Business Facilities - February 2008 - (Page 39)

METRO SPOTLIGHT Overland Park, Kansas By Karim Khan BRAINPOWER Without Breaking the Bank O verland Park, KS—part of the Kansas City, KS/MO metropolitan area—is a suburb of superlatives. The city has invented itself as a magnet for telecommunications, pharmaceutical/biotechnology, and financial services companies. Given that these industries are driven by employee brainpower, it’s hardly surprising that Overland Park also has the highest percentage of high school graduates in the United States (97% among those 25 and older) and three of the highest ranked school districts in the country. Despite having such a desirable workforce composition, Overland Park is not expensive for companies. The average home price in the area is only $238,172, for example, and Overland Park’s property tax mill levy is 18% lower than any major community in the region. Cleveland Chiropractic College has two main campuses, one in Los Angeles and the other (pictured here) in Overland Park, KS. ACCRA Cost of Living Index Comparison National Average Kansas City, MO-KS Atlanta, GA Boston, MA Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Denver, CO Houston, TX New York, NY Phoenix, AZ San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Tampa, FL 0 SOURCE: OVERLAND PARK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL 50 100 150 200 250 Major Private-Sector Employers in Overland Park, KS Number of Company Type Employees Sprint Nextel* Telecommunications 14,500 Embarq* Telecommunications 4,500 Black & Veatch* Engineering Services 3,600 YRC Worldwide* Trucking 2,600 Zurich North America Accident and Health Commercial Insurance 900 Waddell & Reed Financial* Securities Brokerage 857 Swiss Re Fire, Marine, and Casualty Insurance 850 Valley View Bancshares, Inc. Banking 750 Wells Fargo Banking 750 Quintiles Transnational Corp Pharmaceutical Services 710 Prescription Solutions Pharmaceutical Distribution 600 Midland Loan Services Financial Services 471 Capital One Home Loans* Financial Services 465 Physicians Reference Laboratory Medical Laboratory 440 AT&T Telecommunications 362 Accenture Financial Services 250 * Represents company or business unit headquarters SOURCE: OVERLAND PARK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Quintiles Transnational Corp. expanded in Overland Park in 2007, adding a four-story, 236,000-square-foot building to its campus. PHOTO CREDIT: OVERLAND PARK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Overland Park is home to the operational and engineering headquarters of Sprint Nextel Corp. The 240-acre campus provides space for over 14,000 employees. BUSINESS FACILITIES 39

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Business Facilites - February 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Texas Capturing the Creative Class Green with Energy Automotive Opportunities in a Green Economy Corporate Moves: Wyoming Metro Spotlight: Overland Park, KS Metro Spotlight: Long Island, NY Get Ahead in Alabama Indiana: Sending Tech Messages How to Successfully Negotiate a Lease in Today's Real Estate Environment Legislation Spurring Innovation in Kentucky New Center will Propel Ontario's Automotive Future Virginia's Vital Signs Eating Well in the North of France Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - February 2008

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