New Crossroads Office Project to House Three Firms, Employ 150

By Kevin Collison

Construction on the latest Crossroads Arts District office project is underway, an $8.5 million renovation of the former McQueeny-Lock building that will house three firms.

The project, called 520 Penn, will accommodate the headquarters of Centric Projects, Superior Bowen and Inspired Homes, for a total of about 150 employees.

Plans call for preserving the original, historic building, which opened as Jensen-Salesbery Laboratories, an animal health lab, in 1919, said architect Brad Satterwhite of KEM STUDIO.

There have been additions over the years, and the new plan is adding a rooftop conference room and deck to the three-story building.

The 520 Penn building opened in 1919 as an animal health lab called Jansen Salisbury Laboratories.

“Our design approach is to celebrate the original structure and make sense of the additions,” Satterwhite said.

Satterwhite said his firm had been involved with an earlier redevelopment plan by Union Horse, formerly Dark Horse, Distillery. It was previously occupied by McQueeny-Lock, a plumbing supply business.

The Lenexa-based distillery had purchased the structure with plans to use it for a Crossroads location and event space. That deal however, fell through.

The building at 520 W. Pennway was then purchased by Centric, Superior Bowen and Platform Ventures, formerly Mariner Real Estate Management.

The project is about 25 percent complete and is expected to be ready in June. A new main entrance will be designed for the north side of the 50,000 square-foot building, and the historic entrance also will be retained on the south side.

Satterwhite described the interior design as modern, with an industrial feel. The existing surface parking lot will be upgrade and have 73 spaces. Centric Projects is the contractor.

The 520 Penn project comes at a time of renewed interested in the Crossroads Arts District by office users. The 10-story Corrigan Station renovation project at 1828 Walnut opened in December 2016 and is now full leased.

Its developers plan to break ground next month on a new, three-story office addition immediately west.

The interior design of 520 Penn is described as modern industrial. (KEM STUDIO)