Sprint considering selling some of its buildings at Overland Park headquarters

As part of an effort to simplify its business, Sprint is exploring the possibility of selling buildings at its Overland Park headquarters that it currently leases to other companies.

A Sprint spokeswoman on Wednesday confirmed a potential sale is one of the initiatives being considered in the midst of a “multiyear turnaround effort at Sprint.”

“We are leaving no stone unturned as we look for ways to simplify our business, operate and use our assets more efficiently,” said Sprint spokeswoman Lisa Belot. “We are exploring hundreds of initiatives, including the potential sale of some of the buildings on our campus that are not being used by Sprint and are currently leased by tenants.”

Sprint has leased about 900,000 square feet of its office space at the Overland Park campus, according to a listing by CBRE, the real estate firm that handles leasing for the nation’s fourth-largest wireless company. That figure accounts for nearly a quarter of the company’s 4 million-square-foot campus consisting of 17 brick buildings at 119th Street and Nall Avenue.

Belot emphasized Sprint’s relationship with its Overland Park headquarters.

“We remain committed to keeping our headquarters on our campus in Overland Park,” Belot said.

Sprint started construction in 1997 on a campus designed to accommodate 14,500 employees.

Corporate downsizing in the years that followed the Sprint-Nextel merger left unused office space scattered around the campus. Sprint’s campus headcount now is about 6,000 workers.

By 2009, Sprint started leasing some of that empty space to companies looking for top-notch office facilities and amenities while also paying less in rent for comparable space.

Among the companies that Sprint attracted were KeyBank Real Estate Capital, JP Morgan Chase Retirement Plan Services and Apria Healthcare. Black & Veatch for a time leased space at the Sprint campus while it was expanding its Overland Park headquarters.

Sprint has communicated the idea of selling some of its building with local brokers. Belot said no decision has been made.

“If we proceed with this project, we’ll share more details at the appropriate time,” Belot said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Sprint considering selling some of its buildings at Overland Park headquarters."