JOPLIN, Mo. —
Earth is being moved next to the Crossroads Center Business and Distribution Park for construction of an $11 million service center to house line operations for Empire District Electric Co.
The center, which is to be completed by May 2014, is being built by Crossland Construction Co., of Columbus, Kan., at the southwest corner of Kodiak Road and East 32nd Street, or Route FF.
The site also will be home to a new substation, which will be an additional multimillion-dollar investment, to provide increased service to the adjacent business park that is experiencing major growth.
Nearing completion in the park is a new $5.5 million distribution center for Coca-Cola Bottling Co., which is adding jobs and will ultimately employ 105 people. Work also is under way on an $85 million pet food manufacturing plant and distribution center, which will be operated by Blue Buffalo Co., of Wilton, Conn. The plant, which will employ up to 150 people, will be completed in 2015.
Rob O’Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, said 11 businesses are now operating in the park, as well as the Joplin School District, which is using a spec building there as a temporary site for East Middle School, which was destroyed in the 2011 tornado.
Amy Bass, spokeswoman for Empire, said the company has outgrown its existing line operations center at 901 E. Fourth St. The center originally was built in 1908 for Joplin Casket Co. It was acquired by Empire in 1916.
“Our system has greatly expanded since 1916, and the materials needed to maintain a larger system have grown,” Bass said. “We are bursting at the seams there.”
That site also includes a second brick building that was constructed by Empire in 1927. The buildings have structural and roof problems, are prone to flooding, and do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. They also lack office space.
To handle the growth, Empire has leased buildings at 311 E. Third St. and at 911 Langston Hughes-Broadway.
“Our people are spread between multiple buildings,” Bass said. “We want to get them under one roof. We have outlived the space.
“Our trucks are so much larger than the trucks we used years ago. You can’t get them into the garages. When the weather is bad, you have to clear them of snow and ice before you can do anything with them. That slows our response to outages.
“It’s also difficult for us to get on and off Fourth Street. And, we want to move this truck traffic off of Fourth Street. That’s one of the things we are hoping to improve by moving.”
Bass said the new center, which will have 110,000 square feet of space, is being constructed on a 38-acre site, which should provide sufficient room for growth in the future.
“We want a building that will be built for us to accommodate our operation,” she said. “We are not taking someone else’s building and making it work.”
The building also will be home to a new command center, the engineering department, line operations, mapping, vegetation and land management, meter and transformer shops, and warehouse space.
The site also will have improved security and a basement storm shelter for the 100 or so employees who will work there.
Bass said the number of linemen working at the center should remain about the same.
“Over the years, the number of linemen that make up a crew has gone down because of technology,” she said. “With better equipment, you need fewer men. A line crew used to have eight or 10 men. Now, two- and three-man crews are the standard.”
Background
THE CROSSROADS CENTER Business and Distribution Park opened in 1997. With the Coca-Cola and Blue Buffalo projects, it will provide work for 800 people. Nearly half of the 670-acre site is still available for development.
Top Stories
Related Photos
-
Bill Long (left) and Kyle Etcheson, with Etcheson Construction of Diamond and Jasper, apply gravel this week for a stormwater system at the site of an $11 million center that will accommodate Empire District Electric Co.’s new line operation. The location is adjacent to Joplin’s Crossroads Center Business and Distribution Park on East 32nd Street at Kodiak Road. GLOBE | T. ROB BROWN
Discussion
Empire building $11 million center adjacent to city’s business park
- Top Stories
-
-
Ceremony to mark push for Civil War memorial
Organizers hope that today’s ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of a Civil War battle northwest of Joplin also will encourage support to finance a permanent memorial on the site.
-
Hatred, resentment and retribution fueled bloody encounter at Rader’s Farm
Members of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment had been in Jasper County in large numbers on previous foraging missions. Coming from their outpost in modern-day Baxter Springs, Kan., the armed former slaves in Union uniforms had entered the property and homes of white residents to take their food or other useful supplies.
-
Disaster response team to hold tornado memorial ride
A group of motorcycle enthusiasts who focus on disaster relief plan to hold a motorcycle ride through Joplin on the second anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
-
Weather delays opening of Schifferdecker water park
Wet spring weather has delayed work on the Schifferdecker Aquatic Center, and it will not open over Memorial Day weekend, city officials said today.
-
Interfaith service set for Sunday in Landreth Park
Different Faiths - One Community is the theme of an interfaith services at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Landreth Park.
-
St. Mary’s breaks ground to replace structures destroyed in 2011 tornado
Ground was broken symbolically Thursday to mark the beginning of a new chapter in the life of St. Mary’s parish in Joplin. “Our life is full of many chapters, and so is our parish,’’ said Bishop James Johnston, with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.
-
Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
Kurt Millard spent most of last weekend in the Jasper County Jail, locked up on another man’s arrest warrant. The 26-year-old Joplin resident could not convince his jailers they had the wrong guy. “I got the run-around the whole weekend,” Millard told the Globe. “I didn’t even get to wish my mother a happy Mother’s Day.”
-
Attorney general files suit against California contractor
Attorney General Chris Koster on Thursday filed a lawsuit against a California man, alleging he failed to provide construction materials and home repair services that had been paid for by victims of the Joplin tornado.
-
Organizers ambitious in goals for this year’s Heart Walk
Organizers of the Four-State Heart Walk, to be held in September in Joplin, are ambitious: Last year’s event raised about $27,000, while this year they have set a goal of $50,000. So far, $17,500 has been raised. Among the donors to date: Two students at Nevada High School who put on a fundraiser in February as a class project and brought in $2,500.
-
Parents of triplets embarking on Heart Association campaign
To the casual observer, it sounds odd: One of their triplets has a heart defect, and Jayme and Chris Harper are grateful. “It could have been much worse,” Jayme said. “We just thank God every day she’s alive. We’re grateful. Be thankful for what you have, and not what you don’t have.”
- More Top Stories Headlines
-
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children
Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
