Lenexa CityCenter

missingkc · Post by **missingkc** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 9:25 pm

Posted on Wed, Apr. 02, 2003

City Center project clears another hurdle
By ANITRA ROWE
The Kansas City Star

At long last, Lenexa's City Center is out of the clouds and onto the printed page.

A concept for the high-density, New Urbanism-style development was approved by the Lenexa Planning Commission on Monday.

More than 1.1 million square feet of office and retail space and 1,000 residential units are proposed for 62 acres southwest of 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard.

Planning Director Roger Kroh said the concept presented was in the spirit of Vision 20/20, the strategic plan adopted by the Lenexa City Council in 1997. City officials have said they want the project the create what its name implies -- a new gathering place and center of activity for the community.

"This is the first of the steps needed to bring this project to fruition," Kroh said.

Phase 1 of the development is to be the south half of the entire City Center project and will be mostly residential with significant on-street parking. The second phase, to the north, will mix retail, office, civic and residential uses in four- to six-story buildings on four city blocks.

In these mixed-use areas, the bottom two building levels are for commercial and business use, while residential quarters will occupy the upper floors.

Also planned for both phases of City Center combined are four parking structures that would accommodate more than 3,700 vehicles.

Kroh said the architecture of City Center will closely resemble early artists renderings of the development, however, the plans still could change.

The city will use secondary developers for the residential component of the project, he said, but a construction company has not been chosen.

Haile Group, the project developer, will manage City Center's construction from ground breaking to finish. Kroh said it's possible dirt could start moving late this year, but is more likely in early 2004.

The concept plan approved Monday also proposes the following changes to Renner Boulevard: additional traffic lanes, narrower traffic lanes, and the construction of four circular "round-about" intersections.

Planning commissioners questioned the decision to use round-abouts and the difficulty of negotiating them.

"It'll be interesting to see how that works out," Commissioner Rod Hoffman said.

Commissioner Don Oppliger researched round-abouts in several U.S. cities. Like a revolving door at a mall entrance, Oppliger said round-abouts allow drivers to "zip through very quickly."

"I think we're going to see much more of this throughout the metro area," he said.

Kroh said City Center is a multiyear endeavor that will fill in as time passes. After considering inflation, he said City Center will be valued at $750 million when complete.

The Lenexa City Council must approve the plan on April 15 before construction can begin.

A companion project to City Center also was recommended for City Council approval by the commission on Monday.

City Center East is a 650,000-square-foot office, retail and hotel development on the southeast corner of 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard, directly east of the City Center development.

Commissioner Frank Weimer described City Center East as a "delightful and practical addition to City Center."

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sat Apr 05, 2003 12:05 am

Lenexa is doing what Town Center in Leawood should've done. I can already see valuations in South JoCo drop.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Sat Apr 05, 2003 11:25 am

Where is Good2Great...this is his baby.

phxcat · Post by **phxcat** » Sat Apr 05, 2003 3:18 pm

That's nice to see that they are moving ahead! I like the sounds of the City Center East, too, though I wonder if that will follow the same architectural principles, or if it will just be another business park.

Where has Good2Great been? There was a thread on another board about all thse new urbanisms planned in KC, but this wasn't mentioned, and this seems to be the only true new urbanism development out there right now.

Is there any news on Leawood town center? I thought people were talking before about them adding some buildings in the area.

missingkc · Post by **missingkc** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 7:50 pm

Posted on Wed, Apr. 23, 2003

Lenexa council introduced to City Center plans
By ANITRA ROWE
The Kansas City Star

Like the high hopes that sometimes accompany a blind date, the Lenexa City Council had a vision of what the Lenexa City Center would be.

Romantic dreams (of vistas, green space, integrated housing and distinctive structures) overshadowed warnings of imperfection (such as parking challenges, changing trends, slow economy).

Last week, the council and the plan met face to face for the first time. Bob Kramer of the Haile Group presented the high-density, new-urbanism development concept plan at the City Council meeting.

The council unanimously approved the plan at that April 15 session. And though it wasn't exactly love at first sight, amour is in the air.

The City Center plan proposes more than 1.1 million square feet of office and retail space and 1,000 residential units for 62 acres southwest of 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard.

Councilman Tom Nolte, an architect, voiced several concerns at the meeting. He said the original plan devoted much more space to dynamic features, such as vistas, and far less to parking. The concept shown Tuesday projects four parking structures that would accommodate more than 3,700 vehicles.

