KC-area HOA fears subdivision of million-dollar homes would hurt property values

A group of Parkville homeowners is banding together to oppose a development that would bring new million-dollar homes to their backyard, raising concerns over property values.

The developer, Prime Development Land Company, LLC, plans to build around 50 single-family homes near 11900 North Crooked Road in Platte County.

The proposed development, dubbed The Hills at the National, would sit on 49 acres of land right behind The National subdivision, a luxury neighborhood with over 400 homes near a golf course of the same name. Homes in The National currently sell from anywhere between $500,000 and $2 million, according to an informal review of Zillow data.

While the project is nearly two years in the making, residents asked the city not to approve the developer’s requests to rezone the area and to annex some of the land into the city of Parkville.

“It’s being pushed down (homeowners) throat a little bit without, you know, good communication,” said Bob Lock, the president of The National’s homeowners association. “It’s a pretty cherished area that we live in.”

Lock, who was elected HOA president earlier this year but has lived in The National for 20-plus years, said some residents would like more of a say in matters of nearby development.

“They tried to reach out at the last second and say, ‘Here’s what it is,’” said Lock.

A spokesperson from Parkville said a project takes two to three months to move through its official planning process.

The Hills at The National

Clay Blair from Prime Development purchased the property for the new subdivision at an auction for an undisclosed amount in February of 2023.

Blair said a resident in The National first told him about the land up for auction and brought up the idea for his company, which is known for building Johnson County subdivisions such as Canyon Creek, to build in Parkville.

Blair, who lives in Johnson County, drove to the area and was charmed by the fact that the land was not flat, but was quite hilly. He told The Star he thought it would be a great, yet challenging, project to take on.

The proposed development is expected to include homes ranging in size, Blair said, including some similar in size to many in The National, some that are smaller and some that are larger than those in the nearby neighborhood. The developer is hoping the wooded, hilly area would be attractive to families who don’t want to live on flat land.

Like Blair’s other developments in Johnson County, he said he wants to preserve the majority of the area’s trees. Each home will have at least one tree in its yard.

Despite the HOA’s opposition, several residents in The National have voiced their support for the project, Blair said.

“Considerable interest in building new homes has come from, ironically, National residents who love their neighborhood,” said Blair.

Pushback over property values

Lock, the HOA president who previously served on Parkville’s Board of Aldermen, said that residents in his HOA are not opposed to any and all nearby development.

However, he said they want whatever pops up near their homes to be “done the right way.”.

He and others in The National HOA worry that the new subdivision’s homes will drive down his and his neighbors’ property values.

“You need to look at it from the standpoint of, ‘How does it enhance the community?’ as opposed to, ‘Oh yeah, let’s just throw another Burger King in on the corner,’” he said of his concerns with the proposed development.

Lock said many HOA members feel that they haven’t received adequate information about or a “true vision” of what the new subdivision would look like. They have questions about the size of the homes and if the builder is trusted in the Northland.

Blair said while he’s built homes mainly in the Johnson County area, his developments have won several awards for their beauty and structure.

HOA members have raised other concerns at city meetings about the development, including how it would affect nearby infrastructure and traffic. Since homes for The Hill at The National would not be on flat land, some fear the construction would cause drainage problems for the area.

The HOA also requested the city do a traffic impact study, but the city’s Public Works team said that one is not needed.

A good fit for Parkville?

Before the property went up for auction, 12 of the 49 acres now owned by Blair’s company used to belong to National residents, said Stephen Lachky, a spokesman for the city of Parkville.

“They relinquished that control four years ago, and that’s one of the risks of doing so,” said Lachky.

Despite pushback from some in the HOA, Lachky said the proposed development is “probably an ideal development” for a city like Parkville. The project would preserve more than 50% of the property’s greenery, including its trees, which was a concern for residents.

Lachky said the new subdivision has the appropriate spacing between homes, instead of stacking homes on top of each other. The plan by Prime also aligns with the city of Parkville’s 2040 master plan in terms of the character of property and land parcels.

“The [city] staff, we’ve done our best during the various city meetings to cover all these topics and all their concerns,” said Lachky.

He said, ironically, their concerns mirror those of the residents in the area before The National subdivision was developed in 1998.

Before The National Golf Course, there was another golf course on the land. Over the next 20-something years, the developer of The National continued to add onto the subdivision well into the early 2000s.

Part of The National subdivision also chose to self-annex into the city of Parkville to benefit from city services like first responders, nature preservation requirements and best management practices.

Next steps

Blair said his original intent for The Hills at The National was to be a part of The National neighborhood or at least to be able to share the use of some resources like the road leading into the subdivision.

“I want to have a good relationship with the people,” Blair said. “We’re going to build a good product.”

Prime offered to purchase a 20-foot easement between the properties and asked to use National Drive as a way to access the new subdivision, but the HOA declined both requests. Now, Prime hopes to find a different way for future residents to get to the subdivision by using Crooked Road as their access point.

The city requires staff to recommend approval from both the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the Board of Aldermen.

As of now, the Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of Prime’s proposed development. The Board of Aldermen will consider the Voluntary Annexation Petition and applications for rezoning and final platting in August.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said Tom Watson developed The National neighborhood and is a Parkville native. Watson designed The National golf course, not the luxury subdivision, and is from the Kansas City area but not Parkville specifically.

This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.