The 11 biggest projects in Johnson County in 2020: Homes, shops, entertainment, more
Across Johnson County, downtowns are being revived, shuttered shopping centers are poised to be reborn and public gathering spaces are getting modern face-lifts.
After a decade of economic recovery, these Kansas City suburbs have attracted billions of dollars worth of new development, accommodating the county’s booming workforce and population. Community leaders expect 2020 to kick off another decade of growth.
From downtown Olathe’s first big private redevelopment to the small town of Edgerton’s first commercial project, dozens of contemporary residential, business and community projects are underway. Developers promise some long-stalled projects, like Mission Gateway, will finally come to fruition in 2020. And other developments that have lagged for years due to neighborhood opposition, like the redevelopment of the Brookridge Golf Course, have now been granted approval to move forward.
New housing, entertainment complexes, sports amenities, library and community center buildings will change the face of Johnson County in 2020. Here are the 11 biggest projects to watch:
1. Overland Park sports complex
The development of a major sports arena in Overland Park is now on the fast track. Price Brothers Management plans to break ground on a $400 million hockey arena, multi-sports complex and retail hub at the Bluhawk site, at 159th Street and U.S. 69.
The project was greenlighted after the state of Kansas announced it would award it $66 million in STAR bonds — a major incentive program crucial to the financing of the venture. But that award jeopardizes prospects for a nearly identical project proposed 10 miles away in Olathe, where a developer also is seeking STAR bonds.
2. Johnson County Courthouse
By the end of 2020, Johnson County Courthouse staff and judges should start moving into the new gleaming, seven-story building in downtown Olathe.
Directly north of the existing courthouse, at Kansas Avenue and Santa Fe Street, crews completed construction on the exterior this past summer. The $193 million courthouse aims to avoid several problems at the current courthouse, by making the new building safer, easier to navigate and accessible to people with disabilities. The courthouse will include 28 courtrooms and has space to expand as the county’s population continues to grow.
Construction should be complete in the summer, with court staff moving in over the fall and winter. The new courthouse should be open to the public in 2021.
3. Downtown Olathe
Near the courthouse, after years of stagnant growth, Olathe is finally seeing its first new projects downtown.
Development company Milhaus plans to build a five-story, 228-unit apartment complex at the current downtown library site, at 201 E. Park St. The project has been praised as the first major private redevelopment project in the area. The Olathe City Council still needs to grant final approval for the apartment complex.
Meanwhile, the city already has plans for a new downtown library. Lane4 Property Group is planning a five-story, 70,000-square-foot, mixed-use building east of Olathe City Hall on Santa Fe Street. City officials hope the site, with a restaurant and office space, will be a community gathering space and help spur more development downtown.
4. Mission Gateway
Developers say 2020 will be the year residents see real progress at the long-stalled Mission Gateway project site, at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Roe Avenue.
It’s been 14 years since developer Tom Valenti bought and demolished Mission Mall. After several false starts, developers promise it’s finally time the $200 million project gets done. This past fall, crews worked on the 90,000-square-foot Cinergy Entertainment complex, with move theaters, a bowling alley, a zip line course and more.
Now developers said work is set to begin on a 40,000-square-foot food hall curated by celebrity chef Tom Colicchio. Construction is expected to begin within the first half of 2020. The food hall should include restaurants, shopping, entertainment, an art installation and rooftop gathering space.
Other plans for the 16-acre site include a 200-room Marriott Element hotel, 170 apartments, shops and offices.
5. Brookridge Golf Course redevelopment
Now that the Overland Park City Council has approved a controversial $200 million tax incentive deal for the redevelopment of the Brookridge Golf Course, crews could start moving dirt on the site in 2020.
The developer has several years to revamp the old course with luxury apartments, shops, restaurants and offices, northeast of Interstate 435 and Antioch Road. But now that the $2 billion project has made its way through City Hall, work could start on the first phase of the project, including road improvements at 103rd Street and Antioch Road.
6. Merriam Community Center
Johnson County’s latest community center should open by this summer.
Merriam will wrap up construction on its new $36 million fun palace, located across Ikea Way, east of Merriam City Hall and the police department. In 2017, voters approved the city issuing $24 million in bonds and implementing a 10-year, quarter-cent tax to pay for the project.
The community center includes an indoor aquatic center with four 25-yard lap lanes, slides, a lazy river and therapy pool. Outside, the center will have eight 25-meter lap lanes, two diving boards and water features. Other amenities include a gym, fitness center, classrooms, event spaces and art gallery.
7. Gardner’s $200M project
Gardner has been booming with new development, including the most recent announcement of a $200 million project on the east side of the city.
Grata Development is planning a 262-acre site on the southeast corner of 175th Street and Interstate 35 — land the city annexed in September. The project includes three hotels, 360 single-family homes, 420 apartments, restaurants, stores and offices. The developer can now move forward with City Council approval and tax incentives.
8. Downtown Overland Park
Downtown Overland Park’s modern revival will continue in 2020 with a ton of activity underway.
The city recently celebrated the latest addition to the $54 million Edison District: a food hall and entrepreneur incubator. And dozens of apartments have opened in the past year.
Avenue 80, a 220-unit apartment complex at 80th Street and Metcalf Avenue, will be followed up by Avenue 81, a 150-unit senior independent and assisted living project at 82nd Street. Offices and businesses should open in the coming months, and residents are still waiting for Topeka-based PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. to renovate a mid-century former gas station, at 8139 Metcalf Ave. Meanwhile, the city is working to improve Thompson Park.
9. Metcalf shopping center
A development company will begin revitalizing the shuttered Sears store in Overland Park .
New York-based Seritage Growth Properties — a spinoff of Sears that has been renovating its former stores across the country — has taken over the southeast corner of 97th Street and Metcalf Avenue. Plans for the 19-acre site include a 300-unit apartment complex, stores, restaurants, gas station and 350-stall parking garage on the land surrounding the former Sears store.
Seritage developer Jeff Martin said he also will revamp the Sears building but has not specified plans. The store anchored the southern end of Metcalf South Shopping Center and closed in September 2017. The rest of the mall was demolished, and that land is being separately redeveloped by Kansas City-based Lane4 Property Group.
10. Edgerton’s first commercial project
After growing by 4,500 employees, the tiny town of Edgerton will finally get its first commercial development.
The town in the southwest corner of Johnson County has attracted $1 billion in industrial development after opening Logistics Park Kansas City, but still has no restaurants or shopping. But now two developers plan to change that.
A $75 million complex is planned on 60 acres at the northwest corner of Homestead Lane and Interstate 35. The project should include a travel plaza with restaurants and three hotels. On the east side of Homestead Lane, a developer plans the industrial park’s first truck stop, as well as restaurants and hotels.
The developers could break ground in the spring.
11. Arboretum expansion
Unless concerned neighbors cause the project to stall, a $12.4 million expansion of the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens should make headway in 2020.
The project has won final approval from the city Planning Commission, but neighbors, who are concerned about noise and traffic, could submit a protest petition. Plans include adding a new visitors center, outdoor amphitheater, event spaces and parking at the venue, off U.S. 69 and 179th Street.
The expansion has been in the works for years, and the Arts and Recreation Foundation has raised around $7.5 million of its $10 million fundraising goal. Unless the City Council overturns the project’s approval, it should move forward this coming year.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
