Changes to a proposed redevelopment in a much-watched Overland Park corridor are not enough for city planning officials to support the project.
Overland Park-based developer Price Brothers wants to convert some excess parking lots at Lighton Plaza, 7500 College Blvd., into 160 apartment units and a smattering of retail with drive-thru restaurants.
The Overland Park City Council and the Overland Park Planning Commission have both previously expressed discomfort with the plan’s drive-thrus because that area of College has long been planned as an area to be remade into a more pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use environment.
After facing pushback from both bodies, the developer altered the plan, reducing the number of retail buildings and amending some of the proposed site layout, but those changes have proven insufficient.
Last week, the planning commission voted 7-3 to affirm its previous recommendation to reject the amended rezoning application tied to the project at Lighton Plaza. Commissioner Chris Staus was absent from the meeting.
The recommendation to reject the proposal is in line with the advice from city planning staff, who also had concerns with the drive-thrus. Keith Gooch, senior planner, also said the city would prefer to see the development feature more commercial and residential density.
What is proposed for Lighton Plaza?
The plan for Lighton Plaza is to convert some of the existing excess parking into other uses, which the city has previously highlighted as a priority, particularly for its aging office complexes that have seas of unused parking spots.
The developer has proposed a four-story apartment building with 160 units and some below-building parking. Additionally, instead of the previously proposed three retail buildings, there would now be just two located closer to College Boulevard, but they would still have enclosed drive-thru restaurants.
Existing multistory office buildings that span nearly 500,000 square feet would remain untouched.
To make way for that, some of the extra parking once intended for office users in the towers currently at the property would be rezoned into the RP-6 (Planned High-Rise Apartment District) and CP-2 (Planned General Business District) zoning designations.
Overland Park is prioritizing College corridor
The Lighton Plaza property, which sits on College Boulevard just west of Metcalf Avenue, falls within an area local officials are hoping to reinvent as the city backs away from the corporate office users that have historically defined the corridor.
The hope is to replace that with higher-density residential living, parks, pedestrian-focused amenities and the like to serve visitors and employees in the hub alike.
“We’ve spent a lot of time on this corridor thinking about how it can transition into the future,” Mayor Curt Skoog said during a recent Overland Park City Council meeting.
Called OP Central, this vision mirrors the concept long-mapped for Metcalf Avenue, which has served as the economic spine for the city and intersects with College Boulevard near Lighton Plaza.
Recently, the city has started putting money toward improving the walkability and bikeability in the area, and Overland Park also intends to move its city hall to the corridor in the next decade or so.
Commissioners say Lighton Plaza plan contradicts city goals
Even with the changes, several commissioners were still opposed to Price Brothers’ redevelopment plan for Lighton Plaza.
“For me, it’s the drive-thru; I just can’t get on board with that in this area,” Commissioner Kim Sorensen said.
At the same time, commissioners worried that allowing the drive-thrus proposed here would set a tone for the College Boulevard corridor that’s counter to the city’s goals for it.
“I do not believe that it matches the intent of our city’s goals,” Commissioner Jenna Reyes said, adding that she sees this as a good test case for how closely the city will adhere to its new long-range development plan. “It’s just a special area that requires special attention, in my mind.”
Reyes also said she worries that giving in now, and letting auto-heavy users develop along College Boulevard, will harm future efforts to make the corridor more walkable and doom that vision before it’s had a chance to take off.
“We have to have faith, and something has to set the tone,” she said. “If we don’t, this district will never change, and we’ll never move forward with what our goals are. … It’s just completely missing the mark for me.”
Commission Chair Kip Strauss shared similar thoughts, saying that “it’s really going to set the precedent for other locations along the corridor.”
On the other hand, Commissioners Matt Masilionis, Ned Reitzes and Thomas Robinett cast dissenting votes, preferring to let the project move forward as proposed.
“I like the development. I think it provides some good uses that’ll fit well into the development now,” Robinett said, voicing skepticism that this portion of Overland Park would ever be walkable. “This really looks to me more like an infill than a green space development, so I think I’m going to be in support of the project.”
In the past, Commissioners Jameia Haines and Holly Streeter-Schaefer had also supported the project, but seem to have changed their minds since the initial planning commission meeting in September.
Streeter-Schaefer and Haines both alluded to that at last week’s meeting. Streeter-Schaefer, in particular, said she likes the plan in theory but is concerned about rezoning a portion of the site to CP-2 since it could open the door to future, more intense auto-centric uses beyond just drive-thru restaurants.
Next steps:
- Now, the Lighton Plaza redevelopment project heads back to the city council.
- It is currently scheduled for the Dec. 1 meeting.
Keep reading: Overland Park wants to turn corporate College corridor into the city’s new center