Councilman Dan Sullivan, also an architect, said in an interview that parking counts are always high in high-density developments, like the Country Club Plaza.

"I'm not at all concerned with the size of the garages or their location," Sullivan said.

Nolte also was concerned that phase one, the south half of the plan, mostly contains residential space. The second phase, to the north, is more varied, mixing retail, office, civic and residential uses in four- to six-story buildings on four city blocks.

The vision of City Center was to mix land uses throughout the development, Nolte said.

In an interview, City Administrator David Watkins said the primarily residential phase in the south is not detached from the action, with a golf course planned toward its west.

"Our developer has the same vision that all of the council members have," Watkins said.

Nolte agreed that in choosing the Haile Group, Lenexa hired the best developer for the job: "I would not change anyone in the equation."

However, he said Lenexa has taken many risks in infrastructure, consulting and land investment for City Center, and brings "things to the table that most developers have to fight for."

Nolte said his comments at the council meeting were meant to encourage the Haile Group to be diligent in its design work. The economy acts as a cloud over all major developments right now, he said, but Lenexa and the Haile Group must keep moving forward with City Center.

"We need to show progress," he said.

At the meeting, Councilwoman Diane Linver expressed enthusiasm for the project, but also joked, "I just hope it's done before I'm dead."

Planning Director Roger Kroh said it's possible dirt could start moving late this year, but is more likely in early 2004. A construction company has not been chosen. The Haile Group will manage City Center's construction from ground breaking to finish.

City Center is planned as a multiyear endeavor that will fill in as time passes.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint," Watkins said.

After considering inflation, City Center will be valued at $750 million when complete.

To reach Anitra Rowe, Neighborhood News reporter, call (816) 234-7725 or send e-mail to arowe@kcstar.com.

KCgridlock · Post by **KCgridlock** » Sat Apr 26, 2003 2:09 am

Good project, hope it materializes.

The project in Leawood will be much more dense than this, althogh not sure it will be desinged as well.

Good2Great · Post by **Good2Great** » Thu May 15, 2003 9:58 am

The plan is to have "SOMETHING" moving by year end. I'm no longer involved in the project aside from the arbitrary role of cheerleader. It appears the residential component will kick-off firts in conjunction with a new golf course coincidentally being developed immediately to the west of the property. Retail will follow (cross your fingers).

eliphar17 · Post by **eliphar17** » Sat May 17, 2003 3:06 pm

The Councilman Dan Sullivan mentioned in the article is my father, so if anyone has questions about this project, I'd be happy to relay them to him.

phxcat · Post by **phxcat** » Sat May 17, 2003 6:39 pm

Thats nice! This is an exciting project- keep us up to date!

TheDude · Post by **TheDude** » Thu May 22, 2003 3:39 pm

never happen; developers do not have the $$ to pull this off; especially in a down market. maybe 10 years from now when suburban sprawl finally moves west.

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Thu May 22, 2003 5:43 pm

TheDude wrote:never happen; developers do not have the $$ to pull this off; especially in a down market. maybe 10 years from now when suburban sprawl finally moves west.

Not only that, although New Urbanism gets lots of lip service, are there any sales figures here or elsewhere that show that people are flocking to these developments? New Village at Prairie Haven is so vacant that it might as well be a movie set, so I'm guessing that most people aren't buying this vision.

Post by **dangerboy** » Thu May 22, 2003 7:35 pm

Right now the KC area has 8 new urbanism projects (6 are currently under construction and are happening), so it seems that developers think there is market for it. In the current economy nothing gets built on speculative basis - if the developers and lenders didn't have faith in the concept then you wouldn't see dirt moving.

The larger developments are 15-20 year projects, so it's going to take a long time before they look hustling and bustling. Shoal Creek Valley alone is projected to have up to 60,000 residents when completed. The total population of all 8 projects could easily reach 100,000. And again, these things are happening, today.[/i]

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 3:20 pm

Will this project ever get off the ground? From the renderings, this project looks like the densest being done in the metro.

There is also this land use map floating around...I can't tell if this is part of the Renner Office complex or just the city center.

