Hunt Finds an Ace for KC Mega-Project

KCI 29 Logistics Park groundbreaking. Image courtesy of Hunt Midwest

Ace Hardware Corp. will be one of the first tenants at KCI 29 Logistics Park, a 3,300-acre industrial campus being developed by Hunt Midwest in Kansas City, Mo. Construction on the hardware company’s Retail Support Center is expected to start soon, with completion anticipated in mid-2025 and a fully operational status in the same year.

The Retail Support Center is set to total 1.5 million square feet, nearly double the size of the company’s average facility. Ace Hardware is planning to use the distribution center to enhance the company’s inventory capacity and improve service across the U.S., while also meeting the needs of its growing retail landscape. In the past five years, the firm has opened 850 new stores across the country.

The building is expected to feature the latest technology, automation and warehouse management systems. The Ace Hardware development will create an estimated 100 construction jobs and employ more than 350 people when completed.

First facility of new logistics park

Ace Hardware’s distribution hub will be the first facility in Hunt Midwest’s new KCI 29 Logistics Park. The Kansas City-based developer recently broke ground on the project after announcing it a year ago.

KCI 29 Logistics Park has the potential for up to 20 million square feet of industrial space and will include improvements to the interchange at Interstate 29 and Mexico City Avenue. The new industrial park will have direct access to the new Kansas City International Airport terminal and KCI Air Cargo Hub, as well as to interstates 29 and 435. The location would allow tenants to reach 90 percent of the continental U.S. within two days via ground shipping and overnight via air freight.

Hunt Midwest is currently working on the first phase of infrastructure improvements at the upcoming campus, with completion expected this fall. KCI 29 Logistics Park will include build-to-suit, land sale or building lease opportunities, and has already seen strong interest from major national and international companies looking for manufacturing, distribution or logistics space.

Outside Missouri, Hunt Midwest is also working on a two million-square-foot industrial complex in Anderson, S.C., as well as its new headquarters building in suburban Chicago.