Country Club Plaza sues Kansas City developer for $106,922 in back rent on offices

The Country Club Plaza is suing a longtime office tenant for $106,922 in back rent and possession of the space.

The Plaza filed suit on Aug. 25 against Legacy Venture West Development LLC, saying it owes back rent as of July 1 on 7,588 square feet of office space at 4717 Central St., and 2,187 square feet at 4705 Central.

But Legacy officials say they have withheld rent payments until the Plaza fixes some issues with the office space.

“Legacy has not been served nor has any knowledge of a lawsuit filed by the Plaza. We have been dealing with a toxic mold problem in the offices and have previously informed Plaza management that we will pay the rent we withheld once we have test results confirming that the mold has been remediated. We need to know that those vacated spaces are safe to re-occupy,” said Dave Claflin, vice president of development for Legacy Development, in a statement.

Plaza officials also issued a statement: “While we don’t comment on pending litigation, we can confirm that when removing wallpaper, the tenant discovered a concern. As the tenant is aware of, we immediately tested the space, remediated the situation and tested again to ensure there are no issues.”

Legacy Development was founded in 1995 and has since worked on more than 50 projects with more than 31 million square feet of commercial space in 14 states.

Area properties include the Legends Outlets Kansas City in Kansas City, Kansas; Liberty Commons in Liberty; Bellmont Promenade under development in Shawnee; Oak Park Crossing East in Overland Park; Oak Park Crossing West in Lenexa; Overland Crossing in south Overland Park under redevelopment; Truman’s Marketplace in Grandview; and Ward Parkway Center in south Kansas City.

It has been a Plaza tenant since 2001.