Housing heats up development across Lee’s Summit
More than $200 million. That’s the investment figure our new commercial and housing developments have brought to Lee’s Summit through September of this year.
By all accounts, Lee’s Summit is still booming.
In September alone, the city issued 39 new permits for single-family homes. Year to date, that number sits at a hefty 323, the largest number in recent memory. Those 300-plus permits carry with them a value of more than $100 million, meaning the average price of those homes tops $300,000.
When you couple this housing boom with talks that the city could support thousands of new apartments, it’s no wonder school district leaders are asking a vital question — how much do we want to grow in Lee’s Summit?
It’s a fair question. And while those details between such entities as the city, the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council, Lee’s Summit R-7 Schools and others get sorted out, we can simply look at the bulging development numbers and know that commercial and residential projects continue to be alive and well in this area and serve as a major contributor to a growing tax base.
It makes Lee’s Summit a burgeoning player in the region for attracting new projects.
On top of massive single-home permitting, the city issued more than 600 other permits so far this year for multifamily, alterations and other residential uses. When you crunch those numbers, you’ll find just shy of 700 new living units in Lee’s Summit year-to-date, a sharp uptick from 2015 and 2016 (389, 391 respectively).
With Price Chopper, Hy-Vee and QuikTrip among the big names all making significant investments in town, Lee’s Summit has seen upwards of $72 million, maybe more, put back into our city via new commercial permits, redevelopments, tenant finishes and other alterations.
In September alone, 15 permits for such finish and alteration work were delivered from City Hall and two new commercial permits granted. For the year, 17 new commercial permits have been issued and another 167 for additions, alterations and tenant finishes — a number that is on pace to surpass the last six years at least.
The valuation of those redevelopment and other improved projects rocketed past $35 million for 2017, another number on pace to smash recent records.
Numerous projects that infuse investment dollars and, ultimately, jobs into Lee’s Summit have launched in the last two-and-a-half years.
When we see these massive redevelopments and financial infusions into new and existing buildings in Lee’s Summit, we continue to truly put the signal out about our readiness to do business and support the professional range — from solo entrepreneurs and companies under 10 employees, which are the vast majority of our businesses, to major hospital additions, retail attractions and expansions.
When all of our business-related entities work in tandem — and yes, that is a lot to ask sometimes — we truly see the result of what a stellar parks system, consistently productive schools and truly exceptional quality of life can bring forward in the form of new residents and developments that should equate to better services and the foundations for an even more livable city.
In other words, progress (and building stuff) is a good thing.
Lee’s Summit resident John Beaudoin writes about city and civic issues, people and personalities around town. Reach him at johnbeaudoin4@gmail.com.
This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Housing heats up development across Lee’s Summit."