake, managing director of Havet LLC, construction on the 16 units is expected to begin this month. Columbia-based Coil Construction is the contractor for the project.

UM-C, which Lindner notes is a major driver that fuels the economy of the Columbia market, is in the process of planning or developing a number of new facilities. These include the 231,000-square-foot Life Sciences Center, located at the northwest corner of the College Avenue and Rollins Street intersection, which was recently completed. The $60 million center serves as an interdisciplinary research and teaching facility for university researchers, staff and students.

In May 2005, UM-C announced the Discovery Ridge project, a 114–acre research park that it is joint venturing with the University of Missouri Office of Research and Economic Development. The park will be located on the South Farm of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, a 1,452-acre agriculture experiment station 3 miles southwest of the main UM-C campus. The park will be designed to provide research, teaching and outreach facilities for faculty and students while maintaining the integrity of the area as a watershed and green space. Construction of the infrastructure is scheduled to begin as early as this summer, with completion of a new interchange and services roads for the 114-acre first phase to be completed in 2008. According to Meyer, “The announcement of Discovery Ridge greatly enhances our life sciences capabilities here in Columbia and Boone County.”

“As we move into the second half of 2006, opportunities continue to abound in Columbia,” says Genalee Alexander, public relations director for REDI. “For retail, office, and especially for companies related to life sciences and technological advances, there are so many opportunities here.”

©2006 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.