Despite vocal objections from neighboring residents, a plan to build more than 900 new apartments and townhomes along with some commercial space in southern Overland Park is moving forward.
The project on the one-time site of a city fire station near 159th Street and Metcalf Avenue includes more than 930 multifamily units, some civic space for community gathering and more than 20,000 square feet of commercial space. M159 RE LLC is listed as the developer.
On Monday, the Overland Park Planning Commission voted 7-4 to recommend approval of the 159 Metcalf rezoning to make way for the mixed-use project. Commissioners Rob Krewson, Jenna Reyes, Chris Staus and Ned Reitzes voted in dissent.
Still, the majority of the commissioners supported the rezoning.
“I think mixed-use development adds a lot of value to this area,” said Commissioner Kip Strauss, who chairs the commission. He pointed to what he saw as improvements in the plan compared to past development plans that have fallen through at that site.
“There’s a lot of really nice things about this development,” he continued.
What’s planned at 159th and Metcalf?
- The project will include 873 apartments, 62 brownstones and 23,000 square feet of commercial space.
- All of that will span roughly 20 buildings at the southeast corner of the Metcalf and 159th.
- The two tallest buildings, which will include apartments and ground-level mixed-use spaces, will be five stories tall.
- Additionally, the development will include civic areas for gathering and activities, though more details about how that will be used will come with the final development plan, according to city documents.
Some commissioners, neighbors fret over project
Like the half dozen or so residents who spoke at the meeting Monday in opposition to the project, some commissioners expressed concern that the project would be out of character with the surrounding area due to its higher density.
Commissioner Reitzes said the project “does make a lot of sense in some ways,” given the importance of the intersection of 159th and Metcalf. But at the same time, he worried that the escalation in residential density at that corner would be a “negative impact” for the neighbors.
Commissioner Reyes also questioned whether the project as currently planned would even constitute mixed-use development given the low proportion of nonresidential uses planned.
Typically, mixed-use projects have more proportional residential and nonresidential uses, she said, whereas this project is made up mostly of apartments and townhomes.
“I think it’s not hitting the mark,” she said.
Other concerns raised at the meeting focused on screening the development more from the larger-lot single-family homes nearby, as well as stormwater mitigation and traffic flow.
Past plans have fallen through at that site
In the past, the city of Overland Park had a firehouse on a portion of this site at 159th and Metcalf.
Overland Park previously approved a commercial shopping district and multifamily development plan for the site in 2008, but it never materialized despite a number of revised site plans.
Later, a portion of the property was rezoned to make way for more dense housing development, but the rezoning was eventually voided because the developer asked not to have it officially published.
Most recently, in 2023, a different developer brought a plan to build 906 housing units and 35,000 square feet of commercial space, but that rezoning proposal was also voided.
Next steps:
- The rezoning application heads to the Overland Park City Council for consideration next.
- It is scheduled for the May 5 meeting.
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