Two retail projects drive construction totals to new high in 2014; another good report on Lawrence job numbers

A little more than $9 million is being added to the Lawrence economy as we speak, and that is not even counting the spending my wife is doing on the post-Halloween candy that is on sale. Instead, I’m talking about two new retail construction projects underway in the city.

Construction work is underway on a Menards home improvement center near 31st and Iowa and on a Sprouts grocery store near Sixth and Wakarusa. The latest building permit reports from City Hall show the Menards project has a construction value of $5.5 million, while the Sprouts project checks in at $3.75 million.

Those two projects led the way in September, and the month ended up being the busiest one yet in 2014 for the local construction industry. The city issued permits for $17.1 million worth of construction work in September. That topped the $14.8 million worth of permits the city issued in June.

For the year, the city has issued building permits for $78.56 million worth of construction projects. That’s well below the $152.9 million worth of projects that were started through the end of September 2013. But last year was one of the larger construction years on record for the city, which included tens of millions of dollars for work at the Rock Chalk Park sports complex. In 2012, the city had issued permits for $75.4 million worth of construction, so 2014 is shaping up to be on par with an average building year in Lawrence.

One area of the Lawrence construction industry that has been below average is single-family home construction. City officials have issued permits for 65 single-family homes thus far in 2014. During the same period a year ago, the city had issued 121 single-family permits. At this point, that number should be of some concern. At 65 permits, single-family home construction is below the pace in 2011, when the city hit a new low for single-family permits issued. In fact, this year’s construction is significantly below that pace. Through September of 2011, the city had issued 76 single-family permits, or about 17 percent more than this year’s total. We’ll see what the final three reports of the year bring, but builders will need to start 30 new homes before the end of the year to avoid setting a new low.

As for when Menards and Sprouts may open, Menards officials previously have said they expect construction to take about 10 months. I suspect that will be pretty dependent upon the weather cooperating this season. Sprouts officials have not said when they expect to open, but it is a significantly smaller project than the Menards store, so I think it might be the first to open.

In other news and notes from around town:

• While we are talking about construction projects near Sixth and Wakarusa, I know some of you have been wondering what the construction is on a pad site just east of the Walmart store. As we previously have reported, plans filed with the city say it is a medical office building. But I haven’t yet had any luck confirming what type of medical professional plans to locate there.

• While we are on the subject of specialty grocery stores, I will tell you I’m hearing the same things about Trader Joe’s that some of you are: Some employees of the Leawood store have been telling Lawrence customers that Trader Joe’s may soon come to Lawrence. I called over to Trader Joe’s and tried to get an official there to tell me the same thing, but she stopped short of that. She said there’s been talk around the store of such a project, but no announcements or anything that indicates that the idea is more than just talk, at the moment.

But it is worth keeping an eye on. As we have previously reported, the large retail project proposed for the area south of the Iowa Street and SLT interchange has drawn strong interest from a specialty grocer, the development group for the proposed project has said. I don’t have any insight into whether the grocer is Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or some other player.

• And while we’re talking about numbers, here’s one last set of them: monthly job totals for the Lawrence metro area. Putting stock in one month’s worth of numbers is never too wise (as a set of lottery numbers from my fortune teller proved), but recently we reported that Lawrence in August had the highest job growth of any metro area in the country.

So, I wanted to see how September’s numbers came in for Lawrence. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the numbers aren’t the best in the country, but they aren’t too bad. The report found the number of jobs in Lawrence and Douglas County grew by 1.5 percent — or 800 jobs — in September, compared with September 2013. That was better than the 0.7 percent average for Kansas as a whole. Lawrence ended up having the second highest job growth rate of any metro area in the state, although it is worth noting that the numbers are still preliminary.

• Manhattan: 2.1 percent

• Lawrence: 1.5 percent

•Topeka: 1.2 percent

• Kansas City, Kan./Mo: 0.5 percent

• Wichita: 0.3 percent

Lawrence also is outperforming the state when it comes to its unemployment rate. Lawrence’s unemployment rate in September was 4 percent, which is down from 4.7 percent in September 2013. That’s a significant drop. Lawrence’s unemployment rate in September was better than the statewide average of 4.4 percent, and tied Manhattan for the lowest unemployment rate of any metro area in the state.

As for Lawrence having the fastest job growth rate of any metro area in the country in August, hopefully you can get a refund on the 15-foot plaque you had ordered for the occasion. As we reported last month, the August numbers were preliminary. The August numbers have now been finalized, and Lawrence’s job growth total were adjusted downward a bit. The new figures show Lawrence jobs grew by 4.6 percent instead of the 5.9 percent originally thought.

That adjustment was enough to drop Lawrence from the No. 1 spot. Midland, Texas, topped us, and a few other cities may have as well. But the 4.6 percent figure was still a very strong showing for the local economy.