Perspective on South Central Kansas Industrial Sites

As you can imagine, I was quite intrigued by the article that was in the Wichita Eagle this Sunday discussing the region’s industrial sites. As someone who has been involved in one form or another with the two largest sites in the region (wind energy study at the Kansas Logistics Park and master planning, site design and construction management at the Sunflower Commerce Park) as well as my involvement at GWEDC, this topic has been front and center in my professional life for some time. There is a lot of good content in that article that can be reacted to, so I’ll take it one at a time.

• Sedgwick County Manager Bill Buchanon’s comment on the area’s political will was spot on and goes to the heart of the matter. I’ll react to this one later in this post.

• Bel Aire has taken all the right steps here in the last year or so in developing their park. They have consulted with local real estate experts, performed a master plan and are now building the infrastructure for the first phase of the park. The SCP has rail access to the Union Pacific, highway access and airport access with Jabara Airport located immediately south of the site. Ty Lasher should be commended for his leadership. Their next phase will be in the marketing of the site as a Certified Site and getting their name out in front of site selectors.

• I really like what Newton has done with the Kansas Logistics Park. They have defined the term “political will” in that community. Mickey Fornaro-Dean, with the Harvey County EDC has done a tremendous job walking the local elected officials through the process in developing the Park. I know it hasn’t been an easy process, but Mickey is a bulldog when it comes to economic development and she will not give up on something she believes in. With Troy Carlson providing great assistance, they are also in the marketing phase of the Park and have already constructed quite a bit of infrastructure.  The KLP also has great rail access with WATCO lines that access two Class One Railroads, the BNSF and the Union Pacific. Additionally, they have established a committee of individuals from the local business sector to help guide decision making at the Park which I think is a fantastic idea.

Going back to Mr. Buchanon’s comments, political will is really the next big step in getting the desired outcome out of these parks and the others listed in the article. Its going to take time and money, both from a marketing standpoint, an infrastructure development standpoint and a deal closing standpoint. There needs to be a substantial set aside pot that our local officials can use to negotiate with for prospects. From a marketing perspective, I think we’ve made great strides, but there is a long way to go. The identification of large sites, development of a certified sites program and enhanced websites will only get this area in the game, but it won’t set it apart from the other hundreds of locations looking for new businesses that already have these tools established. This area is merely trying to get back to even at this point which is the first step. To make it stand out and take the next step, there needs to be some outside the box thinking on everyone’s part.

Finally, I believe there needs to be a business and industrial site steering team that represents everyone in the South Central Kansas area that is dedicated to the development of these business and industrial sites and has interests beyond a specific economic development organization.  Depending on how far one wants to take it, the team could also be involved in entertaining prospects and/or helping negotiate the deals. It would not be an economic development organization, those are already in place, this would be a proactive board of industry professionals, stakeholders and local officials dedicated to enhancing the region’s industrial development opportunities by providing planning, guidance, and leadership in the business recruitment process.

What are your thoughts? I’m excited at the progress we’ve made in the area in the last 5 years, its now time to take the next step!!

Feel free to let me know what you think at jrlackey@transystems.com.