Large Olathe company getting a new $21 million office building

Some time early next year Terracon will pack up its belongings at its corporate headquarters in Olathe and move up the street into a new $21 million building for its 190 employees.

Terracon on Thursday confirmed that it will be the tenant of a forthcoming 65,000-square-foot office building being developed by VanTrust Real Estate.

VanTrust in April received approval by the Olathe City Council to construct the office building on the east side of Ridgeview Road on undeveloped ground near the John Deere Ag Marketing Center. The building would be just south of existing development at Corporate Ridge where there’s a Genesis Health Clubs location, a Farmers Insurance office building and an Embassy Suites hotel and conference center.

Rapid employee growth at Terracon helped prompt the move from its current headquarters location near 106th Street and Ridgeview Road.

“Our strategic plan guides us to continue growing at a rate of 10-15 percent each year, and we expect that the employment base at our corporate office will increase accordingly,” Gayle Packer, chief administrative officer for Terracon, said in a written statement.

Terracon has been in Olathe since 2007. Back then, the company made $335 million in revenue. Last year, revenue figures exceeded $580 million, according to the company. Terracon has 4,000 employees across the company, spread out among 140 office locations in all 50 states.

Documents filed with Olathe indicate that the company will add 370 new jobs in the city over the next decade with average salaries starting at $87,000 and growing to $115,000 by year 10.

A spokeswoman with Terracon said she was hesitant to pin a specific number on job projections, but said that the company anticipated ongoing growth.

Olathe approved a 10-year, 65 percent property tax abatement for the project, as well as industrial revenue bonds that allow for a sales tax exemption on construction related materials.

Tim McKee, president of the Olathe Chamber of Commerce, said Terracon had opportunities to relocate outside of Olathe.

“The chamber and the city have been working on this for almost a year now,” McKee said. “Terracon — and this is not overstating it — looked at multiple options around the metro and there are multiple options for them to relocate to existing (office space) or to build new. We worked very hard to keep them in Olathe.

A spokeswoman with the Kansas Commerce Department was not immediately available to comment on whether the state issued any incentives to Terracon, although a company official expressed his appreciation to the Commerce Department for its assistance in the expansion.

Construction on the building is on a quick timeline. It’s scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2018.

“Inspired by new surroundings, we will focus our future on serving clients in new, innovative ways and seeking out opportunities to make positive impacts on the communities where we live and work,” said Terracon president Swaminathan Srinivasan in a written statement.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Large Olathe company getting a new $21 million office building."