A $75 million redevelopment project of a decades-old city pool site is well underway in Roeland Park.
Moraine, the redevelopment formerly known as The Rocks, is on track to bring a 287-unit apartment complex and a 3,500-square foot restaurant to 48th Street and Roe Boulevard by the end of 2027.
EPC Real Estate Group broke ground on the redevelopment project in late 2025, with an original completion date estimated for spring 2028.
Austin Bradley, executive vice president with EPC Real Estate Group, told the Post in a Monday interview that the team came up with Moraine for the project because “it takes its name from natural stone and earth formation kind of built over time.”
“We thought it was, given the history of the site and all the rock on site, it was a fitting name for a community with a design rooted in natural materials and made to last,” Bradley said.
Decades before developers created Moraine, the new name of The Rocks redevelopment, the site served as the city’s swimming pool for approximately 35 years.
Here’s a look at what the site used to be — and where it’s headed.
A look at where the city pool got its name “The Caves”
The city pool, affectionately called “The Caves,” appears to have gotten its name from caves lining the interior of the pool.
Assistant City Administrator Jennifer Jones-Lacy told the Post in a Monday email that the city’s historical records show the Roeland Park Pool opened on Aug. 3, 1957.
It is unclear when exactly the pool at 4800 Roe Lane closed, but Jones-Lacy said the city estimates it was in about 1993.
That means for nearly four decades, the site previously known as The Rocks operated as the city’s swimming pool. Roeland Park’s current aquatic center is at 4843 Rosewood Drive, near the Roeland Park Community Center at 4850 Rosewood Drive.
An undated photo submitted by the city of Roeland Park shows the entrance fee for guests was $3.
“Only residents of Roeland Park with memberships will be admitted,” the sign reads. “Have your patches sewn on!”
Michael Steele, a former Fairway resident, wrote on Johnson County History’s webpage in 2007 that he frequented Roeland Park Pool and the caves from 1958 to 1979.
Steele recalled the patches in his 2007 comment.
“I still have the patches too and the suit,” Steele wrote. “Many great times at the pool, and my siblings and I walked all the way from Fairway to get there and cool down.”
The site remained untouched for years
For years, the site of the old pool and the caves remained vacant.
Since at least 2017, the city has tried to get the site ready for development by investing in its infrastructure, charging an ad hoc committee with exploring options for the site and developing marketing materials.
The city reported a lack of interest from developers in the site, specifically for the city’s vision that it could become a mixed-use redevelopment.
There was interest from high-end self-storage businesses, though those ideas were unaligned with the vision.
In 2021, years after signaling interest in the site, Sunflower Development Group LLC of Kansas City, Missouri, and the city entered a 120-day memorandum of understanding to develop the property.
That deal ultimately fizzled out, with the city and developer being unable to reach terms for a redevelopment project at the site.
In 2022, EPC Real Estate stepped in to take over the project.
A $75M project estimated for 2027 completion
In 2023, the Roeland Park City Council unanimously approved the final development plan for the $75 million mixed-use redevelopment project at The Rocks site.
The project calls for nearly 300 apartment units, 5% of which will be set aside as “affordable” for renters who make at or below 60% of the average median income in the Kansas City area.
A 3,500-square-foot restaurant, with possible outdoor dining space and a plaza, is also part of the plan.
Other amenities include a parking garage for residents and electric vehicle charging stations. EPC is also committed to $500,000 for public art as part of the agreement.
When the deal was finalized, the construction of the project was estimated to take place in 2024 and 2025. That was delayed because of the developer needing to finalize financing.
Construction kicked off in late 2025 and, at that time, the estimated completion date was in spring 2028.
Bradley told the Post on Monday that that was a conservative estimate, and the completion date looks more like the end of 2027 now.
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