Overland Park-based engineering firm Black & Veatch cleared its first major hurdle toward redeveloping its headquarters to be a mixed-use walkable district with office, housing and retail.
The $1.12 billion project is one of the largest redevelopment projects the city has ever seen, and it falls within a key corridor Overland Park has identified as ripe for mixed-use projects. Plus, at roughly $280 million in requested public financing reimbursement and exemptions, it’s one of the largest incentive asks to ever come to the city.
On Wednesday, the Overland Park City Council Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee voted unanimously to advance the incentive application tied to the Overland Park Plaza II Redevelopment Project.
Members of the committee seemed excited about the prospect of the development. Councilmember Sam Passer compared its potential to Lenexa’s mixed-use City Center development, which has seen rapid development in the past decade.
“It is a gathering space that would really add a tremendous element to Overland Park,” he said. “I place tremendous value in that.”
Black & Veatch requests $280M in incentives for mixed-use plan
The vote this week is a key first step in establishing the incentives proposed for the redevelopment, which include a tax increment financing (or TIF) district covering the Black & Veatch property as well as neighboring properties.
The package of incentives would also include an overlapping special sales tax in the form of a 2% Community Improvement District and a sales tax exemption on construction materials.
All told, Black & Veatch is requesting roughly $280 million in incentives — $227.7 million from the TIF, $19.8 million from the CID and $39 million from the sales tax exemption delivered via economic development revenue bonds.
The request is larger than the $200 million incentive package Overland Park approved for the controversial $2 billion Brookridge Golf and Fitness mixed-use redevelopment that’s been slow to come to fruition near Interstate 435 and Antioch Road.
That amounts to about a quarter of public financing on the estimated $1.12 billion price tag for Black & Veatch’s portion of the redevelopment plan.
The preliminary plan, as proposed, would see to the development of a new 612,000-square-foot headquarters for Black & Veatch, the construction of nearly 400,000 more square feet of office space, nearly 1,900 residential units and a 160-room hotel. It also proposes 550,000 square feet of retail, nearly 6,000 new parking spots in structured garages and a public park.
It could also loop in vacant portions of the neighboring Galleria 115 development area as well as Nall Corporate Center, adding another estimated $425.5 million to the price tag.
Read more about the mixed-use plan and how the incentives work here.
Redevelopment falls in key Overland Park corridor
Located roughly around 115th Street and Lamar Avenue, the project falls within the city’s OP Central area — a strategic investment area in the city’s long-range plan that has historically been defined by large office users primarily around College Boulevard and Metcalf Avenue.
Over the past several years, the underutilization of office developments that have for decades served as the economic backbone of the city has been a chief concern. That was a key part of the discussion at the finance committee, with Assistant City Manager Jack Messer referring to the situation with office buildings in Overland Park as “a significant threat.”
With that in mind, city leaders have emphasized mixed-use redevelopment opportunities in that area as it looks to reinvent the corridor. Overland Park has also looked at walkability as a priority in the College and Metcalf area, something the Black & Veatch plan intends to deliver on, according to city documents.
In all, Council President Holly Grummert, who sits on the finance committee, said she thinks Black & Veatch’s plan for their headquarters redevelopment “really fits” with that vision.
“This is a unique place making opportunity,” she added.
Some concerns about the project proposal remain
While the vote was unanimous earlier this week, it’s not necessarily an indicator of easy passage ahead.
The bulk of the committee on Wednesday expressed some hesitation with the terms Black & Veatch has proposed, seemingly specifically held up with the fact that the firm is requesting 100% of the reimbursement increment in the TIF district when Overland Park policy usually caps at 90%.
Councilmember Melissa Cheatham suggested that if the city were to offer the full increment, then she’d like to see Black & Veatch foot the bill for developing the parkland the firm intends to donate to the city.
Additionally, some committee members said they wanted to see the firm make promises about sustainability and housing attainability, which would likely be handled during a subsequent redevelopment agreement.
Plus, as city staff pointed out, it is bizarre to receive an incentive application before a project has made it through the planning process. Black & Veatch only recently rezoning application for the property, which means all of that is still pending.
Next steps:
- Before anything else happens, the full city council will need to advance the preliminary plan and schedule a public hearing for establishing a redevelopment TIF district.
- Later, the TIF project plan, a redevelopment agreement and other details tied to the Black & Veatch mixed-use plans will come back to the finance committee and the city council for consideration.
- Additionally, the rezoning application is still pending.
- The exact timeline on all of this is unclear, but city documents suggest the project will be built out in phases.
Looking back: Black & Veatch wants to replace Overland Park HQ with new building that’s part of $1B+ mixed-use district
