Mission to add new townhomes downtown, joining wave of more multifamily options

A new townhome development will be expanding its footprint in downtown Mission thanks to a homeowner selling two single family homes for redevelopment.

The City Council recently approved the second phase of the Mission Vale Townhomes project, which would add nine new units at 5801 and 5805 Nall Avenue. Mission Vale Townhomes, which was built last year, is currently home to 19 townhome units on the southeast corner of W. 58th Terrace and Nall.

The first phase of the project saw “good luck” when it opened in the spring and has since been 100% occupied, Senior Planner Taylor Cunningham told the Planning Commission earlier this year.

“And the townhome renters seem to stay typically multi-years, so it’s really been a good project for us as well,” she said during the Planning Commission meeting.

The townhome expansion is the latest of several new multifamily projects coming to Mission — bringing almost 700 more housing units, new amenities and more retail to the northeast Johnson County city’s downtown corridor.

Scott Koenigsdorf, the owner of Koenig Building + Restoration and developer of the project, told the City Council this month that the seller of the two properties approached him for the redevelopment.

The nine additional units would be built on less than an acre of land on two lots that used to hold two single family homes — one a rental unit at 5801 Nall and the other a landscaping business at 5805 Nall, according to the staff report.

Each new unit will be two stories with two bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and a one-car garage, similar to the current Mission Vale units, and rent will be $2,400 to $2,500 per month.

Koenig Building + Restoration has since bought the properties and demolished the buildings, according to the staff report.

Downtown Mission’s growth

In the last year, the city has approved several multifamily housing projects — many of which aim to promote walkability and connectivity within its downtown corridor.

Along with the townhome expansion, at least three new, approved multifamily developments in Mission will bring almost 700 new housing units to the city.

Projects include the massive 307-unit multifamily development at the former J.C. Penney Call Center that’s sat untouched for nearly two decades. Mission Mayor Sollie Flora said at the time of approval that the project would activate a once “blighted parcel” and encourage future development.

The city is also waiting for construction permits for the Mission Beverly, a Milhause, 262-unit development that would be located at Martway and Beverly — just one block from Johnson Drive and downtown Mission and parallel to the Rock Creek trail.

Alongside the townhomes, construction began for the Mission Flats – a 77-unit multifamily development on 58th Street and Nall Avenue. The new downtown complex would be within a quarter of a mile of the transit station and “steps away from shops and restaurants,” according to the city’s website.

Cunningham told the City Council during its March 11 meeting that the townhome expansion would serve as a buffer between existing single-family home neighborhoods and the apartments and commercial areas a part of downtown Mission further south on Johnson Drive.

The new townhomes still have a few hurdles to overcome before construction begins. Cunningham told the Star that she anticipates that final plan approvals will be coming up possibly in early summer.