With neighbors furious, $55 million Johnson County development rejected on second try
With the developer unable to reach a compromise with neighbors, the Overland Park City Council rejected a $55 million apartment complex at the Ranch Mart South shopping center.
It was EPC Real Estate Group’s second attempt at advancing the project, which has led to a heated controversy with nearby homeowners over the past several months. At Monday night’s meeting, dozens of neighbors held up red signs showing their opposition, until the council eventually voted 9-2 to reject the plan.
Developers requested rezoning to build the apartment complex, which would require redeveloping a strip of deteriorating duplexes and revitalizing the 60-year-old shopping center, on the southeast corner of 95th Street and Mission Road. Last month, the Planning Commission voted 7-3 to approve a scaled back version, with 190 apartments, down from 210 in the previous proposal.
“This is a mountain of a building located directly behind our one-story ranch homes,” said nearby homeowner Eric Hernandez, who argued that the complex would cause more traffic congestion and harm the character of the neighborhood.
The City Council previously sent the project back to the Planning Commission, encouraging the developer to lower the height of the complex and work with neighbors to reach an agreement.
Austin Bradley, vice president of development for EPC, said the team attempted to meet residents’ demands by reducing the height of the complex by 1.5 stories, to five at the highest point. Developers also agreed to add more space between the apartments and neighborhoods.
He argued that the apartments — targeted toward older, but still active adults, ages 55 and up — would help bring new life to the shopping center at a time when retail is struggling nationwide. The project would sit on more than 11 acres at the center, which borders Leawood — home to Ranch Mart North —and sits kitty-corner to Prairie Village.
But many neighbors argued that developers did not adjust the proposal enough to fit the area. They wanted the complex to be no higher than existing buildings at Ranch Mart and said more units should be eliminated to keep the development further away from their homes.
Bradley said that developers shrunk the building as much as they could while ensuring it would still be financially viable.
Many council members agreed with the neighbors, arguing that the area was not suited for an apartment complex of that scale. Mayor Carl Gerlach said the project would fit better along the Metcalf Avenue corridor, which officials have visioned to have denser housing options.
“To me, it is out of the character of the neighborhood,” Councilman John Thompson said.
But Councilmen Jim Kite and Logan Heley, who supported the project, argued that as Overland Park grows, neighbors need to be prepared to welcome a more diverse housing stock. They warned that an unwillingness to compromise could stall growth in the city, which is lacking a variety of housing, especially affordable units.
They emphasized that Ranch Mart South is still in need of redevelopment.
“I hope and pray that the parties will come together and find something that will work there, and it’ll be in the spirit of cooperation,” Kite said.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 12:26 PM.