I cannot really what is going on as http://www.lenexacitycenter.com/index.html seems to show some affiliation to Florida-based Haile Group, but there are a number of other companies that seem to be involved. I am just unsure if Lenexa City Center's aim is to be a regional attraction (ala Zona Rosa) or just a neighborhood center. From the Haile development in Florida, it appeared to be just a neighborhood center with a town hall, housing, a few restaurants and salons and retail offices. I think this would be a great project if Lenexa builds just a neighborhood gathering place and keeps a low profile rather than trying to make some big splash and attract people from a 50-mile radius.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 10:47 pm

People were talking about this project in the Olathe Pointe thread so I thought I'd try to bring it back.

This new urban project, one of the most high profile in the metro, seems completely off the radar. It is also symbolic of Johnson County's seeming ignorance of new urbanism. While other parts of the metro seem to be building projects to embrace this style of design-- Jo Co just plugs right along with the big box and cul-de-sacs.

On the web site for Lenexa CC it stated that construction would begin in 2002 and could cost $500 M with a 10-15 year build-out. Maybe sucesses elsewhere in the metro will push Jo Co away from the lifestyle centers and big box and push Lenexa CC back in the driver's seat.

Post by **dangerboy** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 7:04 am

The Johnson County Sun recently ran an article about all of the city planners in Joco going to scope out Zona Rosa. They are hopeful that Zona's early and huge success will make market conditions more favorable to get Lenexa's project going, as well as others possible New Urban projects in their county.

But so far, this time Joco is lagging way behind the Northland and Eastern Jack in a new forefront in suburban development.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 12:58 am

Lenexa, Haile Group part ways on City Center

Lenexa and the Haile Group have severed their business relationship regarding development of the City Center project, City Administrator Eric Wade said Wednesday.

"We couldn't come to an agreement on how much equity the developer should have to put into the project," Wade said.

The disagreement involved about $20 million of the project's cost, he said.

Wade said he didn't think the split between the city and the Haile Group, based in Gainesville, Fla., was affected by former City Administrator David Watkins' departure in December 2003.

Lenexa hasn't paid the Haile Group anything for its work the past three years, Wade said. The city and the company both spent money working on the proposed development but did so on the contingency that the project be realized, he said.

In the past several years, several developers thoughout the country have built similar projects, Wade said. The city plans to talk with some of those developers, he said, though he declined to identify them.

"We continue to believe that the City Center is going to happen, that it's a viable project," he said.

Lenexa paid $9 million in mid-2002 for 62 acres at the southwest corner of 87th Street Parkway and Interstate 435 for the estimated $300 million project.

The project was envisioned to use "New Urbanism" to create an old-fashioned downtown in a suburb. New Urbanism embraces pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods whose residents can easily walk to work, shop and eat out.

In a release Wednesday, Wade said the current plan for City Center calls for 750,000 square feet of offices; 150,000 square feet of retail space, restaurants and other services; and a diverse mix of as many as 1,100 residential units for sale and rent.

Â© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.

Slappy the Wang · Post by **Slappy the Wang** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:20 am

The Haile Group was weak at best. I have no idea what direction this potential project will take, but departing from the Haile Group is very positive.

Haile was weakly funded and wasn't willing to invest in the project; primarily because they have nothing to invest.

Let's HOPE Lenexa can team up with a Development Design Group, Steiner, Rouse or someone who knows what the heck they're doing. The selection of the Haile Group stemmed from an existing relationship the former Lenexa City Planner had.

KCK · Post by **KCK** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 12:29 pm

This article is a month old, but since little news about the project has surfaced recently, I will post it.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 648738.htm
[quote]
Search begins for new City Center developer

By EUGENE SCOTT

The Kansas City Star

A month after breaking ties with the Lenexa City Center's former developers, city officials are searching for a new developer for the $300 million project.

Requests for qualifications will be available for the development community on Monday.

City Administrator Eric Wade said the city will contact local, regional and national developers that are experienced with mixed-use developments, have sufficient finances for the project and who share Lenexa's vision.

â€œI think it will be a very interesting time in the next couple of months to see what that response is,â€

GuyInLenexa · Post by **GuyInLenexa** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:25 pm

Although I think that this project is a better match for some other place in JOCO, it looks like the ball is starting to roll again.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 5725&rfi=6

Slappy the Wang · Post by **Slappy the Wang** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:49 am

I think they've allowed too much dust to settle on this project to get the desired quality of tenants originally envisioned. SERIOUS retailers/developers exploring the metro will be first considering KC Live, the Speedway and Zona Rosa way before ever finding Renner Blvd.

KCRag Forum