St. Joseph's non-residential real estate market exhibits a diverse picture, reflecting the area's strengths, among them, exceptional real estate values.

One of the biggest challenges remains attraction of major retail investment. In this one category, St. Joseph's nearness to Kansas City may be a liability. Shoppers can easily access facilities in Kansas City, North with only a 30-40 minute drive.

The flip side of this is a St. Joe strength. Positioned to serve northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas, St. Joseph dominates a market that includes more than four times the city's population of 75,000 residents.

Office and industrial real estate are major strengths without qualification. According to a recent St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce survey, eight area firms have either moved or expanded in the past 12 months. Of these, six were in manufacturing and the other two in business services. The list included several of the area's largest firms, with a combined total of more than 2,000 employees.

Though still not explosive, commercial building permits in 2002 showed a significant growth over 2001. Fifteen permits for non-residential projects were issued with a valuation of just over $3 million.

St. Joseph Express was the largest is these. This company, which provides truck sanitation services for Ag Processing, spent more than $1.1 million on construction. The entire project, including equipment, cost of $4 million and added 35 employees.

The industrial market is perhaps St. Joseph's strongest real estate category. With Mitchell Woods Business Park rapidly filling and other growth throughout the city, the city was recently declared a manufacturing hotspot by Industry Week magazine.

The community has experienced substantial growth in service industries as well. Companies such as System Services Technologies, USA800, Aegis Communications, and American Family Insurance have recently made large investments in St. Joseph.

Another market involves redevelopment in St. Joseph's downtown. The city is implementing a new Downtown Master Plan with zoning changes and incentives to promote several types of growth utilizing the area's existing buildings, including commercial development. Many of these structures offer excellent potential for office development or mixed use retail, office and residential.

An additional strength involves St. Joseph's successful Life Sciences movement. The community is already home to a number of research, development and technological manufacturing facilities. Many are housed in corporate-owned facilities, but a growing number of smaller, entrepreneurial ventures are bringing a new real estate demand that is expected to increase.

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graphic content without permission is prohibited. | Destination Saint Joseph is a supplement to Ingram's Magazine