Shawnee Mission schools eye city developments for aquatics, wellness centers

A new state-of-the-art aquatics center approved by voters for the Shawnee Mission School District is still in the planning stages, but questions have arisen again as to where it might be located.

The school district has been in discussions with the city of Lenexa about building the center at its City Center development near 87^th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. But at a recent meeting with the Overland Park City Council, the lawyer for developers of the former Brookridge County Club said they are also contending for the center.

Developers are in serious talks to provide some space for the school in the mixed-use development near 103^rd Street and Antioch Road, possibly for the aquatics center and a wellness center for district employees, the attorney told the council.

Officials at the school district did not directly confirm that Brookridge is an option for the aquatics center. But a spokeswoman did acknowledge that the district has been seeking a partnership with the developers.

“Shawnee Mission School District administrators have met with the Brookridge developers and Overland Park city representatives throughout the development and planning process to discuss the project and how the school district might be included as a partner,” district spokeswoman Leigh Anne Neal said in an emailed response to questions about the center.

“No specific agreements have been reached and those discussions continue,” Neal said.

In a statement, Shawnee Mission School District Superintendent Jim Hinson said, “School leaders have been engaged in discussion with developers of the Brookridge project regarding potential areas for partnership that would benefit students and staff while enhancing the overall project. Throughout the planning and development process, developers have invited the school district into the conversation. While no formal agreements have been reached, discussion has included components that would support the district’s goals related to performing arts education and wellness.”

Talks are still ongoing with the city of Lenexa, Neal said.

Lenexa Mayor Mike Boehm said he was unaware of any hitches in talks with the school district. The city offered to give land in the median of 87^th Street Parkway for the center, saying it would help make the center a destination, boosting restaurant and hotel business nearby.

Many details need to be worked out before the agreement is final, Boehm said. The city is currently waiting on a study, paid for by the school district, to determine how much and what type of parking would be appropriate for the center, he said.

Brookridge developer Chris Curtin of Curtin Property Company said in an email that his company wants a partnership with the school district.

“We’re energized around what a potential partnership can mean,　not just for　this project, but for both Overland Park and Johnson County,” Curtin said. “The potential combination of a world-class Aquatics Center unlike anything we currently have, combined with a Wellness Center and　(Performance) Arts Center, could create something very unique in this region,” Curtin said.

The aquatics center is planned because none of the high schools have big enough pools to hold large regional meets. The center would feature a 50-meter competition pool and diving wells and would be used by all five high schools in the district.

The Brookridge site would be the third considered since voters approved the aquatics center as part of a $223 million bond issue early this year. Shawnee Mission South High School was the first location the district publicly considered. That proposal became controversial with some parents who worried it would affect the school’s outdoor Environmental Science Laboratory.

Lenexa entered the conversation in July, when Shawnee Mission Superintendent Jim Hinson announced that the city offered space in the City Center, a mixed-use development that includes a community center, apartments, retail and office space.

The district and the city have continued to talk since then, but no formal agreement has been reached.

Brookridge came up as a possibility during a meeting last week with Overland Park City Council members about the particulars of that development. Although final details of that development plan are still being worked out, it will be large and dense, including more than 2,000 multi-family living units, a park, office and retail space and a performance venue and hotel.

A representative from Curtin Properties mentioned that the developers may include some space for use by the Shawnee Mission schools, including a wellness and aquatic center.

The school district is considering adding wellness clinics for its employees and their families, said Neal. No details on the clinics have been formalized, however.

The Shawnee Mission school board has recently scrutinized public financing for two large developments — Brookridge and Meadowbrook in Prairie Village. Both times, the board decided not to oppose a tax increment financing districts. In the Meadowbrook case, the district came away with an agreement that the county park district would be a partner, perhaps by providing an environmental lab at the park.

The district has been talking about a partnership with Brookridge developers from the beginning, said Neal. She said there was no negotiation with the district regarding support of the TIF district.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Shawnee Mission schools eye city developments for aquatics, wellness centers."