Kansas City’s May Technology to expand, add jobs
A Kansas City aerospace manufacturer that makes sophisticated parts for aircraft including the B-2 bomber and Boeing 777 airliner, is planning a $12 million expansion that is expected to create up to 30 new jobs.
May Technology and Manufacturing, which started as a machine shop 50 years ago and has evolved to become a high-tech parts manufacturer in the aerospace industry, is planning to almost double the size of its operation at 2922 Wheeling Ave. and invest $7 million in new equipment.
The firm’s expansion is being supported by a 20-year property tax abatement approved Thursday by the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority.
The agency also approved a tax abatement to assist the redevelopment of the historic Newbern apartment building at 525 E. Armour Blvd. into 108 market-rate apartments, and renovating a building at 1701 McGee St. to become a new Screenland Crossroads Theater.
The family-owned May Technology firm now employs 120 people and has experienced double-digit growth in recent years. The firm wants to add 41,000 square feet to its current 51,000 square-foot facility.
Brothers Steve and Reno May, the top executives, believe the firm will be able to add up to 30 employees over the next couple of years. The company hired 20 new workers last year alone. The salaries range from $60,000 to $100,000 for the specialized skills required.
The company is working three shifts daily, seven days a week to meet the demand, and more orders are expected from Lockheed and Boeing once the expansion is completed. The firm was granted a 10-year, 100 percent abatement followed by a 10-year, 50 percent abatement, which will save $1.2 million in taxes.
No abatement was granted for the new equipment, which will cost about $7 million. The entire investment, including the building, was put at $12 million. Work is expected to begin immediately.
In another matter, the PIEA board approved a 15-year, 100 percent abatement to help Antheus Capital of New Jersey to renovate the Newbern, a twin nine-story building at 525 E. Armour Blvd. The pre-war apartment building is the latest in a series of buildings along Armour redeveloped by Antheus and its management arm, Mac Properties.
The $19 million redevelopment plan will reduce the number of apartments at the Newbern from about 200 units to 108, creating a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Monthly rents will range from $635 for a studio; $760 for a one-bedroom, and $1,016 for a two-bedroom. Parking for 80 vehicles is part of the plan.
The city also is providing a $2.5 million grant to assist the redevelopment project. The property tax abatement will save the developer about $1 million over its 15-year life. Work is expected to begin this summer and the apartments are expected to be ready for occupancy by summer 2015.
Mac Property also has begun redevelopment of the historic Ambassador, a nine-story building at 3560 Broadway, and that project is being done without tax incentives. The Ambassador is expected to be completed in spring 2015. Mac also recently bought the Richelieu, a smaller 15-unit apartment building at 405-407 E. Armour Blvd.
Finally, the PIEA approved a 15-year property tax abatement to help developer Butch Rigby redevelop a vacant building at 1701 McGee St. into a new Screenland Crossroads Theater. The abatement is 90 percent for 10 years and 75 percent for the following five.
Rigby plans to convert the 23,000-square-foot building into two theaters, one with 90 seats, the other 75, as well as space for the Generator Studio architectural firm. The entire project will cost an estimated $1.8 million and work is expected to begin next month with completion anticipated this fall.
This story was originally published March 20, 2014 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Kansas City’s May Technology to expand, add jobs."