A redevelopment plan seeking to turn excess parking in the College Boulevard corridor into retail and apartments may be moving ahead after some key revisions following past rejections.
Price Brothers, an Overland Park-based developer, is seeking to convert unused extra parking at the Lighton Plaza office towers, at 7500 College Blvd., into a four-story apartment building and some neighboring retail space.
A previous version of the plan, which the Overland Park City Council soundly rejected last year, was more auto-centric, featuring retail that was geared primarily toward drive-thru restaurant users.
That old plan, city staff and the city council agreed, diverged too much from the city’s vision laid out for the College corridor in the new long-range development plan, as well as decades of planning for the area, which focuses on reimagining a tired office area with seas of unused parking into more lively, walkable environments.
The new proposal for Lighton Plaza includes roughly double the amount of retail space, planned to sit closer to College Boulevard as well as Conser and Marty avenues. These buildings would be primarily used for retail and sit-down restaurants, not drive-thrus.
On Monday, the Overland Park Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the revised rezoning application for the Lighton Plaza mixed-use project.
Commissioners were broadly complimentary of the changes proposed to the Lighton Plaza proposal, suggesting they see it as a possible precedent setter for future redevelopment efforts in the College corridor.
“I like this proposed development a lot more than what it was a few months ago,” Commissioner Kip Strauss said. “I think this is one of the first redevelopments along College Boulevard, so you have to kind of set the tone of what the city and the community envision for this corridor. This is that first step.”
Commissioners Jenna Reyes, Jameia Haines and Matt Masilionis were absent from the meeting.
160 apartments, retail proposed at Lighton Plaza
Several key components of the original plan remain, including plans to construct a four-story apartment building with 160 units and below-ground parking. Additionally, all of the existing office space — which spans almost 500,000 square feet — will remain untouched under this proposal.
But at the same time, several details are changing from the initial plan. For instance, the original plan proposed just 34,000 square feet of commercial space across two buildings. This version has more than 64,000 square feet of retail across four buildings.
Another key change is the zoning application itself. The 2025 version of the plan proposes splitting the 24 acres into three zoning classifications: higher-density residential, commercial and office.
Now, the site is set to be rezoned to mixed-use, which would allow all three uses to exist at the same time and potentially be more connected. (Though not the case in this proposal, mixed-use does allow retail and residential uses to be vertically stacked in one building, usually with ground-floor commercial space and upper-level apartments.)
Additionally, the developer is proposing more pedestrian access within the site and amenities, like landscaped walkways, crosswalks and open green spaces, which city planning staff have said aligns more closely with the College corridor’s prescribed future as a more pedestrian-friendly zone.
Overland Park has its sights set on remaking College corridor
Just west of Metcalf Avenue, the 7500 College Blvd. property is within a corridor that local officials have wanted to reinvent as the city moves away from the traditional office complexes that have served as the primary economic hub for the city and defined the area.
Under that framework, the idea would be to replace or reimagine aging office buildings and repurpose their unused parking lots with higher-density residential, retail, parks and other uses to serve employees who work in the hub and visitors.
This plan falls under the OP Central vision, which mirrors the city’s Vision Metcalf concept, which also sought to redefine the city’s economic backbone along the Metcalf corridor.
Plus, in the new comprehensive plan entitled Framework OP, the College corridor around Metcalf was given a unique character type called Regional Activity District, which was given to areas like downtown Overland Park that are ripe for more intense, mixed-use redevelopment.
“These areas can transform existing commercial areas into vertically mixed, walkable places that provide key nodes for future transit service and are regional destinations,” Framework OP reads. “Phasing of development over time may include infill on surface parking lots to frame the development, incorporating new uses that create a true mix of non-residential and residential, and increasing intensity in core areas of the site.”
The new Lighton Plaza plan is more in line with that vision than earlier applications, city staff and planning commissioners agreed.
“It tends to add a little bit of activity and revitalization for this section of College Boulevard,” said Commissioner Ned Reitzes. “I kind of view this area as sort of sleepy and in need of a boost, and I think this will provide that.”
Past versions of the redevelopment on College failed to advance
While reusing seas of unused parking around aging office complexes has been a priority for the city, as has adding housing units to meet a widening shortage, previous iterations of the Lighton Plaza redevelopment plan fell short. Both the planning commission and the city council had dealt blows to the project more than once, mainly because of that iteration’s bent toward auto-centric uses with the planned drive-thrus.
At the time, concerns centered primarily on how the inclusion of drive-thrus and other auto-centric commercial uses diverged from Overland Park’s other goals for this particular corridor. The city council even rejected an amended proposal last December; however, councilmembers were intrigued by the intent of the plan.
So, in a bid to streamline the process of bringing a Lighton Plaza redevelopment project back, the city council waived the typical six-month application waiting period that is typically applied to properties after failed rezonings. That effectively allowed Price Brothers to bring back this application just a few months after their rejection.
In a December meeting, some councilmembers pushed the developer to “think bigger.”
“We are eager to see this area get developed, but to be more consistent with our vision for the future,” Councilmember Inas Younis said.
Next steps:
- Now, the Lighton Plaza application heads to the city council for consideration.
- That body is expected to vote on the redevelopment project in the College corridor on Monday, April 6.
Keep reading: Overland Park wants to turn corporate College corridor into the city’s new center
