With leasing of the Phase II building near capacity, the Kansas State University Foundation (KSUF) began planning for the third Phase of their Office Park in the Edge Collaboration District in January 2022.  The concept was to mimic Phase II with flexible-size office suites to serve partner organizations of K-State University and the KSUF.

As part of our on-call agreement with the KSUF, Eskie was brought on to be the Owner’s Representative at the beginning of the conceptual planning stages. We developed and guided preconstruction schedules and budgets and onboarded and managed design and construction partners. We ensured the KSUF team had all the information they needed for board approval and financing milestones along the way. Once the project was approved and funded, we directed all design completion, permitting, and construction activities while coordinating owner vendors and communication with neighboring university properties and the City of Manhattan.

What originated as a concept for a 60,000 SF three-story office on a single lot adjacent to a hotel became an 80,000 SF 4-story office building without a hotel, but with additional parking capacity on the same site. This change required several design and budget changes during the conceptual and Schematic Design process but resulted in optimal use of the site.  The project started and remained on schedule, completing one month early and 3% under budget.  The savings returned on the project was more than double our fee for Owner’s Representative services on the project.