Overland Park-based Drake Development wants to bring new retail components to the Georgetown Plaza at West 75th Street and Frontage Road, just east of Interstate 35.
Nonetheless, the developer has to put up a fight for the project. The Overland Park Planning Commission earlier this month voted 4-2 to recommend denial of a rezoning request that would allow for the construction of an 8,000-square-foot retail building to replace three office buildings currently located on the site.
Planning commissioners who objected to the plans at the March 13 meeting wanted to avoid attracting more traffic to the already congested area.
It would be a multi-tenant retail building with a drive-thru
- “We acquired the property in 2021 and marked it as medical office development,” said Scott Miller, Drake Development’s vice president of development. “Recent events over the last couple of years has forced a decrease in demand for offices in this area.”
- The new building would be constructed roughly 160 feet away from the Gregory Meadows subdivision, which is to the east and south of the proposed retail building.
- As part of the rezoning, two office buildings on the southern portion of Georgetown Plaza would remain while the other three would be torn down to make space for new retail.
Concerns were expressed about traffic
- While Commissioner Holly Streeter-Schaefer noted that she would be happy to see this area redeveloped, she expressed some concerns about how a drive-thru would impact traffic.
- “We get stuck on Frontage Road at 75th, and there’s people always backed up at 75th at that light… it is just a really congested area,” Streeter-Schaefer said.
- In favor of the proposal, Commissioner Ned Reitzes argued the development is limited in the types of buildings it can construct, and he found the retail building to be an appropriate use of the space.
- City staff also recommended denial of the rezoning request because they were primarily concerned with how close the redevelopment encroaches upon neighboring single-family homes, according to city documents.
- Ultimately, commissioners Kim Sorensen, David Hill, Radd Way and Streeter-Schaefer voted in favor of the denial, while Tom Robinett and Reitzes voted against the denial.
- Commissioners Rob Krewson, Kip Strauss, Janie Thacker and Steve Troester were absent.
The rezoning is set to be reviewed by city council
- Before the rezoning is officially denied, it will need to be reviewed by the Overland Park City Council.
- The city council can make one of three decisions: 1) deny the rezoning request per the planning commission’s recommendation (which takes a simple majority vote); 2) overrule the planning commission’s recommendation and approve the rezoning request (which requires two-thirds majority of the city council to vote in support); or 3) remand the rezoning item to the planning commission for further review of specific items on the project (which also takes a simple majority vote).
- It is scheduled to come before the council at its upcoming Monday, April 3, meeting.
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