Yesterday, we took a look at how the northern most portions of the Metcalf corridor had fared in the 10 years since the Overland Park city council adopted the Vision Metcalf plan.

Today, we’re going to take a look at the 95th Street portion of the plan.

95th Street

What Vision Metcalf Called for:

• A transformation of the area marked by the replacement of “outdated retail” with new shops and entertainment options
• A large public park near the intersection of 95th and Metcalf that would be a “grand public green space.”
• A new city hall building adjacent to the park that would “provide citizens of Overland Park with a centerpiece for the entire [Metcalf] Corridor.”

What’s happened:

• A good deal of work is underway to replace aging retail centers near 95th Street — though not all the projects reflect the kinds of mixed-use development called for in the plan.
• LANE4 Property Group purchased the Metcalf South and French Market sites at the intersection, and initially proposed a large mixed-use project called Central Square for the land. But negotiations with the city fell apart (for reasons that are still somewhat unclear), and the company instead advanced a plan for a Lowe’s-anchored retail site on the Metcalf South property, which is currently under construction.

• 

  The city and and LANE4 have reportedly been in talks about the city purchasing the French Market site as a possible location for a new city hall, as envisioned in Vision Metcalf. But some members of the city council are arguing that the city-owned property at 123rd and Foster adjacent to the W. Jack Sanders Justice Center would make more sense as the population center moves south.

• A bit down the road, developers are working on the new mixed-use Promontory project, which will include retail and housing on the site of the former Glenwood Shopping Center.
• And developers have approached the city about getting public finance incentives to update the aging Regency Park shopping center.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the portion of the corridor just north of I-435, as well as how the city’s own analysis of Vision Metcalf rates overall progress.