A vacant auto repair shop in downtown Shawnee is headed toward development as a restaurant now that grant money has been approved to help clean up the site.
Where exactly: Shawnee Auto, a gray concrete building at 5801 Nieman Road, is vacant now, but by next summer, developer Kevin Tubbesing hopes it will be a fully occupied business, likely a restaurant.
- The development project, branded Stag’s Garage, has an overall cost of $1.5 million to $1.6 million.
Driving the news: On Monday, the Shawnee City Council approved $200,000 in economic development money to help with some of the exceptional costs of the renovation.
- The money comes from a SEED, or Shawnee Entrepreneurial and Economic Development, agreement often used to encourage small and start-up businesses to open and create jobs in Shawnee.
- The program is essentially a grant with performance requirements and a clawback if requirements aren’t met.
Details: The developer will get $100,000 once the building permit is issued, plus $50,000 on a final occupancy certificate and $50,000 on a signed business lease.
- The building’s former use as an auto shop has left some challenges in its redevelopment, Tubbesing told the council.
- Right now it is an empty shell he called an “environmental mess” with oil contamination everywhere.
- The building also will need new ductwork and air conditioning, which it does not now have. The plumbing system will also need to be replaced, Tubbesing said.
Zooming out: The location just about a block north of Nieman Road and Johnson Drive puts it in view of other recent Shawnee renovations, like the Aztec Theater, the corner bank and McLain’s Market.
- Tubbesing said he has plans to put the entrance, with an alcove, on the west side, facing the rest of Shawnee’s town square.
What’s he’s saying: “We’d like to turn this into something great,” he said. “We’re trying to bring it up to the standard that folks are going to gather with their families and hopefully have a wonderful time.”
- To that end, Tubbesing hopes to turn the building into a restaurant or another retail use that conforms to the city’s “action agenda” from a 2002 study.
- Other uses generally include specialty retail like coffee houses, bakeries, antiques, theaters, bike shops or specialty grocery stores. Auto repair shops are no longer allowed in zoning for the downtown area.
City Council discusses downtown Shawnee project
Councilmembers approved the grant on a 5-3 vote, with Councilmembers Mike Kemmling, Tammy Thomas and Jacklynn Walters voting against the measure.
- Kemmling said that although he is usually opposed to using tax money for development, he was especially against it this time: “I don’t like the general principle of us taking city money and giving it to a for-profit business.”
- In this case, the money goes to a developer and not a start-up business, he noted. The agreement should also be tied to jobs created, he said.
- But Councilmember Eric Jenkins disagreed, saying that the building is an “eyesore” that has special development challenges because of the oil, and Tubbesing will be putting in a sizable amount of private money, he said. And it is in keeping with the work that’s already been done on other downtown Shawnee buildings.
Key quote: “We’re putting significant effort into developing our downtown and a significant investment and we’re not done yet,” Jenkins said. “It’s beginning to get some notice,” he said, as people come back to spend time and money in downtown businesses.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.
