A plan to remake the old Macy’s building in Prairie Village is on hold.
The Prairie Village Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted to continue a developer’s site plan to remake the old Macy’s building to the commission’s October meeting.
The old Macy’s was an anchor tenant at The Shops of Prairie Village near West 71st Street and Mission Road. The building has sat vacant since 2020.
This decision came after more than an hour of discussion about concerns with an updated plan for the vacant building, which calls for a two-story structure anchored by Hen House.
Gregg Zike, the senior vice president of developer and Shops owner First Washington Realty, told the planning commission this is the first time in a decade that he’s failed to get a proposal approved.
The proposal envisions two-story building
- First Washington proposes removing the third floor of the Macy’s building — which Zike said used to be a parking garage — as part of this updated plan.
- The plan calls for Hen House to move into the first floor of the building, which mirrors previous plans that never materialized.
- In the updated layout, four different retail spaces facing West 71st Street are planned for the second floor.
- Due to significant grading challenges, the plan also calls for a retaining wall to be built around parts of the building with ramps and stairs for pedestrians to access both sides.
- Mayor Eric Mikkelson previously noted that the grading issues present a major investment on the part of the developers, so the city anticipates that the developers could request public incentives to complete the project.
Commissioners concerned with pedestrian safety
- Commissioners asked Zike to look at adding more landscaping to the project plan to address the “sea of asphalt” that is the parking lot.
- Commissioner Jeffrey Valentino said he thinks the current design is aesthetically disconnected from the rest of the Shops, and needs to be adjusted to fit in with the rest of the shopping center.
- The planning commission’s main hiccup with the project is a steep speed ramp in the western parking lot off of the West 71st Street entrance that lines up with Alhambra Street.
- Commissioners were concerned that the steep ramp, which is a 12% slope, near pedestrian pathways would result in safety issues for an already congested shopping center.
- “I will tell you that if you keep that 12% incline (in the updated presentation in October), I would want a plan as to how you’re going to keep 12-year-old kids from taking bikes and scooters and what have you down that and not hurt themselves, right,” said Chair Greg Wolf. “Safety to me is a very important priority, regardless of connectivity.”
Developers say this is years in the making
- Zike told the planning commission that First Washington has been working on an update to this site for years.
- He said he believes that the proposed project and design that the planning commission reviewed on Tuesday is the best possible option, even though building a retaining wall and steep ramp is less than ideal.
- Zike agreed to take the planning commission’s concerns back to his team and work toward coming back next month.
- Additionally, he said this is the first time in a decade that one of his proposals in Prairie Village has not received approval to move forward.
Next steps:
- First Washington is tentatively scheduled to return to the planning commission at the Oct. 1 meeting.
- Zike said his team will let city staff know a week in advance whether it will be able to return to the planning commission with an updated presentation.
Go deeper: Watch the entire planning commission discussion online here.
