A 455,000-square-foot county-owned building that was once the headquarters of telecom provider CenturyLink is close to being sold, after sitting empty for five years at the New Century AirCenter near Gardner.
Johnson County commissioners unanimously okayed a deal earlier this month that would finally end five years of failed efforts to find a tenant or alternative use for the building.
The pending deal calls for the old CenturyLink building, as well as a 13,000-square-foot building nearby and the 37 acres on which they stand to be sold for $5 million to Kansas City-based Sky Partners II, LLC.
“It is a done deal”
The sale depends on the successful completion of a 120-day due diligence period of investigation. But Bryan Johnson, executive director of the county airport commission, said that he is confident the sale will be closed.
“In my mind’s eye, it is a done deal,” he told commissioners at their meeting on Thursday, Oct. 9.
The building at 600 New Century Pkwy., was declared surplus property in 2020. The smaller building at 561 Sumner Way and the land upon which both buildings rest was declared surplus a year ago.
The larger building was erected in 1981 for CenturyLink, a TV, internet and communications provider that relocated from Overland Park. The company’s former 10-story tower at Interstate 435 and Nall Avenue, was later imploded for redevelopment.
In 2019, the company notified its employees that it would not renew its lease in 2020. At the time it employed about 800 people.
CenturyLink has since been rebranded as Lumen Technologies.
A “turnkey office building”
The building at New Century is described in one listing as a “turnkey office building” with a first-class cafeteria, expansive lobby, conference center and exterior courtyard, providing “a unique office experience.”
The former CenturyLink headquarters became a vacant office building just as COVID-19 struck, hitting office landlords hard as more people worked remotely. Months and years began to pass with no takers for tenants or buyers.
The county also explored other uses of the building, including for meetings, training sessions or use by the county election office.
In the meantime, the building became a talking point for critics of tax incentives, since it was originally built with tax credits of the state’s High Performance Incentive Program, meant to give tax breaks to company’s that pay above-average wages.
Appraised for $37M, sold for $5M
The sales price of $5 million was questioned at the commission meeting, since it had been appraised at $37 million, according to county land records.
But the new owners will likely ask the state Board of Tax Appeals for a review of that, said Tommy Gentry, director at Newmark Zimmer. The Kansas City-based real estate company marketed the property for the county.
“We are talking about the biggest bulk space building not only in Johnson County but in the metro,” Gentry said.
Even so, there will be a lot of deferred maintenance to catch up on in a building that’s been vacant this long, he said.
“It’s going to take a lot of money to get this thing operational again,” he said, noting that the selling price was derived from looking at prices of comparable buildings and the nature of the office real estate market.
“This building, while it’s a great building, is not in a densely populated area,” he said.
What commissioners had to say
Commissioner Michael Ashcraft received assurance that once sold, the property will go on the tax rolls at full value.
Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand also noted the building’s size and history.
“I remember sitting here and people wanting to tear it down. So I am really glad to see people who know how to manage this building go in and do that economic impact to our county,” she said.
The commission voted unanimously to go forward with the proposed deal.
