A veterinary pharmaceutical company, Ceva Animal Health signed a five-year lease to occupy 72,000 square feet of warehousing and distribution space in Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ceva’s decision to locate within SubTropolis was driven by the desire to relocate the company’s primary warehousing operations closer to the company’s North American headquarters in Lenexa. As the first tenant to locate in SubTropolis’ new 126,000 square foot speculative building, Ceva will create 10 jobs.

Consolidating warehousing locations and enhancing efficiency weren’t the only drivers behind Ceva’s move. Having the option to effortlessly expand its footprint was key and ultimately made SubTropolis the top choice, local officials said.

“Relocating our warehouse from Memphis to SubTropolis has been a good move for Ceva and has created efficiency for our company. The consistent conditions and ability to easily expand warehouse space as our portfolio expands made SubTropolis a great fit to meet our needs today and in the future,” said Craig Wallace, CEO and North America/ Pacific Zone Director at Ceva Animal Health.

According to Missouri Department of Economic Development officials, Missouri, in collaboration with the Missouri Partnership, Kansas City Area Development Council, the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and Kansas City Power & Light, has worked to advance Greater Kansas City as the global leader in animal health and nutrition research, innovation and production. This initiative has guided the growth of many local animal health related companies like Ceva.

“We are happy to partner with this innovative company and facilitate job creation for families throughout the region,” said Mike Downing, Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. “Ceva represents just how poised the animal health industry is for growth as well as how our central location makes moving product from the shelf to the customer more efficient.”

“The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City’s Advance KC Plan has identified health sciences, which includes animal health, as one of its seven target sectors for attraction, retention and expansion efforts. The growth opportunities represented by the industry match up nicely with the high quality talent available in Kansas City, Missouri. We are thrilled with Ceva’s plans to consolidate warehousing operations in SubTropolis,” said Bob Langenkamp, CEO of the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City.

“The ability for a company to easily scale its operation in SubTropolis is often paramount to a user’s decision process,” said Ora Reynolds, President of Hunt Midwest. “With close to six million square feet of contiguous underground space, and the potential to develop an additional eight million square feet, we have the utmost flexibility to accommodate Ceva’s ongoing real estate needs.”

Ceva is the fourth company to lease space in the newest phase of SubTropolis north of Derrough Drive, joining the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), FoodServiceWarehouse.com, and LightEdge Solutions, Inc., the anchor tenant of SubTropolis Technology Center (STC).