Johnson County mega-development proposes new hotel, plus office, retail space
Prairiefire is back on the planning table as the developer of the project looks to add a hotel and additional retail spaces in the sprawling Overland Park mixed-use development.
After a five-and-a-half hour meeting that went over its allotted time, the Planning Commission ultimately approved the project, even though the developer wasn’t present for discussion.
The project, proposed by Fred Merrill Jr. in 2008, combines shopping, dining and a museum along 135th Street between Lamar and Nall avenues — a key Overland Park corridor. Over the years, the development has seen tenants pull out of the site’s buildings and it has struggled to generate enough revenue to meet its obligations under a controversial state incentive tax program.
Prairiefire came back to the Overland Park Planning Commission last April, when the commission approved the developer’s most recent proposal to add three buildings on the 61-acre site to house 367,465 square feet of retail space, 39,360 square feet of office space, 444 residential units, and a 90-room Hyatt Studios Hotel. No additional businesses have been named at this time.
But the developer made some changes to the plan and went back before the Planning Commission on Monday to request an additional 5,000 square feet for the hotel site and to increase the amount of rooms from 90 to 120.
The proposal would also move the hotel farther east on the property and consolidate what was going to be three buildings into two, Overland Park Director of Strategic Communications Meg Ralph said in an email.
“Other than the application is submitted within the Prairiefire development, this is not related to the STAR bonds,” Ralph said in her email.
Sales tax revenue bonds, or STAR bonds, are meant for exceptional tourist destinations that are expected to draw at least 30% of their visitors each year from more than 100 miles away. In return for taking on the project, developers get upfront money from the sale of STAR bonds that they can then repay through sales taxes generated by the project.
Overland Park issued $65 million in STAR bonds in 2012 for the Prairiefire development, but the project has struggled to pay the debt off. Last year, Prairiefire defaulted on paying $15 million by its maturity date, which was the first slice of the controversial tax incentive.
Staff recommended approving the revisions with some conditions — including contributing to the cost of the 135th Street and U.S. 69 Highway interchange project, building an external walking trail, and to contribute a portion of design and construction costs for any additional traffic control measures in the area.
The Planning Commission ulitmately approved the project 6-3, despite never hearing from the developer during the hearing.
Staff told commissioners that he agreed with the stipulations and that the commission’s rules don’t require the applicant to be present to make a decision, but commissioners Holly Streeter-Schaefer and Edward Reitzes said they voted against the project because they wanted to hear from the applicant before moving forward with the approval and attached stipulations.
The City Council will make the final decision based on the Planning Commission and staff’s recommendation on a later date.
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM.