Procter & Gamble Sells Kansas City Plant to New Mill Capital

A Procter & Gamble Co. plant in Kansas City, Kansas, has sold to New Mill Capital, a national firm that specializes in the disposition of real estate assets. As part of the deal, the Cincinnati-based consumer goods company (NYSE: PG) agreed to lease the property at 1900 Kansas Ave. for at least the rest of 2020.

Two years ago, Procter & Gamble announced it would close the plant, which makes soaps under well-known brands such as Dawn, Gain, Ivory and Joy, and move its operations to a new facility in West Virginia.

At the time of the announcement, the company said the move would eliminate about 300 local jobs. The plant was expected to close in late 2020, P&G said in 2018. However, it’s not clear how many of the then-280 full-time employees and 350 contract laborers still work at the plant.

Originally built in 1905, the 574,000-square-foot plant is located near the intersection of 18th Street Expressway and Interstate 70. It provides rail service access to BNSF, Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific railroads.

According to a Tuesday release, JLL Managing Regional Director Kevin Wilkerson and Executive Vice President Phil Algrim represented the seller in the deal. New Mill Capital, which has an office in Mission Woods, was the buyer and represented itself in the transaction.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

Although P&G has operated in Kansas City for more than a century, the company said a study of its North American supply network prompted the plant’s closing. The company’s new West Virginia plant is bigger than the Kansas City facility. The more than 450-acre facility cost about $500 million to build.

Despite the seller’s decision to leave, its brokers remain positive about the Kansas City area.

“Kansas City is one of the top logistics and rail hubs in the U.S., with approximately 85% of the U.S. population in reach within a two-day period,” Algrim said in the release. “Our central U.S. location, superior non-congested rail/interstate infrastructure and quality labor pool are key components to our thriving and dynamic industrial real estate market.”