EDGERTON, Kan. — Hostess announced this week they are building a new distribution center at Logistics Park KC in Edgerton.
Less than seven years-ago, trains would just past through Edgerton, Kansas. Now those trains are stopping in Edgerton and it's not just more trains, it's more jobs in the city as well.
"Everything that is white has a tenant, the yellow buildings are not complete,” Edgerton Mayor Donald Roberts said in describing a map of development in the city.
From high above, the Logistics Park looks like a massive Operation. Each building represents hundreds of jobs.
From Amazon to Kobota, Spectrum and now Hostess set to build a new distribution center, it is clear jobs are moving to southern Johnson County.
"One of our biggest jobs is a forklift driver, that is a skill position, you have to go to school and get certified. We have a lot of those jobs,” Penmac Staffing specialist Ron Boenzli said.
Roughly 10,000 people are unemployed in Johnson County. The unemployment rate, at three perscent, is low at according to state records.
While the Logistics Park in Edgerton is good for the region, KCMO is seeing losses. In the last six months, Harley Davidson announced more than 600 jobs are leaving. The Pepsi distribution center also announced plans to close.
"We have an uptick because we have a couple descent paying jobs in Edgerton and a lot of the Kansas City, Missouri residents are coming out here to work,” Ron Boenzli said.
Mayor Roberts recognizes the losses in Kansas City. But he says their space is the perfect rebound for those looking for work.
"Now with the announcement of Hostess, we are at 4,400 jobs that we created in the last six years," Roberts said. "Although someone like Harley can leave a couple hundred people unemployed, there is ample opportunity for employment."
Edgerton is still a small town of about 1,700 people. The mayor says 50 percent of the workers at the logistics park live in other places like Olathe, Overland Park and Kansas City.
He also wants to focus on creating more homes and other businesses in the area.
"We feel like we are food desert," Roberts said. "We need quick service restaurants. We need a hotel. We need a conference center. We need all the things that support our daily lives.”
Hostess is set to open at the end of this year.
