After years of talks, developers broke ground on phase one of a large multifamily residential development near 89th Street and Woodsonia Drive in Lenexa.
On Dec. 12, representatives with Oak IQ Investments and the City of Lenexa broke ground on The Reserve at Copper Creek, a project whose initial phase includes more than 289 apartments spread across eight buildings.
In talks for about a decade, the first phase of the project earned approval by the Lenexa City Council in 2024. In total, the plan will include more than 500 apartments spread across 15 buildings.
Kansas City-based Oak IQ is the developer and Copper Creek Investors LLC is the the owner of the project.
It is expected to be completed in 2027.
The project continues to expand development in western Lenexa
The entire project is planned for about 27 acres of undeveloped land located at the northwest corner of 89th Street and Woodsonia Drive, situated between Kansas Highway 7 and Black Hoof Park.
The development follows other new projects being developed in western Lenexa, like Canyon Ridge Apartments and Hedge Lane Residential.
The attraction to the area makes sense, as there’s more open land to build on, Oak IQ CEO Aaron Leatherdale told the Johnson County Post.
“With Lenexa City Center already kind of getting built out and being very dense there, we’re seeing a lot of people kind of move out this way,” he said.
The project offers variety of housing
With Johnson County facing a housing shortage, The Reserve at Copper Creek aims to add more units to the county’s housing supply, Leatherdale said.
The development features a mixture of smaller, manor-style building closer to single-family neighborhoods in the area, and expands to mid-rise and larger buildings as it gets closer to K-7 Highway.
Rent will range from $1,400 to $3,000, Leatherdale said.
“There’s units that are as large as 1,500 square feet, all the way down to 580-square-foot studio units. So there should be something for everyone,” he said.
The project faced opposition along the way
At the groundbreaking, representatives from Oak IQ and the City of Lenexa celebrated the start of the project through speeches and turning dirt over at the site.
“It’s always a really nice mark in time to acknowledge all the work that has gone into it to this point, and then just to see things starting to come out of the ground, it’s very exciting,” said Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers Sayers, adding that addressing housing needs is important for development in the area.
Over the past decade, the project experienced bumps in the road, including residents in nearby neighborhoods rallying against a previous proposed plan because of concerns about its density and the increased traffic it could create.
“It’s going to be a jam there, and it’s not going to be the pretty, natural resources that Lenexa has out there anymore. It’s going to be chaos out there,” said Dave Komar, a resident in WaterCrest Landing, at a meeting in 2021.
Even as the city council voted to approve the project in 2024, Councilmember Bill Nicks voiced his opposition for the project.
“I still think it’s too dense, and I don’t plan to support it,” he said.
Finally breaking ground was a relief, Leatherdale said.
“It’s been an exercise of patience,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to finally be moving forward.”
Go deeper: Lenexa site off K-7, eyed for development for years, will now see 500+ apartments
