A Mission apartment proposal off Metcalf has now doubled in scope, drawing rare and resounding opposition from residents.
Developers have told the city that they need to add hundreds more apartments to the Foxridge Apartments project on the former site of a JCPenney call center off Metcalf to make the project financially viable for lenders.
Located at 5665 Foxridge Drive, the plan now calls for three apartment buildings totaling about 650 units. The approved plan includes building a four-story apartment building on the site of a now-demolished call center.
The developer, Block Real Estate Services, wants to expand the plan to include a retrofitted 10-story office tower at 5700 Broadmoor and replace that office tower’s nearby parking structure with a new seven-story apartment building.
Before anything else can happen, the Mission City Council has tasked city planning commissioners to take another look at the updated proposal, which lies in a highly visible lot on the west side of town.
Last week, the city council unanimously remanded the item to the Mission Planning Commission to review the plan, this time with new traffic information the city council received on Sept. 16 and with the spirit of the city’s comprehensive plan in mind.
Initially, the Mission Planning Commission recommended denying the preliminary development plan, saying it failed to address traffic safety near the busy Metcalf corridor and also wasn’t in compliance with portions of the city’s comprehensive plan.
The entire conversation at the city council meeting can be viewed in the video below, starting at 1:49.
What does Block want to do?
Developers say the project, which can receive up to $14.8 million in tax increment financing, needs more density to become financially viable.
That’s why Block proposed the following additions to its original 307-unit, four-story plan:
- A retrofitted, 10-story Broadmoor Tower, turned into 176 apartment units
- A third, seven-story apartment building totaling 163 units to the immediate south of the Broadmoor Tower, where a parking structure currently exists.
Mission has added or approved a number of apartment projects around its downtown corridor in recent years, including The Lanes at Mission Bowl and Mission Flats.
Opposition to these developments has been rare, but Mission residents have come out to city meetings to show their displeasure with the expanding Foxridge proposal.
Some residents, like Kristina Hiner and Vanessa Ruperto, cited concerns that the project asks for too many deviations from the city’s comprehensive plan, as well as traffic safety for drivers on and near Metcalf Avenue.
For Ruperto, a Mission resident of at least 40 years, the original, smaller Foxridge plan seemed reasonable, and she acknowledges a need for more housing.
Still, the project expansion seems too much for her. In total, developers say the roughly 650-unit plan would bring an estimated 800 to 1,000 new residents to the area.
“More than doubling the project is extremely concerning for safety reasons, especially where it’s located,” Ruperto said.
The site’s history and why it doubled in scope
For more than a decade, the 1970s-era JCPenney call center sat vacant on the southeast corner of Foxridge Drive and 56th Street, near what can be a tricky intersection with Metcalf.
Over the past decade, a few proposals have sprung up, including a now-defunct senior living concept. Eventually, Block proposed its original Foxridge Apartments plan in 2022.
Nothing about that proposal changed until Block won a public financing deal last year for potentially up to $14.6 million.
In February, the developer returned to the city council with an updated proposal to build another several hundred apartment units and, as part of that, purchase 5700 Broadmoor, the 10-story office tower. (That revised plan also called for four-story townhomes, which are no longer part of the plan.)
Surrounding the area are other existing apartment complexes along Foxridge Drive, the busy Metcalf corridor to the west, a city park and single-family houses to the east, and the Johnson Drive retail corridor to the south.
Outstanding traffic, comprehensive plan concerns
Among the reasons the planning commission recommended denial of the preliminary development plan for the expanded Foxridge project were insufficiently addressed traffic concerns and the project’s failure to comply with the city’s comprehensive plan.
On Sept. 16, the Kansas Department of Transportation sent the city of Mission a letter stating it would no longer require the developer to receive the department’s authorization, called an access permit, to complete improvements to the intersection at 56th, Foxridge and Metcalf.
That’s because on Aug. 24, the same day as the planning commission meeting, the developer submitted an updated traffic impact study that removed any improvements to Metcalf to address impacts created by the new project. Namely, the poorer conditions created for southbound Metcalf traffic turning left onto 56th Street in the afternoon rush hour.
KDOT’s letter states no access permit is required for the development to move forward based on “a lack of evidence that the proposed mitigation measures would improve safety or performance of the 56th Street intersection.”
“This is not a statement on the safety or operation conditions of this intersection,” the letter read.
A full version of the letter can be read in the city council packet below, starting on page 351.
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Open in new tab Traffic safety is a major concern for residents like Dylon Sease, who told the city council on Sept. 16 that he is worried about the estimated 800 to 1,000 new residents the project will bring, coupled with the removal of Metcalf improvements from the plan.
Additionally, the planning commission determined the project fails to comply with the city’s comprehensive plan for various reasons, namely, a lack of mixed-use included in the project.
Will Block, vice president of development for Block, argued that despite no mixed-use portions included in the high-density development, the nearby Johnson Drive corridor accomplishes that requirement in the comprehensive plan.
Block said the Foxridge Apartments proposal captures the spirit of the plan through the creation of a vibrant pedestrian environment and the added density.
Council opts to remand to planning commission
The city council voted 8-0 to remand the preliminary development plan back to the planning commission to reconsider it based on “substantial new traffic safety information” and “greater considerations of” the project as it pertains to the city’s comprehensive plan.
Councilmember Debbie Kring, who has vocalized concerns over the number of apartment projects in the city for years, said, “This project is not for me.”
Councilmember Cheryl Carpenter-Davis said the residents who spoke against the project are raising the question of whether the project fits in the community. She said her residents are concerned about whether the west and east gateways will look the same, speaking to Mission Gateway.
That rang true for Kevin Moxley, a business owner in Mission, who said Mission Gateway is anchoring the east side of the city, and he wants something different on the west side of Mission.
“You’ve got one chance to get this right,” Moxley said on Sept. 16. “That is a failed development down there at the other end. This is different, OK. We don’t need monstrosities right here at Metcalf and Johnson Drive.”
As for other residents like Cathy Hare and Nora Moore who say they are concerned about how many apartment projects are coming to the city, Mayor Sollie Flora acknowledged the concerns that come with density. Still, Flora said there are positives to it, such as diversifying the tax base and bringing in residents to support small businesses.
Additionally, Flora said she worries “about the tone and tenor of our meetings and comments” about residents who live in apartments. She said that Mission is a welcoming community for everyone.
“I don’t think where you live in our community says anything about your worth as an individual, or what you may contribute to this community,” Flora said, prompting claps from some councilmembers in agreement.
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