A Kansas City-based home services company wants to make the old Waddell & Reed building in northern Overland Park its new headquarters and park about 50 of its trucks in the parking lot each night.
But now Southwind Management’s plans to move into the 55-year-old building face an uncertain future as the city debates whether that proposal fits with the surrounding neighborhood and traffic flow along Shawnee Mission Parkway and Lamar Avenue.
On Monday, the Overland Park Planning Commission voted 6-4 to continue the discussion to a later date on Southwind’s request for a 12-year special use permit tied to the company’s plans for the building at 6300 Lamar Ave.
Commissioners Jenna Reyes, Kim Sorensen, Jameia Haines and Chris Staus voted against continuing the permit, preferring to reject it outright.
The continuance followed nearly two hours of discussion on the matter centered on what to do with the old, mostly unused former Waddell & Reed headquarters. Roughly a dozen public speakers at Monday afternoon’s meeting voiced opposition to Southwind’s proposal.
WR Company LLC still owns the 55-year-old building that — before Waddell & Reed — served as a training center for now-defunct Trans World Airlines, according to county land records.
Joe Oaks, an attorney from Polsinelli representing the applicant WR Company, said the lease for the office space is pending approval of the requested special use permit.
Still, the majority of the commission this week wanted more clarification on several points — like how the parking lot would be screened, landscaping and possible alternative traffic flow plans — before voting on the proposal.
Chair Kip Strauss said the days of a single-office tenant occupying one large building for decades as Waddell & Reed did are in the past.
“Things are going to have to change, but this might not be the right change,” he said, voicing hesitation at recommending a rejection for Southwind’s plans outright but also casting doubt on ultimately approving them.
What’s the plan at old Waddell & Reed HQ?
- You may have never heard of Southwind Management but are likely familiar with some of the five home service businesses it oversees, including 1-800-GOT-JUNK, DreamLawn and You Move Me.
- The company, currently based in Kansas City, wants to move its corporate employees to the office building at 6300 Lamar Ave., taking up approximately 120,000 square feet of office space.
- With that comes a special use permit that, if approved, would allow the company to park overnight and over the weekend up to 84 company vehicles and small commercial trucks in the parking lot on the north side of the property nearest Shawnee Mission Parkway.
- However, the applicant, WR Company, told the commission that the intent is to park closer to 50 vehicles in a dedicated section of the parking lot overnight.
- No exterior storage of materials would be permitted at the site, nor would Southwind be allowed to park semi-trucks at 6300 Lamar.
Neighbors, city of Mission voice opposition
Some residents who live near 6300 Lamar as well as the neighboring city of Mission oppose the special use permit that would allow service vehicles to be parked at the site during off hours.
Some common concerns among public speakers at the meeting Monday centered on the aesthetics of the overnight truck parking and what kind of impact the presence of such vehicles might have on property values as well as traffic.
Mission City Administrator Laura Smith called the proposal “incompatible” with the area and with Overland Park’s long-term plans there, and some planning commissioners agreed.
Commissioner Haines in particular took issues with how using some of the property for commercial vehicle parking diverged with the comprehensive plan’s designation of the area as a Local Activity District (which would prioritize preferred uses like office, commercial or retail, and higher-density housing).
Commissioner Reyes expressed similar worries, calling it an “eyesore” that could impact property values in the area.
“I believe this will detrimentally affect nearby properties,” she said. “I think that it changes the entire use, landscape and visual appeal of what is a nice office park.”
Australian firm acquired Waddell & Reed
- The fate of the building at 6300 Lamar Ave. has been in flux for years, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders in 2020.
- Australia-based financial services firm Macquarie Asset Management ultimately acquired Waddell & Reed in 2021.
- Before that merger, Waddell & Reed was looking to move out of Overland Park to a $140 million new headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri.
- But those plans were scuttled amid the 2021 acquisition deal with Macquarie.
- In 2021, several Kansas City-area Waddell & Reed employees were laid off.
Looking back: OP-based financial services firm Waddell & Reed to be acquired for $1.7 billion
