KSU Foundation relocates to K-State Office Park at 1800 Kimball Ave.
Monday, Oct. 26, 2015
MANHATTAN — On Monday, Oct. 26, the Kansas State University Foundation relocated to the K-State Office Park, a 14-acre tract of land at the corner of Kimball and Denison avenues, Manhattan, which is adjacent to the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility site and the Grain Science and Industry Complex.
"Our move to the new location at the K-State Office Park is an important step in an exciting future for the KSU Foundation," said Greg Willems, president and CEO of KSU Foundation. "The new facility will provide us with the office space needed to sustain fundraising for K-State well into the future. It will serve as the philanthropic home for K-State where donors will be recognized and celebrated for their generosity."
The foundation's new home is the first of four office buildings planned for the K-State Office Park, which will add 220,000 square feet of space for academic and commercial enterprises. In addition to the KSU Foundation, the first building will also house tenants including Garmin, U.S. Engineering, Veterinary and Biomedical Research Center and GE Johnson Construction Co.
"The completion of the first building in the K-State Office Park is an important milestone for K-State and the North Campus Corridor," said Kirk Schulz, Kansas State University president. "This will truly be a dynamic location for the KSU Foundation that will support K-State's increasing need for private support, as well as fuel economic growth and give corporate partners a prime location for university partnership. Ultimately, it will advance us toward our goal of becoming a Top 50 public research university by the year 2025."
The K-State Office Park's first building sits on the site of an office building that was originally started by the KSU Foundation in 2007, and discontinued in 2008 due to the onset of the Great Recession. The overall cost of the new building was reduced by using the same footprint as originally planned and some building materials that had already been purchased. The cost of this first 60,000-square-foot building is $11.7 million, partially financed through a commercial loan. The design-build team includes Hoefer Wysocki Architects, Leawood, and general contractors GE Johnson Construction, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Hutton Construction, Wichita.
"Leasing demand has exceeded expectations for the K-State Office Park," said Greg Lohrentz, the KSU Foundation's senior vice president for operations and finance. "It's anticipated that construction of Phase II of the Office Park, which is planned to be another 60,000-square-foot building, could begin as soon as the second half of 2016. We are preleasing for this future space."
Interested future tenants should contact Kate Ryan at kater@found.ksu.edu or 785-532-7559, or visit www.k-siteonline.com.
The KSU Foundation was established in 1944 as the official fundraising arm of Kansas State University. It is a separate, independent entity chartered by the state of Kansas as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education corporation.
