$200 million development coming to Gardner, with homes, retail, hotels

Gardner snags big development

A $200 million development — containing three hotels, 367 single-family homes and 424 units of multi-family housing — is coming to the east side of Gardner. Stores, restaurants and offices also are part of the project.

The city has approved an agreement with Grata Development to develop the 262-acre site on the southeast corner of 175th Street and Interstate 35. The city annexed the property in September.

“This is a true example of a public-private partnership,” Mayor Steve Shute said in the city’s most recent newsletter. “We’ve firmly planted our flag on the east side of I-35, and we expect this project to be a catalyst for innumerable future wins for our residents’ quality of life and the entire region.”

The development agreement calls for the city to provide electric, water and sewer improvements to serve the area. Grata will be responsible for natural gas service, a frontage road and all other infrastructure.

The company is to receive a 75% property tax abatement for 10 years on the multi-family part of the project, but will make some payments in lieu of taxes. Grata also will be reimbursed for $11 million in eligible infrastructure costs from an extra 1% sales tax to be collected through a Community Improvement District in the commercial areas of the project.

And $8 million from the sales tax may be available to reimburse Grata for eligible costs related to the anchor tenant.

The sales tax will be collected only the commercial areas of the Grata project, not citywide.

Survey focuses on uses for current courthouse land

A few more days remain for Johnson County residents to react to concepts being developed for the land on which the current county courthouse sits in Olathe.

The county is building a new courthouse across Santa Fe Street north of the existing building. Once that opens, the old courthouse will be torn down and replaced by an open space called the Johnson County Square.

Three design concepts have been proposed with different amenities such as an outdoor ice-skating area, dog park, water feature, splash pad, outdoor classroom and art garden.

All scenarios include a children’s play area, a community green, gathering spaces and a modern-looking multi-use structure.

The survey, the second one created for the County Square project, will be posted through Dec. 20 at www.surveymonkey.com/r/JoCoSquare2. It asks about parking, which concept is preferred and which amenities are most important.

Award recognizes voter-turnout effort

Lindsay Behgam is the 2019 recipient of the Making Democracy Work Award given by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County. She leads the MainStream Education Foundation’s Voter to Voter program, a nonpartisan initiative designed to increase voter turnout.

Under the program, Voter Ambassadors encourage 10 friends, family members or coworkers to vote.

Using the program’s online tool to access public voter data, ambassadors can track their friends’ progress through registration and voting — guiding people along the way and helping them address any obstacles they encounter.

Political parties use similar online tools to get out the vote.

“What sets ours apart is that we are nonpartisan,” Behgam, of Kansas City, Kansas, said during an award ceremony held in Prairie Village. “We believe in the power of anyone who feels voting is important to have access to the same data that candidates and campaigns are using to make an impact in their communities.”

Statistics underscored the program’s effectiveness in its first year, the league said. In the November 2018 election, 56% of registered Kansas voters cast a ballot, but turnout was 82% among the 5,500 voters connected to Voter to Voter. Among infrequent voters, turnout was 33% statewide and 75% for those connected to Voter to Voter.

Olathe East, Wolf Springs awarded in science contest

Olathe East High School placed second in the Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains competition, earning the school $25,000 for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)-related initiatives.

The annual contest has students from various schools submitting concepts for interactive exhibits that could be created for Science City at Union Station. A carnival-themed exhibit from Tonganoxie Middle School won the grand prize — $50,000 in grant money and the opportunity to work with the Burns & McDonnell engineering firm to transform the idea into a real, $1 million exhibit.

All 20 finalists were guaranteed at least $2,500 in grant money, but the top five received more. Olathe East’s submission was “Color and Light District.”

The other Johnson County entry finishing in the top five was “Puzzling Patterns” from Wolf Springs Elementary School in the Blue Valley School District. Wolf Springs earned $20,000 by placing third.

JoCo taking building permits online

Starting on Jan. 6, Johnson County Government will issue building permits through an electronic process only.

The Planning & Building Codes Department launched a new software program in October that allows applications, plans, documents and inspection requests to be submitted online. The system also updates applicants on the process.

A Google Chrome or Firefox web browser is required to set up a free account at mygovernmentonline.org.

Runway replaced at Executive Airport

Johnson County has replaced the primary runway at its Executive Airport at a cost of $6 million. The ribbon-cutting took place in late November.

The 4,100-foot runway replaced one that had not been renovated in 25 years and had outlived its usefulness, the county said. Funding came from the Federal Aviation Administration and revenues from the Johnson County Airport Commission.

The Executive Airport, built for the Navy at 151st Street and Pflumm Road during World War II, was deeded to Olathe in 1951 and transferred to the county in 1967. With nearly 40,000 flight operations last year, the county said, it’s the fourth busiest airport in Kansas.

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 12:00 AM with the headline "$200 million development coming to Gardner, with homes, retail, hotels."