Two years ago, Tongie Road Properties LLC put up a 7,200-square-foot building in Tonganoxie’s Urban Hess Business Park. Now, TRP is about to finish an addition that adds another 3,600 square feet to their original building. And, as further proof of their interest in Tonganoxie, they’ve purchased neighboring property to put up the same type of building next door.

“We think that there’s a good future in developing out more commercial space in Tonganoxie, said Mike Campbell, Lawrence.

Campbell, along with about a half-dozen others, including Tonganoxie veterinarian Vickie Smith, are part of Tongie Road Partners LLC. Campbell is the property manager for TRP.

Smith moved her veterinary clinic into the new building, northeast of the intersection of County Road 5 and Laming Road, in July 2003, and about a year ago the Lawrence business Pan Pro Co., moved into vacant space in the same building. Pan Pro Co cleans and restores baking pans and racks for national restaurant chains.

Campbell said Midland Feed soon will open a business at the site, as well.

Midland, which will be in the same building as the veterinary clinic, will offer animal feed, tires and tire repair, as well as general farm and ranch equipment. Midland also has two stores in the Lawrence area, Campbell said.

“We’re excited to have somebody to rent it,” Smith said. “That was our original plan, to have a bigger building, but we wanted to do it in stages as we got it rented.”

Campbell said the group’s buildings will have a shared driveway. The area is zoned for light industry.

When the group first became interested in constructing a commercial building in Tonganoxie, Campbell said, the nearby area had fewer homes than it does now.

“There were no houses around us except the original houses right across the highway,” Campbell said. “Now we’re almost surrounded by new development in that area — all of the duplexes and new homes that are developing to the east — it’s real exciting.”