Overland Park Trade Center Gains New Tenant

Jul. 7–A California health-care company seeking to expand its operations for mail-order prescription drugs has signed a lease to occupy 175,000 square feet at the Overland Park International Trade Center.

Greg Walton, chairman of Walton Construction and majority owner of the building, said a 10-year lease was signed Friday by PacifiCare Health Systems, the parent of Prescription Solutions, the company that would move into the trade center.

It was not clear how the deal would be affected by UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s acquisition of PacifiCare, announced Wednesday afternoon.

PacifiCare has promised to create about 850 jobs in Overland Park. To put that in perspective, it would surpass the 533 total jobs that local business recruiters said they helped bring to the city in 2004.

Walton cautioned, however, that the lease is contingent on the company receiving a package of tax incentives from the state. Overland Park has agreed to property tax breaks worth about $3.2 million over 10 years.

“It’s kind of a Catch-22,” Walton said Wednesday. “The lease had to be signed before the state would consider the incentive package, and the lease is contingent on the incentive package.”

He said the company would use between 110,000 square feet and 120,000 square feet on the lower level of the trade center for its customer-service call center. He said the company would use up to 65,000 square feet on the upper level for its mail-order distribution center for prescription drugs. The trade center is at 115th Street and Metcalf Avenue.

Tracey Osborne, president of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, said she could not talk about the company’s plans until they were finalized.

Walton said the trade center would have to be expanded by about 50,000 square feet to accommodate the Kansas City Gift Mart, a collaboration of wholesalers who sell their wares to retailers. The gift mart is now on the upper level.

Prescription Solutions, which is based in Costa Mesa, Calif., bills itself as one of the nation’s leading managed-care pharmaceutical benefit companies. It manages the drug-benefit plans of private employers, unions and government agencies. It has more than 5 million customers nationwide.

The company serves its customers through two mail-service pharmacies in San Diego County and a network of more than 50,000 pharmacies nationwide.

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