October 9, 2019
Update 10/9/19 – Overland Park officials have struck an agreement with Sky Real Estate on new deadlines for the Metcalf Crossing mixed-use project. The developer is required to clear the vacant hotels off the site by Nov. 30, and redevelopment work must begin by February. The self-storage facility, which is slated to be built off Marty Lane, must be complete by December 2020, according to the source. The city council approved the new deadlines on Monday.
9/11/19 – Overland Park officials are becoming cautious of changes to the Metcalf Crossing mixed-use project. Since the original proposal was made more than a year ago, the size of the self-storage facility has grown to 114,000 square feet and the office to 14,250 square feet. The city council has voiced frustration over the direction of the proposal and this week balked at replacing the original retail components with a five-bay Charlie’s Car Wash. It delayed a decision on the development until Oct. 7, according to the source.
Council members appear unhappy that the plan is moving further from city’s desire for pedestrian-friendly, walkable areas. During a meeting on Monday, some officials voiced doubt that the office component would ever be built.
“I’m very, very, very disappointed,” councilmember David White said in addressing the developer. “I have absolutely no confidence the office will ever get built. I think you’re going to dumb it down and essentially going to put an industrial area right next to a residential area. That’s not what we promised those people.”