A recent announcement from the Kansas City Royals that it had acquired through an affiliate the mortgage of a keenly-watched property in central Overland Park raises some questions about the past and future of the mixed-use campus.
Aspiria sits between 115th and 119th Streets along Nall Avenue, right on the border of Overland Park and Leawood. Spanning roughly 200 acres, it was once the world headquarters of the old Sprint Corporation, but it is now expected to be developed with housing, dining, retail and entertainment.
So, where do things stand with the multi-phase mixed-use project and how did it get to this point? Here’s what we know:
Sprint World HQ plans never fully panned out
At one point, Sprint had plans to turn the full campus into its world headquarters to house some 15,000 employees. That vision started to come together in the 1990s, with the idea of giving it a university campus feel.
Over several years, the telecommunications company built out approximately 4 million square feet of office space toward that goal across more than 15 buildings. Alongside the office development, Sprint built several structured parking garages for its employees to use during the workday and amenities, like trails and an amphitheater.
However, that vision to build out a massive office complex never fully panned out. Eventually, Sprint sold the office park to Wichita-based Occidental Management in 2019 and started leasing its occupied space back from the company.
In 2020, when Sprint and T-Mobile completed a merger, the latter took over the lease, and to this day, the company continues to operate some corporate offices on the western portion of the campus.
Aspiria plan includes dining, office, housing and retail
After purchasing the campus, Occidental had it rezoned for mixed-use development, planning for some more office projects as well as housing, retail, dining and a hotel. It formally renamed the campus to Aspiria in early 2021.
The exact plans for the development have evolved since then, and the full scope of the multi-million-dollar development is likely to take years, if not decades, to fully realize.
Over the past few years, Occidental has taken steps in signing new tenants to the office space that already exists on the campus. Most recently, Wisconsin-based financial technology company Fiserv Inc. announced its intent to lease two buildings spanning 425,000 square feet for 2,000 employees for at least 15 years.
Engineering firms HNTB and Black & Veatch, as well as Hill’s Pet Nutrition, have also signed leases for Aspiria in the past few years.
Currently, construction is underway on a new entertainment complex called Andretti Indoor Karting & Games. Additionally, the city signed off earlier this year on a development plan for more retail near 115th and Nall.
At the time of publication, representatives from Occidental Management, the current owners of the site, had not returned the Post’s request for comment regarding the future of the site following the Royals’ acquisition of the property’s mortgage.
Aspiria loan was put on “downgrade” watch in 2023
At the same time, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.
Aspiria, thus far, is still largely made up of offices, a tough market to be in post-pandemic, with changing attitudes toward workplace culture leaving a lot of large office spaces vacant in Overland Park and across the U.S.
Additionally, in 2023, Occidental sought to renegotiate its $232.5 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan by requesting that it be put into special services just a couple of months before it was set to mature.
That didn’t mean the loan was in default, but it did precipitate a bond rating agency to list the Aspiria loan as a “loan of concern” and putting it on “downgrade” watch.
In the end, Occidental did secure an extended deadline for the loan, though the company didn’t specify the new maturity date in a fall 2023 announcement.
All of that came up again recently when an unnamed affiliate of the Royals acquired the mortgage on behalf of the team, potentially keeping the Overland Park site open as an option for a future stadium. The team said it also continues to review other possible locations on both sides of the state line.
While the Royals don’t outright own Aspiria, their affiliate does control the loan and could take control of the campus if Occidental were to default.
Last week, the Kansas City Business Journal reported that Occidental officials were “surprised” their loan had been sold and that they were trying to arrange a meeting with the Royals.
Other mixed-use development is happening nearby
In addition to the ongoing development of dining, retail and entertainment at Galleria 115 nearby, engineering firm Black & Veatch also recently announced plans to remake its headquarters at 115th and Lamar Avenue into a mixed-use development.
A lot of the details — and the incentive packages tied to it — are still being hammered out between city officials and representatives of the firm, but the estimated price tag for the Black & Veatch project exceeds $1 billion.
If all goes to plan, the redevelopment could include nearly 1 million square feet of new office space, some 1,900 residential units, 550,000 square feet of retail and a 160-room hotel.
All of that, including Aspiria and Galleria 115, tie into Overland Park’s long-range goal of converting the area around College Boulevard and Metcalf Avenue into a mixed-use corridor. Dubbed OP Central, this area has historically been defined by large offices.
Now what?
The Royals taking over the Aspiria campus is by no means a done deal. For one thing, the team’s affiliate can only take possession of the property if Occidental defaults on the mortgage.
Additionally, the Royals say they haven’t made a final decision on a new stadium site.
“The Kansas City Royals continue to explore all options throughout our community to develop a new stadium,” the team said in a statement last week. “We have not yet decided on a site, and any assertion to the contrary is inaccurate.”
This week, Missouri state lawmakers entered into a special legislative session to pass an incentive package designed to keep the Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs on that side of the state line.
Last year, the Kansas Legislature passed its own incentive package that hinges on Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds that would cover up to 70% of the cost of stadiums for one or both teams.
The Kansas legislation triggered speculation about where a new professional sports stadium might go on the Kansas side, and Aspiria has been floated more than once as a potential location. Still, Occidental denied that Aspiria wass an option in March.
Keep reading: Royals buy mortgage of Overland Park’s Aspiria but say new stadium site has not been picked
