Five service tenants are committed at The Shops at Smithville. Andrew Danner explains how that base shapes who fits the four suites still available.
Photo: Land O'Lakes, Inc. / Unsplash
Leasing a small center is not about filling space. It is about choosing neighbors. Every lease you sign makes the next one easier or harder, and in a center of 30,150 SF there is not much room for a mistake.
I have been on both sides of that decision since 2007, as a tenant's broker and as a landlord's broker, and now on the owner's side at The Shops at Smithville. Here is how we are thinking about the mix.
Who has already committed at The Shops at Smithville?
- A pizza shop, for dinner on the way home
- An AT&T store, for phones and service plans
- A nail salon, for regular appointments
- An HVAC company, a trades business with local customers
- An accountant, with clients who come back every year
None of those is a destination store. All of them are places people go on purpose, often more than once a month. That is the backbone of a neighborhood center.
Why do committed service tenants shape the remaining suites?
Because the first tenants define what the center is in a customer's mind. Once a center is known as the place you pick up dinner, sort out your phone and get your nails done, it is natural to add a dentist, a fitness studio or a quick-service restaurant. It is hard to add a use that fights that identity.
There are also practical rules. Two tenants who need heavy parking at the same hour compete with each other. A restaurant with strong cooking odors may not sit well beside a medical office. A tenant with an exclusive on its use can block the next lease. I think through all of it before I send a proposal.
How do we match each available space to a use?
Each of the four available spaces suits a different kind of operator.
- Suite 400, 1,400 SF in-line: a professional office, a small specialty retailer or a service counter. See /smithville/professional-services and /smithville/retail-specialty.
- Suite 500, 2,100 SF in-line: a dental or medical practice, or a fast-casual restaurant. See /smithville/medical-dental and /smithville/restaurant.
- Suite 600, 5,180 SF in-line, the largest in-line suite: a fitness studio or a larger medical user. See /smithville/fitness.
- 14901 South Building, 10,000 SF standalone: a franchise operator or a user who wants its own building. See /smithville/franchise-qsr.
Those are starting points, not rules. If your business fits a space differently, I want to hear about it.
Medical and dental users: see how the suites fit a practice.
What does the tenant mix mean for occupancy cost?
Co-tenants also share the cost of running the center. In a net lease, each tenant typically pays its pro-rata share of taxes, insurance and common-area maintenance. A good mix keeps the center full, which keeps that cost spread across more square feet. Read how your lease treats a vacant neighbor's share.
- Total cost per SF per year
- $25.00/SF
- Total per year
- $52,500
- Total per month
- $4,375/mo
Occupancy cost = (base rent + NNN) × SF. Compare suites on this number, not on base rent alone. The example figures are illustrative, not the terms of any property.
Open the full calculator →Run the example and you see that NNN charges add a meaningful share on top of base rent. Ben Nelson goes deeper in his articles on CAM charges and on gross versus NNN occupancy cost. Read them before you compare one center with another.
Read Ben Nelson, CCIM, on how CAM charges work for retail tenants.
How does a standalone building change the mix?
The 14901 South Building is a different animal from the in-line suites. At 10,000 SF and standalone, it can carry its own identity, its own signs and its own customer flow. A franchise operator or a larger user can treat it as their own address while still drawing on the visits the in-line tenants bring.
That cuts both ways. A strong user in the South Building helps every in-line tenant, because it gives people one more reason to turn in. A user that needs very different hours, heavy deliveries or a lot of parking at peak times needs careful planning so it does not crowd its neighbors. We look at site circulation, parking and service access before we put a proposal in front of anyone for that building. Franchise operators can see how it lines up at /smithville/franchise-qsr.
What do we look for in a tenant?
- A business plan that matches the space, not one stretched to fit it.
- An operator with experience, or a franchise system behind them.
- A use that brings visits at different hours from its neighbors.
- A realistic view of the build-out they need and what it costs.
- Someone who will take care of the space and the customers.
The lease I want in a small center is the one that makes the tenant next door busier.
How should a tenant think about the mix?
If you are looking at a suite, ask who your neighbors are and who else the landlord is talking to. Ask whether any tenant has an exclusive that limits your use. Visit the center at the hours your customers will come. A landlord who has thought about the mix will have answers.
If you are a franchise developer looking at the South Building, Matthew Danner's article on what a franchise developer should verify covers the checklist for a standalone building. For the bigger picture on why we are building here at all, see my piece on building retail on U.S. 169.
When you are ready to talk about a specific suite, call me at 816-612-5191.
See the site plan and the brochure, and tell us about your business.
Questions people ask
What businesses are already at The Shops at Smithville?
Five service tenants are committed: a pizza shop, an AT&T store, a nail salon, an HVAC company and an accountant. They are everyday businesses people visit on purpose, often more than once a month, and together they bring steady weekday visits that the remaining suites can benefit from.
What spaces are still available?
Four spaces totaling 18,680 SF: Suite 400 at 1,400 SF, Suite 500 at 2,100 SF, Suite 600 at 5,180 SF, which is the largest in-line suite, and the 14901 South Building, a 10,000 SF standalone building. Each segment page on the Smithville site shows how the spaces fit a particular kind of business.
Will the landlord grant an exclusive?
It depends on the use and the rest of the mix. Exclusives protect a tenant but can limit what the center can lease next, so we look at each request on its merits. Ask early in the conversation and be specific about the use you want protected. Call Windfield Real Estate, LLC at 816-612-5191 to talk it through.
Can a medical or dental practice fit in an in-line suite?
Often, yes. In-line suites such as Suite 500 at 2,100 SF or Suite 600 at 5,180 SF can work for a practice, depending on plumbing, layout and the build-out the practice needs. The medical and dental page for Smithville shows how the spaces line up, and we can walk a suite with your planner.
Andrew founded Windfield Real Estate, LLC in 2007 and has brokered and developed commercial real estate across the Kansas City metro since. He works with buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants across asset classes, and guides owners and tenants through every stage of development — including The Shops at Smithville on U.S. 169.
Windfield Real Estate, LLC · Licensed Missouri real estate broker · 816-612-5191 · info@windfieldrealestate.com
