Hutton Construction and GE Johnson Selected as Construction Manager for Koch Industries’ Expansion Project

Expansion of Koch Industries, Inc.’s Wichita headquarters is moving forward with the company announcing today that it has hired Hutton Construction of Wichita along with its partner GE Johnson as construction manager for the project. In addition to Hutton, project manager is Cassidy Turley; project architect is Wichita-based Howard + Helmer Architecture; and project engineer is Professional Engineering Consultants, also of Wichita.

In December 2012, Koch confirmed it would expand its 1,025,000-square-foot Wichita headquarters on 37^th Street North between Oliver and Hillside. The project will include construction of a new 210,000-square-foot office building to be situated on the northwest side of the campus. The new building will have three stories plus a lower level and the capacity to accommodate 745 employees. More than 2,900 people are employed by Koch companies in Wichita and they currently have more than 250 open roles at the Wichita headquarters. In 2012, Koch companies paid compensation and benefits to Wichita employees totaling nearly $400 million.

The new free-standing building, which will connect to other buildings on the campus via walkways and tunnels, is the first phase of a long-term master plan to handle potential future growth for Koch in Wichita. Construction of the new building will begin in the fall of this year with completion slated for mid-2015. In addition to office space, the new building will include a satellite Café Koch and training space.

“This is an exciting time for us and for Wichita as we add the office capacity and other infrastructure to accommodate the next phase of Koch Industries’ growth,” said Dave Robertson, president and COO of Koch Industries, Inc.

Relocation of 37^th Street North

To accommodate the new building along with additional parking and possible future growth, work will begin in mid-June to re-route 37^th Street North about one-quarter mile north of its present location. A right-turn lane for eastbound traffic will be added on Oliver at 37^th Street. Other than this, the current intersections at Oliver and Hillside will not change and 37^th Street will remain open to traffic until the new street is completed in October. The cost of the re-routing is being fully paid for by Koch.

According to Craig Highfill, vice president for facilities solutions for Koch Business Solutions, LLP, the street construction signals the start of a multi-year project that will transform the 100-acre Koch campus into an eventual 180-acre complex. “People will start to see changes right away as we begin moving dirt and laying the groundwork for new utilities, additional parking, new interior roads and more,” Highfill said. “We’re working closely with the City to make these changes as seamless as possible for people traveling 37^th Street.”