Overland Park has paved the way for a larger hotel and fewer retail buildings in a future phase at the heart of the Prairiefire mixed-use complex.
Located on 135th Street between Nall and Metcalf avenues, Prairiefire is a mixed-use development with retail, entertainment and dining options that has thus far been built out in phases.
Last week, the Overland Park Planning Commission approved 6-3 a revised preliminary development plan for Prairiefire affecting some of the buildings planned toward the middle of the district.
What’s changing in the Prairiefire plan?
- In the original plan, three buildings were planned in the central part of the Prairiefire district: two for retail and one hotel.
- Now, one of the retail buildings is no longer part of the plan and the other retail building will be larger.
- Additionally, the hotel — which will be a Hyatt Studios Hotel — will also now be bigger, with enough space to accommodate 122 rooms instead of the original 90.
Prairiefire revision faced a procedural mix-up
Chair Kip Strauss as well as commissioners Holly Streeter-Schaefer and Ned Reitzes cast the dissenting votes on the Prairiefire plan. However, their objections hinged on a procedural issue, not on issues they had with the amended Prairiefire plan.
The item was initially presented near the beginning of last Monday’s meeting, but the applicant was absent, so the planning commission delayed voting. Toward the end of the meeting, the commission took the item back up and still decided to vote on it, though the representative for the applicant — who eventually did show up — had already departed by that point.
Before voting to advance the revised development plan, the commissioners who voted no said they wanted to hear from the applicant or their representative, which is a standard part of the planning commission process.
However, the majority of the commission wanted to move forward with the revised plan. Commissioner Matt Masilionis said he saw it as pretty straightforward, and moved to approve it.
Commissioners Thomas Robinett and Jameia Haines had been in attendance at last Monday’s meeting, but both of them had departed by the time the commission actually voted on the Prairiefire application.
Looking back on Prairefire:
Overland Park first approved the Prairiefire development plan in 2006, though it has been amended multiple times over the years. In fact, it was most recently amended about this time last year.
Today, it is home to several different brands focused on shopping, dining and entertainment — like Chicken N Pickle, Pinstripes Bistro with Bocce and Bowling, and Made in KC. It is all anchored by the Museum at Prairiefire, which specializes in natural history of the Kansas City area.
Though a lot of those options in Prairiefire are popular, the development — backed by Merrill Companies LLC — has faced some roadblocks. A recipient of nearly $65 million in Kansas Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds, Prairiefire missed a key repayment deadline in December 2023.
Still, there have been a few bright spots for Prairiefire in the past few years.
In early 2024, the College Baseball Hall of Fame announced it would locate its first permanent home in a wing of the Museum at Prairiefire previously used for traveling exhibits. The new museum — anticipated to open later this year — will showcase some of the greatest contributions to college baseball, as well as a rotating collection of memorabilia that the College Baseball Foundation has amassed over the years.
Next steps for Prairiefire:
- Each of those buildings affected by the revised Prairiefire plan will individually require a final development plan approval from the planning commission.
- Some details, such as parking, will need to be hammered out at that stage, according to city documents.
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