A mixed-use and “workforce housing” development proposed in southern Olathe has hit a snag.
On Monday, the Olathe Planning Commission unanimously recommended the denial of the HōM Flats rezoning and preliminary site development plan application.
The proposal features just over 200 apartment units and several thousand square feet of planned commercial space on a 14-acre property west of 161st Street and Mur-Len Road. That’s near some single-family homes, a neighborhood center with retail, some lower-density multifamily and a fire station.
Currently, the property is zoned mostly with rural and low-density designations from before Olathe annexed it from Johnson County, plus a little bit of city office zoning.
Michigan-based developer Magnus Capital Partners LLC is seeking to convert it into “community center” (C-2) and low-density multifamily residential categories to make way for the mixed-use and apartment elements.
HōM Flats would be “socially responsible housing”
- In the proposal is a total of 202 apartments stretched across 12 multifamily-only two-story and three-story buildings and an additional three-story mixed-use building.
- Roughly 30,000 square feet of commercial space is also included in the plan, plus an extra 4,000-square-foot conceptual commercial building.
- Vishal Arora from Magnus Capital Partners said HōM Flats would feature “workforce housing” geared toward the “young professional” who is making between $50,000 and $85,000.
- “That is the population looking to save up for their first home, but also want a really good place to live,” he said.
- Arora did not say if he would seek any sort of local, state or federal housing incentives or tax credits to support the development.
Neighbors fretted over HōM Flats’ impact
During the public hearing, about a dozen neighbors spoke against the project, and many more sent written correspondence to the planning commission. At one point during the meeting, a speaker asked all who opposed to project to stand up, and just about everyone in the audience was on their feet.
The reasons neighbors gave for opposing the project ran the gamut — fears about traffic, crime, property values in the area, the degradation of the views from their property, etc. That being said, a common theme that emerged was a concern that the HōM Flats wouldn’t be the right fit for the existing character of the neighborhood.
Reagan Cussimanio, who lives in the area, said she was worried about the consistency of the development proposed with what has already been established.
“The introduction of a large, mixed-use development, particularly one of this scale, would fundamentally change the atmosphere of our neighborhood,” she said. “This is a change that we as a community are not interested in, nor do we believe it is in the best interest of maintaining the character of our neighborhood.”
Additionally, some neighbors questioned the necessity of more apartments and retail. Specifically, a handful of speakers pointed out rotating vacancies at the nearby shopping center that contains a Price Chopper as its anchor tenant.
One speaker insinuated there was some sort of corruption on the planning commission through bribes or “kickbacks,” which Commission Chair Wayne Janner flatly denied and pushed back against later in the meeting.
Commissioners worried about traffic from growth
- In addition to echoing some of the neighbors’ concerns about density and the project’s fit in the surrounding neighborhood, members of the planning commission also expressed trepidation about traffic.
- In light of the density of this project and the amount of residential development planned already in this area over the next few years, many said they felt uncomfortable supporting HōM Flats.
- Olathe does plan to improve a chunk of Mur-Len with upgrades to 159th Street in the area to increase traffic capacity, but physical construction is still a few years away, according to the capital improvement plan.
- Briefly, there was some discussion of potentially continuing the application to give the developer more time to work some of the details out with city staff. Commissioners ultimately voted to recommend rejecting it instead.
- During their comments, Commissioners Jim Terrones and Chip Corcoran both underlined what they described as a “need” for something like this.
- “We do need more workforce housing,” Corcoran said. “We do need to find a place it fits.”
Next steps:
- The application for HōM Flats goes to the Olathe City Council for consideration next.
- It is scheduled for the Oct. 15 meeting.
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