The Shawnee Planning Commission approved an almost 73-acre warehouse and industrial project near Monticello Springs Park.
The Shawnee Planning Commission on Monday voted 8-0 to approve the final site plan for the K-7 Logistics Centre between the 7700 and 7900 blocks of Monticello Terrace. Commissioners Kevin Fox, Carol Norman and Amit Bhakta were absent.
The project consists of two industrial buildings
The developer, K7 Logistics LLC, a company led by Kansas City-based Block Real Estate Services, will construct two office/warehouse buildings totaling about 870,000 square feet on nearly 73 acres of land.
The project will be built on undeveloped land next to the Suttle Downs residential subdivision, the 3&2 Baseball Club of Johnson County and Monticello Springs Park, according to city documents.
In addition to the structures, K7 Logistics is also required to create two access drives via Monticello Terrace.
Developers have slashed total parking spaces in half
A total of 763 parking spaces are required and 351 parking spaces are proposed by K7, resulting in about 54% less parking than what is required.
Curtis Holland with Polsinelli, the law firm representing the developer, made the argument that the parking requirement overshot what the site needed. He also added that they have a plan to add land bank parking spaces, if necessary.
“We don’t need that much parking,” he said. “And we don’t want to create a bunch of additional impervious surface where it’s not necessary.”
While some of the commissioners said that the deviation was a notable request, they also agreed with it.
“I don’t want to build parking lots (where) we don’t need to have parking lots. We need to let rainwater go somewhere,” Kathy Peterson said. “As long as we get some sort of guarantee that we do have adequate parking … the additional spots are enough for me.”
No one spoke at public comment
While neighbors had previously spoken in opposition to the project, no one spoke when the commission opened the floor up for public comment.
The plans feature a 62-feet landscaped buffer, including a densely-planted row of trees, adjacent to the Suttle Downs residential subdivision.
While the developer provided no plan for on-site lighting, Commissioner David Aber asked the project team to take the baseball fields into account.
“Just consider those two ball fields to the south and how lights might interact with the pitching on them,” he said.
The project has been in the works since 2021
Plans for the project were first presented to the planning commission in June 2021.
In July 2021, the Shawnee City Council approved $65 million in private activity revenue bonds to cover financing for the project.
The commission had the final say on this item, so a final plan will not be considered by the city council. A timeline for the project was not immediately available.
Go deeper: Shawnee advances warehouse project just north of youth baseball complex
