Battle over Olathe land sale escalates with new claims targeting school district
A developer suing Olathe Public Schools and the city of Olathe is now accusing the district of trying to sidestep their objections through a second backdoor deal that continues to show preferential treatment to another developer.
Cherry Park Properties LLC filed the suit in Johnson County District Court in March, then amended its complaint last week, alleging recent actions by the school board were not taken in good faith.
Cherry Park alleges it offered a higher purchase price for some land the school district was selling, but that their offer was ignored. Instead, developer Clay Blair, through his company CB Holdings, was shown preferential treatment, the suit claims.
The land being sold is near Lake Olathe on the north side of Lakeshore Drive and Cedar Niles Road. Cherry Park also owns a large swath of land nearby, where residential neighborhoods have been built.
Cherry Park says the city and school district were working together to use eminent domain to force an easement across its property, which sits near the school-owned land.
Cherry Park now alleges that after it sued in March, the district terminated its existing contract with Blair and his company CB Holdings.
The district then replaced it with a new agreement with 143rd Street Ventures, also controlled by Blair.
Olathe land deal
The new agreement with 143rd Street Ventures was approved 4-0 by the USD 233 Board of Education following an executive session at its April meeting. The amended suit claims the actions of the board that night violated Kansas’ open meetings law.
The amended petition also argues the new agreement is the same deal under a different name, and added 143rd Street Ventures to its list of defendants.
“The paper changed; the unlawful conduct did not,” the suit says.
Olathe Public Schools and the city of Olathe both declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Olathe land dispute
The land being sold by the school district is around 79 acres on the north side of Lakeshore Drive and Cedar Niles Road. The suit alleges the district entered into a contract in 2022 to sell the land for around $1.43 million to CB Holdings.
Cherry Park alleges its offer was worth around $1 million more than the offer from CB Holdings. The suit alleges the initial agreement with CB Holdings was not valid under terms defined by the school board, and says the district did not act in the best interest of taxpayers by ignoring a higher-value offer.
The suit frames the contract as a backroom real estate deal involving public land with a well-known developer. It details a history of real estate transactions between the district and Blair, dating back to 2011.
Also central to the amended petition is Cherry Park’s effort to stop an eminent domain filing by the city. The city seeks to condemn easements across Cherry Park’s property, which sits just east of the school land being sold, for a sewer extension project.
The suit says the project now primarily benefits Blair’s deal with the district instead of a future school. The facts presented to city leaders when eminent domain authority was approved have “materially changed,” the suit says.
Cherry Park is asking the court to block any eminent domain action and void underlying agreements between the district and Blair’s company.
