E26: From the Ground Up w/ Matt Pennington

EPISODE #26:
🎙 Featuring Matt Pennington
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🎧 In this episode, John sits down with Matt Pennington, President, Drake Development, LLC.


▪️Born and raised in Nebraska, Matt learned early the value of relationship building. After college, Pennington teamed up with veteran developer David Christie and the two worked together from 2007 to 2016 on ‘big box’ developments. Pennington became interested in mixed use developments and noticed there weren’t many in this area. This led to Pennington founding Drake Development in 2016.

▪️At Drake Development, they specialize in retail, entertainment, mixed-use and healthcare development. Staying on top of ever-evolving trends in the retail landscape, consumer habits, and more, to develop efficient user-centered real estate that's equipped for the latest changes in technology.

This focus led to the Streets of West Pryor, a project once not favored by the City of Lee’s Summit.

 “When people think of a mixed-use development, sometimes the end product falls short. It’s commonplace to have opportunities for live and play, but the ‘play’ doesn’t extend beyond shopping or dining,” says Pennington. 

Pennington wanted to extend the ‘play’ to outdoor recreation, and this was achieved through ample green space and walking trails connecting to neighboring Lowenstein Park. It was critical we tailored the site plan to include Lowenstein Park, which is a favorite among Lee’s Summit residents.

Pennington’s outlook on bringing big projects like this, is to get the community involved as much as possible. 

“The importance of patience and listening to what the community has to say is a key part of what makes these projects special. They may not have agreed with the proposal before the project, but now we are grabbing lunch with one another,” says Pennington.