A revised plan for Georgetown Plaza with changes to entrances and traffic flow won rezoning approval from the Overland Park Planning Commission on Monday.
The office and retail redevelopment at the southeast corner of 75th Street and the frontage road near Interstate 35 found success on its third trip to the commission, despite staff recommendation against it.
The 2.57-acre site is bordered by AdventHealth Shawnee Mission to the north, restaurant and commercial buildings to the west and single-family homes to the east and south.
Developer wants to build commercial spaces with a drive-thru
Drake Development proposed to remove three existing buildings at the northern end of the site, replacing them with a 5,500-square-foot commercial building with a drive-thru and a 3,800-square-foot office building. The developer expects a coffee company to occupy one of the sites, said Curtis Petersen, representing the developer.
The rezoning had been turned down by the planning commission in March amid concerns about traffic and its conformity to the city master plan, and it came before commissioners again in June but was continued.
City staff continued to recommend denial of the revised plan because the developer proposes commercial/retail uses of the site in close proximity to neighboring homes.
Revisions address ongoing traffic flow concerns
The biggest changes to the original proposal were intended to address traffic concerns. The developer moved the western entrance off the frontage road farther south and made it into divided right-in-right-out lanes. The median strip in the frontage road was also extended in both directions.
Petersen called the plan “classic infill” and noted that redeveloping older parts of a city is harder to do than building on open land. He noted the staff has not described the traffic pattern as unsafe. He also said the redevelopment is a responsible mix of uses that maintains offices adjacent to the single-family homes.
Although office use may have been preferred, he said making part of the development commercial is necessary because of high vacancy rates for office right now.
“This site needs reinvigoration. It needs rebirth,” Petersen told commissioners.
Commissioner Tom Robinett said the current state of the area is “sad, the condition that it’s in.” He continued, “to say that we have to put nothing in here but office kind of goes against what we’re seeing as the future. Office is not in as high demand.”
Other commissioners noted there has been no neighborhood opposition and no neighbors spoke at the meeting. The vote was unanimous among the nine commissioners present.
The Overland Park City Council will likely consider the revised plan before the project can move forward.
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.
