The Prairie Village Planning Commission on Tuesday green-lighted the design concept for the renovation of Corinth Square’s main structure, setting the stage for a $5 million construction project that would fulfill owner LANE4’s obligations under a Community Improvement District agreement.

The project will consist of an extensive renovation of the building’s facade and the construction of four “pocket parks” at the corners of the facility. The pocket park outside Urban Table, for example, will feature a sunken fire pit with stone seating areas around it. Outside Mely’s Yogurt and Ice Cream, there will be a play area for children featuring several large boulders as well as a prairie restoration area.

The facade improvements will closely resemble the exterior construction at Urban Table, prominently featuring exposed cedar and natural stone.

The planning commission unanimously approved the design proposal after asking the developer to address a handful of outstanding issues, including submission of a more detailed outdoor lighting plan and a parking space count. The commission also approved a new set of design standards for signage at the center, which will closely mimic some of the design elements used in signage for newer businesses at Corinth, like BRGR and Urban Table.

LANE4 President Owen Buckley said work on the renovations should begin “as early as possible in 2012,” but noted that both the company and Prairie Village’s planning staff would be using the coming months to tweak the design prior to groundbreaking.

“We’re only going to do this once,” he told the audience in the Planning Commission meeting. “So we want to hear all the good ideas out there before we get things started.”