After years of waiting, construction could soon start at the much-watched and long-lamented Brookridge Golf Club redevelopment near Interstate 435 and Antioch Road.

That’s according to Grant Curtin, the lead developer of the project, who said Curtin Property Co. could be ready to break ground on the first of many phases of the project by the end of the year.

But, at the same time, the project has faced a series of false starts, including a groundbreaking celebration in 2023 that didn’t amount to any actual construction, recent difficulty getting through the city planning process and repeated milestone delays.

Still, Curtin insists the Brookridge project — now officially called Meridian — could be shovel-ready soon, with tentative plans to hold another groundbreaking ceremony in November with the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce.

How did we get here?

The $2 billion redevelopment at the roughly 200-acre Brookridge Golf Club near Antioch and I-435 was controversial from the start. When proposals first emerged more than a decade ago, neighbors pushed back against the more urban development pattern at a site that’s operated as a golf course for decades.

However, the Overland Park City Council did eventually approve a redevelopment plan with apartments, offices and retail. The city also went on to grant a $200 million public financing package.

Then, following the 2023 groundbreaking, not much happened aside from the state-backed traffic improvements around 103rd Street and Antioch and some pre-development activity.

It wasn’t long before Curtin requested to delay deadlines on some incentive timelines, followed shortly by more extensions. The city council granted more deadline extensions earlier this year, while also lamenting the state of the site and adding stricter terms to the arrangement.

At the time, Councilmember Holly Grummert voiced dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on what she likened to a “dirt pile.”

“It has been disappointing to see it not move forward,” she said in June. “We always hope for more from this project.”

In the background, Curtin Property Co. and its representatives insisted that the delays are beyond their control, pointing to issues getting private financing in the real estate market.

Brookridge construction might be about to start, but rezoning stalls

Curtin told the Overland Park City Council Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee last week that the company had secured all of its necessary private financing for the first building at Brookridge and finished all the steps required for a building permit.

That paves the way for a single mixed-use building. Called 510N in planning documents, this building is expected to have more than 300 apartment units and about 12,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and dining space, located to the southwest of the existing Brookridge clubhouse.

“We’re very excited to get going,” Curtin said. “I know it’s been a long road for all of us and appreciate everyone’s help getting to this point.”

He forecasted a roughly two-year construction window. If the project does break ground this year, then it’ll be ahead of the recently amended project schedule by more than six months. (The amended agreement puts the commencement deadline for the first building at July 31, 2027.)

Grummert, who has been open about her concerns with the project’s drawn-out timeline, said she was glad to get some “good news” about Brookridge.

“I think that is a step in the right direction,” she said.

But it’s not all smooth sailing.

In the background of all of this, a rezoning application for the full multiphase project seems to have hit a snag as it’s worked its way through the city’s planning process.

Originally scheduled to go to the Overland Park Planning Commission in July, the rezoning hearing has been delayed until at least January 2027.

During the October planning commission meeting, the developer requested yet another extension. Amy Grant, a representative for the project from the Polsinelli law firm, said there were “some significant engineering items” that still needed to be worked through.

What’s happening now at Brookridge?

Last week, the finance committee recommended approval of an agreement that allows incentive revenues to be used as collateral in a private lending arrangement with Capitol Federal Savings Bank.

That means in a situation where Curtin were to hypothetically default on its private loan, the bank would receive money the developer is supposed to get as reimbursement through the incentive district instead.

The arrangement requires the city’s approval and is not typical of big development projects that get public financing incentives in Overland Park, but it doesn’t subject the city to additional risk.

All that said, the arrangement still needs the approval of the full Overland Park City Council. That item is set to go to the city council for consideration in November.

Keep reading: Brookridge remains ‘dirt pile’ in Overland Park. Developer asks for extensions as key deadline looms