A mixed-use project featuring several hundred apartments proposed in southern Overland Park can go ahead, but it looks a little different than originally planned.
Located near the southeastern corner of 159th Street and Metcalf Avenue, the project originally proposed more than 930 multifamily units, some civic space for community gathering and more than 20,000 square feet of commercial space.
However, after several conversations with neighbors who had opposed the project as initially presented, an attorney for Brad Oddo, the developer, took the unusual step of announcing several changes to the plan during a presentation at the Overland Park City Council meeting on Monday.
Chief among the project amendments is a reducing the height of the two mixed-use buildings with apartments by one story, effectively reducing the number of dwelling units and overall residential density of the project.
As a result, the modified plan will have fewer apartment units and parking spaces and the opportunity for more green space, said Curt Petersen, the developer’s attorney, in the meeting, noting those new exact numbers would need to be determined.
That change — though some councilmembers were uncomfortable with the suddenness and significance — addresses several of the concerns raised by neighbors over the past several months, including building height, fit with the established neighborhood and density.
In the end, the city council voted 10-2 to advance the rezoning on Monday, making way for the modified mixed-use project. Councilmembers Holly Grummert and Jeff Cox voted in dissent.
What is proposed at 159th and Metcalf?
- The project originally proposed 873 apartments, 62 brownstone units and 23,000 square feet of commercial space. The development will also include civic areas for gathering and public activities.
- However, with a reduction in height for the two mixed-use buildings — with apartment units and ground-level retail — from five stories to four stories, fewer apartments are planned.
- Petersen, the attorney for the developer, couldn’t say specifically what the new number of apartments is going to be.
“We want housing on Metcalf”
The majority of councilmembers who supported the project said they saw it as exactly the kind of development that Vision Metcalf — the long-range plan for the Metcalf corridor that emphasizes housing — has emphasized.
“We want housing on Metcalf, particularly, up against the street, not deep, set back in the middle of the property,” Councilmember Drew Mitrisin said.
(Petersen, the developer’s attorney, is Mitrisin’s brother-in-law.)
Councilmember Logan Heley was also supportive of the plan, emphasizing a community need for housing options. He said he would have supported the original plan with the additional units as well.
“This is Metcalf and 159th Street — these are two major thoroughfares,” he said. “If we can’t build a project like that at this location, that presents a challenge for us to meet the housing goals that we need for our city.”
Councilmember Melissa Cheatham applauded the “missing middle” housing options included in the project in the form of the brownstones.
Additionally, councilmembers were also pleased to see the lower-density, shorter brownstone buildings used to transition from the nearby single-family neighborhood to the higher-density, taller mixed-use buildings.
Neighbors were concerned about mixed-use plans
Over the past several months, neighbors from Overland Park and the nearby unincorporated community of Stilwell have expressed unease with the development as originally proposed. They’ve been vocal about their concerns with building heights, screening the site, traffic, stormwater and their beliefs that all of that will impact their quality of life.
They ultimately submitted a valid protest petition against the mixed-use plan following the Overland Park Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval earlier this year, which raised the threshold of approval needed from the city council to 10 votes instead of a simple majority.
However, on Monday, a few of the neighbors who spoke during the meeting indicated that they were more satisfied with the mixed-use plan now that the developer has promised to reduce the height of the two tallest buildings. Still, a few residents asked to have the project delayed until the developer could present a concrete plan showing these changes.
“I don’t see how you can … pass judgment on this particular plan when you don’t have a plan,” said Jim Swallow of Stilwell.
A couple of councilmembers were also showed discomfort with the fact that the developer announced the changes late in the process, saying they’d like to table the vote or send the item back to the planning commission. That ultimately led Council President Grummert to vote against it, calling it too “on the fly,” though she supported the mixed-use development at the corner of 159th and Metcalf.
Councilmember Cheatham, who voted for the project, said she hoped this type of sudden announcement in the middle of proceedings wouldn’t become a trend.
In the end, Councilmember Chris Newlin moved to approve the project, saying the compromises reached between the developer and neighbors are what put him “over the edge” in favor.
“I think this is the proper thing to do,” he said. “The right compromises were made.”
Past plans at site have fallen through
Currently, the site is zoned for commercial uses, with an existing plan proposing a Lowe’s store and other retail. That plan never materialized.
Later, attempts to rezone the property for residential uses were voided at the landowner’s request because they were tied to projects that were no longer feasible. That includes a 2023 plan to build about 900 housing units and 35,000 square feet of commercial space.
Jack Epps, a real estate attorney from the land ownership group, said he sees the current plan as “the best proposal that this land has had.”
In the past, the city of Overland Park had a firehouse on part of the site, which was decommissioned years ago.
Next steps:
- In order to lay out the changes that the developer promised and the city council subsequently stipulated as terms of the rezoning, the developer will be required to submit a revised preliminary development plan.
- That means the project will have to go before the planning commission.
- Then, the developer will have to submit a final development plan.
- If the project moves ahead as planned, then the developer will be required to plant landscaping and add promised screening to the site before building permits are issued.
Looking back: OP commission endorses plan for nearly 900 apartments on corner that’s seen proposals come and go before
