Westwood (pop. 1,500) has approved a transformational redevelopment plan that&#x92;s expected to create a hub for the northeast Johnson County suburb. </p><p>An expanded Woodside Racquet Club will anchor the development with 330 luxury apartments, a specialty supermarket and additional retail.</p><p>Blair Tanner of Los Angeles-based Tanner & White development is lining up financing for the $60 million Woodside Village project after the Westwood City Council unanimously approved the proposal last month. Once financing is completed, the developer must return to the city for one more review of the final plan.</p><p> The decision followed more than a year of sometimes contentious public hearings in a suburb known for its tidy homes and tree-lined streets.</p><p>&#x93;It was exhausting, the number of hearings we had, but it was rewarding for me,&#x94; Tanner said. &#x93;I&#x92;ve developed in West Hollywood, Venice and Santa Monica (in California), places that are notorious to deal with, and this was the most comprehensive review I&#x92;ve ever had.&#x94;</p><p>One of the bigger issues was its introduction of a large number of apartments to a community dominated by owner-occupied houses. But Chris Ross, chairman of the Westwood planning commission, said those concerns were largely eased after months of hearings that drew hundreds of residents. The project was unanimously endorsed by the commission.</p><p>&#x93;It&#x92;s all about quality,&#x94; Ross said. &#x93;The quality of the built environment is determined by how well we plan and maintain the development. </p><p>&#x93;I think (the criticism) has calmed down, and people believe the city and the developer want to do the right thing.&#x94;</p><p>And with rents averaging $1.40 a square foot, ranging from $1,100 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,900 for a three-bedroom, Tanner said Woodside Village will attract discerning tenants. He is targeting empty-nesters who want to remain in the Westwood area, as well as young professionals working at the nearby University of Kansas medical complex and the Country Club Plaza.</p><p>As part of their lease, residents will be members of Woodside Racquet Club. The club itself will be renovated with new tennis courts, an upgraded pool complex and a 40,000-square-foot addition to the clubhouse. </p><p>The entire development theme will be good health and fitness, Tanner said, and the first retail tenant will be a Green Acres Market.</p><p>The 12,000-square-foot grocery will offer natural and organic foods and be the second opened in the market by the Wichita-based chain, the other being in Briarcliff Village. A farmers market also is being planned across Rainbow Boulevard from the development next to Westwood City Hall. </p><p>Neighborhood retailers such as coffeehouses, restaurants and yogurt shops are being sought for the rest of the retail space, Tanner said.</p><p>The development will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The architect is Shear Adkins & Rockmore of Denver and Hufft Project of Kansas City. Lane4 Properties of Kansas City is a co-developer, and RED Brokerage of Kansas City is handling leasing.</p><p>Mayor Steve Stubbers said the Woodside Village development would give his community the equivalent of a downtown centered on 47th Place and Rainbow. A total of 35,000 square feet of retail, including the grocer, will be along Rainbow, and a traffic signal is planned for the intersection.</p><p>&#x93;Rainbow is our main drag, and this would be a real traffic stopper,&#x94; Stubbers said. &#x93;We could have high-class retail and restaurants and have a bit of a downtown feel in the heart of the city across from City Hall.&#x94;</p><p>The city has authorized up to $20 million in tax incentives over 20 years to subsidize the project, which is expected to be built in phases. Tanner said the first phase called for demolishing the Youthfront building at 4715 Rainbow and building 88 units of apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail, including the grocery store, beginning this fall.</p><p>The first phase is expected to take 14 to 16 months. The schedule for building the remaining phases has not been determined. The redevelopment plan also calls for the health club to continue operating throughout the renovation and expansion. All the new apartment buildings will be four stories, with retail on the ground floor along Rainbow.</p><p>Eventually, Tanner said, the development is expected to be expanded to two acres on the north side of County Line Road in Wyandotte County, but that plan has not been completed.</p><p>Stubbers said Westwood was not backing the project&#x92;s financing and was expected to receive about $150,000 annually in new tax revenues even with the incentives. The Shawnee Mission School District is not being tapped for any incentives, so it will receive the full taxable value of the new development.</p><p>Woodside Racquet Club also has an unusual relationship to the city. The facility was developed in the early 1970s by Don Tanner, Blair&#x92;s father, on land leased from the city. As part of the development plan, the current lease, which was to expire in 2051, will be extended 20 years.</p><p>Ross said much of the 10-acre property had been underused for years. He described that part of northeast Johnson County as a crossroads for the area.</p><p>&#x93;I think this is a great project at the right time at the right location,&#x94; he said. &#x93;It&#x92;s good for Westwood and the region. It fits Westwood&#x92;s comprehensive plan, and it revitalizes an underutilized part of the city.&#x94;