The city of Westwood has bought more time for a new plan to emerge to repurpose the old Westwood View Elementary School property off Rainbow Boulevard.
Still, it remains to be seen whether some residents’ hopes the school site can become part of a larger park will come to fruition.
The Westwood City Council at a special meeting last week unanimously approved an extension to a purchase agreement with the Shawnee Mission School District that would have expired on Monday.
With the extension, the city now has until the fall to find an interested party willing to buy the old school, which the city insists it cannot afford on its own.
Located at 2511 W. 50th St., the Westwood View property was a key part of a now-defunct proposal for an office and retail development that included the school site, as well as Joe D. Dennis Park and an old church property just to the east.
The project put forward by Mission Woods-based Karbank Real Estate called for six new multi-story office buildings along Rainbow Boulevard and a new public park where the school currently sits.
That proposal hinged on Karbank buying Joe D. Dennis Park from the city, which planned to use those funds to buy the school for roughly $2.8 million.
But after 52% of Westwood voters rejected the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park in April, Karbank terminated its project.
Now, attention has turned to the old school property next door.
Westwood leaders want ideas for school property
Starting in 2023, the city and a group of residents opposed to the Karbank project went through a legal back-and-forth over the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park.
A resident-led protest petition eventually wound its way to the Kansas Court of Appeals, which sided with residents, spurring the city to put the controversial park sale up for the public vote.
Now, the same group of residents that led the “no” charge during the vote — Friends of Westwood Parkland — say the city should buy the old school and build a roughly 8-acre park across the entire area covering Joe D. Dennis Park, the former church site (which is now open green space) and the school property.
But Mayor David Waters has said the city lacks the funds to buy the school property and was relying on the cash from the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park to pay for purchasing the school to convert the land into a new park.
In a letter to residents after the April vote, Waters said the school district would continue to seek a buyer for the Westwood View property and the city “would have no control over that sale.”
At last week’s meeting, Councilmember Jason Hannaman said he believes extending the purchase agreement gives the city “some measure of control” back over what becomes of the school property.
Councilmembers Andrew Buckman and Jeff Harris echoed Hannaman’s comments, adding that extending the agreement is in the best interest of the community.
Still, no specific plan is now on the table. Councilmember Holly Wimer said she’d like to see any interested party bring “their best” ideas for the Westwood View site to the city.
Councilmember Harris added that he’s concerned about developers being “a little spooked” to submit any ideas for the site after the Karbank project got tied up in litigation and was ultimately scuttled. He also said he’s unsure about turning the entire 8 acres into a park.
“Unless there is a spectacularly well-funded plan, I am probably not interested in 8 acres of a park that takes it off the tax rolls essentially forever,” Harris said, adding that the thought of that land bringing in no revenue and costing the city money concerns him.
What do residents say?
Roughly a dozen residents gave public comment at Thursday’s city council meeting, most of them in support of an expanded park.
Lou Wetzel said he’d like to see the entire 8-acre block of land along Rainbow Boulevard between 50th and 51st streets be converted into one large park.
Friends of Westwood Parkland told the Post it has no specific recommendation for what to do with the 8-acre tract of land at this time.
The group’s website notes its efforts to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay off the city’s debt on the old church property along Rainbow, as well as efforts to bring together four cities — Westwood, Westwood Hills, Mission Woods and Fairway — to somehow buy the old school property.
In his April letter, Mayor Waters said that he had not “received formal feedback” from Westwood Hills or Mission Woods about the possibility of a joint partnership or raising funds for a new park.
Jeremy Morris, another resident who spoke Thursday, said he thinks his fellow residents want more green space and that can still happen with “a more modest development.”
Stephanie Becker, who said she’s lived in Westwood for nearly 20 years, was one of only a couple of speakers who said she supported the Karbank development.
Becker said she thinks moving ahead with a large park without the financial backing from the developer seems unsustainable and irresponsible.
“I feel a bit nervous speaking up because in this room — I might be in the minority — but I don’t believe I’m an outlier in the broader Westwood community,” Becker said. “I think there are many residents who care deeply about thoughtful development, financial responsibility, green space and inclusivity.”
Next steps:
The city council asked staff to draft a request for proposals to seek out interested partners on the purchase of the old Westwood View building.
The request for proposals will require any interested buyers to share their ideas for the former school site and prove their ability to pull off the idea, according to a May 30 city e-newsletter.
The Shawnee Mission district is moving forward with plans to demolish the former school building sometime this summer, Westwood city staff confirmed.
