Mixed-use project proposed for downtown Overland Park
The Overland Park City Council on Monday got the ball rolling for a residential and office redevelopment project in downtown.
The council unanimously approved a redevelopment district for the proposed mixed-use project intended for 79th and Conser streets in downtown Overland Park. The creation of a redevelopment district makes a project eligible for tax increment financing, otherwise known as TIF.
The proposed mixed-use project, InterUrban Lofts, will feature high-end multi-residential units, office space and an underground parking garage, all with a modern design.
It will require the demolition of two houses.
Total cost for the project is anticipated to be between $9.5 million and $10 million.
The project is set to have 41 multi-family units and 6,715 square feet of office space.
The parking garage will have 53 spots. There also will be angled parking along Conser.
Amenities will include everything from thermostats that can be programed via a smartphone to an outdoor fire pit with lounges and a television.
Developers hope the project’s success, should the council eventually approve it, will spark economic redevelopment in the area, by bringing in more retail and residential living.
“I think downtown Overland Park is the only true urban area in Johnson County,” said the developer, Hal Shapiro of REAL Property Group. “I feel like I’m going to be a part of this community for a long time. I think the next twenty years of downtown Overland Park looks better than the last twenty and I want to be a part of that change.”
He said his project deserves a TIF because the nature of the building, with its underground parking structure, makes it extremely expensive, from a construction and utility standpoint.
Although there will be many more steps before the council will vote on whether to grant the project a TIF, a few council members expressed intrigue in the building’s unusual design and appeared optimistic about its potential.
“Thank you for our interest in downtown Overland Park,” Councilman Fred Spears told Shapiro. “It’s becoming more and more revitalized and that’s exciting to see.”
Also Monday, City Manager Bill Ebel presented the proposed 2016 budget at the council’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
“The city’s financial situation is fairly stable and slightly improving,” he told the council. “We are in a better position now than we were a year before and we will continue to get better.”
The total proposed budget is $260 million, including $118 million to fund annual operations.
There will be no change to the city’s mill levy.
The proposed budget reveals an emphasis on preservation and rehabilitation of city streets. Funding for street maintenance is recommended to increase from $11.3 million in the 2015 adopted budget to $12.23 million in 2016.
The budget also recommends adding 8.62 full-time equivalent positions, which also includes the reduction of pool staff with the closure of Roe Pool at the end of the 2015 season.
The recommended additional positions include a police officer, a dispatch supervisor, a full-time infrastructure specialist to maintain the city’s fiber optic network, and a customer service representative for the city’s new rental licensing program.
The budget also recommends adding an assistant city attorney, to help accommodate the current workload in the legal department and spread out duties.
Ebel said the proposed budget also reflects a significant increase to the Fire Department’s operating budget, which is largely due to the addition of a $2.2 million contract with the city of Merriam to operate fire and emergency medical services for their city. Eighteen Merriam Fire Department employees have been converted to Overland Park employees.
Excluding the Merriam contract, the Fire Department’s operating budget increased by 4 percent.
The proposed budget is not set in stone just yet, emphasized Ebel, it is merely a starting point for discussion. Council members will review and revise the budget during Goal Area Committee meetings later this month.
A public hearing on the 2016 budget is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 3, with adoption of the budget scheduled for Aug. 17.
This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Mixed-use project proposed for downtown Overland Park."