With the Lenexa Planning Commission’s approval, a new plan for the long-delayed Renner 87 development in Lenexa is moving forward.
On Monday, the commission approved a revised preliminary plan for the mixed-use development at the northeast corner of 87th Street Parkway and Renner Blvd.
It passed 7-0 with commissioners John Handley and Ben Harber absent.
Plans for the development have been pitched twice before, with the most recent one receiving the commission’s approval in 2021, but both those proposals fell through.
Price Development Group, with an office in Prairie Village, is the applicant for the project.
“(The previous) project was not feasible,” Chris Bennish, a development partner with Price Development Group, said this week. “We feel like today we do have a better plan, a more feasible plan, a more viable plan. We feel it’s a better looking plan.”
The project will be at a major intersection
The 7-acre development includes more than 10,860 square feet of commercial space, along with 215 planned multifamily units stretched over two separate four-story buildings. The project also includes two parking structures.
Compared to the previous project plans, the new buildings will have a cleaner, more contemporary look, Bennish told the planning commission.
“We think that as we approach this, outside-in, that it functions as a better project,” he said.
The development will be located near the east gateway of the Lenexa City Center District, considered a major intersection in the area, city documents note.
The project differs in other ways from previous plans
During the past decade, two projects were pitched for the area.
In 2018, the Lenexa City Council approved a plan by developer Renner Housing LLC, which pitched the Renner 87 Flats at City Center.
That plan included a four- and five-story structure that contained a combined 227 apartments and 9,615 square feet of space for office, retail and dining. In 2019, the project fell through.
In 2021, a revised plan, called Briarstone, was submitted and approved by the Lenexa Planning Commission. It contained two five-story buildings with 213 apartment units and retail space at ground level.
In the end, the developers chose not to pursue that project either.
The previous project was likely hindered by costs, Bennish said.
“I think the previous project was also a victim to some market conditions,” he said. “We’re still in a little bit of that turmoil now with challenges to get projects to be financially feasible.”
What’s included with the new project
The 215 apartment units will have space ranging from 537 square feet to almost 1,300 square feet.
The units will be predominantly one-bedroom apartments, as well as some two-bedroom and studio spaces. Rent prices will be at market rate, developers say.
All units will contain a patio or a balcony, stainless steel appliances, mud rooms and washer-dryers, Bennish said.
All of the retail and commercial space will be located in the south building, closer to City Center and Renner Blvd.
“This is closest to the intersection, so it can interact with City Center,” Bennish told the commission. “It’s more visible. It has the access right in, right out, to have parking right in front of it.”
The planning commission supported it
In his pitch to the planning commission, Bennish said that he worked with Lenexa city staff to make sure it was a good fit for the site.
“Master development staff pushed us hard on this,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think (city staff) did really influence the design, and we all got something that we’re pretty proud of here.”
While some commissioners had questions about parking and the flow of traffic, they generally agreed that it was a feasible plan for the area.
“I like this plan. Actually I like it better than the other one,” Commissioner Curt Katterhenry said. “I think it’s a great project.”
Closing out the planning commission’s thoughts, Commissioner Chris Poss said it’s a sound improvement over past submissions for the land.
“I think this is better plan than we had,” he said. “I think that architecturally, I think it’s a good looking building, good looking product to have there.”
What’s next?
The Lenexa City Council will take up the revised preliminary plan at its Oct. 15 meeting.
Other Lenexa housing news: Lenexa OKs new apartments, the ‘last piece’ of Sonoma Plaza project
