UG changes direction on Indian Springs development

Commission looks at business park, light industrial development on south side of shopping center

Years after pursuing retail development for Indian Springs, on Monday night Unified Government officials set a new course for a business park and light industrial development to be built on the south end of the complex.

Some sort of retail development, such as a grocery store and other businesses, may still be in the plans for the north side of the shopping center complex at 47th and State Avenue, according to officials, although they said they would not be locked into any plans yet for that part of Indian Springs. Officials are hoping the business development on the south end of the shopping center will spark development on the north end and also at other sites nearby on State Avenue.

An Indian Springs retail development similar to the grocery store and retail businesses at the Prescott Center at 18th and I-70 was suggested by developers, although there are as yet no actual commitments for retail there.

The business park idea represents a change from about a year ago, when UG leaders said it was worth waiting for the right retail development for Indian Springs, and had expected retail development along with mixed use. Earlier redevelopment ideas had included some mixed-use proposals such as office space plus retail.

The old Indian Springs mall, on 60 acres at the prime real estate location of I-635 near I-70 in Kansas City, Kan., was torn down during the past year. Former owners of the mall had also changed it into a business park concept in its later years.

Hunter Harris of Lane 4 Property Group presented the plan to the UG Economic Development and Finance Committee Monday night. He said for 2.5 years he had worked on the project, observed the retail market, and met with retailers.

“The writing became very clear late this summer,” Harris said. “It became very clear to us, in speaking to some of these retailers, that it lacked for some of the daytime populations and the jobs located at this site, in order to sustain many of those business models.

“Getting activity on the site, getting a project going, getting the community excited about this area, was very important,” Harris said. The business park on the south side has several advantages. “It provided for the jobs that we needed, the daytime population that we needed for many of these retailers, and it helped put pressure on the front half of this site.”

The grocery-anchored neighborhood retail development will not be a big box development, Harris said, and many of those big box developments are not being built anymore.

UG Administrator Doug Bach said that although 65,000 people live within a three-mile radius of Indian Springs, there was still difficulty in getting retailers to locate there.

He said Lane 4 has said that they can make a business park work there, but there is no guarantee that the business park will bring retail businesses at Indian Springs, although it may help. Bringing employees to the site would mean a certain number of persons there in the daytime, which may help to attract retail businesses, according to UG officials.

Marlon Goff of the UG economic development department said a flexible use concept will include a building that could have a sort of a retail showroom in the front, with storage or light industrial space in the back.

Indian Springs was being marketed to retailers about the same time that other old malls in Greater Kansas City, such as Metcalf South and Metro North, were being redeveloped and announcing new plans. Goff said retailers are weighing decisions about where to locate in an industry with small margins, which has continued to be pressured from online competition.

Bach said the UG has probably $20 million in expenses from Indian Springs. Demolition was around $2.5 million, he said. The UG paid $7.5 million for the shopping center years ago, according to officials, and the amount was litigated in an eminent domain case. There also were expenses to move some businesses and tenants out of Indian Springs.

Some of the UG commissioners and mayoral candidates in the past had made campaign statements about the redevelopment of Indian Springs. Many are up for re-election in August and November of this year.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum, at Monday’s meeting, thought it might be a good idea to bring health-related offices to Indian Springs. She would like retail opportunities offered on the north side and west side of the shopping center.

Commissioner Brian McKiernan said the Prescott Plaza has been very successful even though it doesn’t seem to have a large number of residences surrounding it.

In answer to a question from Commissioner Harold Johnson, Goff said there have been some direct overtures from businesses about this particular type of flex business park usage. Johnson said the project could be looked at as the start of further development around Indian Springs, including more development at Tower Plaza.

David Alvey said Indian Springs is a gateway spot, and the question is how long the UG can sustain not paying off the bonds.

“Can we assume that given one, two, three years, that the right mix of retail will come in, and if there is no evidence of that, we’re right back to what do we do,” Alvey said.

Commissioner Jane Philbrook said she cared a lot about what Indian Springs looks like.

“I want that to be a place where people look at and say, wow, something’s really happening there,” she said. It’s one of the few places where people drive north to get to the airport, and she would like to see people stop there, she said. She also said they need to get something going to get some momentum there.

Commissioner Jim Walters said he saw the value in having the industrial-business flex portion of it, if it is a means to an end, which is bigger than it could be without it.

“I see nothing on the east side of this plan that is in any way interesting to me,” Walters, an architect, said. It looks a lot like the 1960s development that is directly west that is underutilized and has struggled greatly in the past few decades, he said.

There is also underutilized retail directly east of I-635, as well, he said.

Walters said what would interest him was having something there that catches people’s eyes.

“I think it would be great if we would build a neighborhood there, to attract new residents who could live there, work there, dine there, have entertainment there, and make a real mixed-use residential neighborhood,” Walters said. “That’s much more difficult than parceling it up into development pads. If we actually wanted to do that, we might have to do the development, rather than contracting with a retail developer to do that.”

He hoped for something “with a vibe” that would attract young people to the community. “I hope we can look for something different, unique and a signature item for our community,” he said.

Commissioner Hal Walker said it wasn’t just the past few years that the UG was looking for retailers for Indian Springs. It has been several years before that, as well. In an earlier development attempt, the developer died before any of the plans could advance.

“Something happening there is better than what’s not happening there now,” Commissioner Walker said.

Lane 4 Property Group has a dual role. It was working in the role of marketing the center and finding retailers to locate there, and it also has an option to develop it. Now it will be working with a partner on developing a “flex-business park” for the south side of Indian Springs, according to UG officials.

According to a Lane 4 website, thenewmetcalf.com, Lane 4 was also developing a plan for the demolition and redevelopment of Metcalf South mall at 95th and Metcalf in Overland Park. In December 2016, the Overland Park City Council approved redevelopment plans calling for a Lowe’s home improvement store as the anchor at a redeveloped Metcalf South, and an additional 13 restaurants and retail shops there.

UG officials said they earlier held “three-on-three” meetings about Indian Springs with Lane 4 and three UG commissioners at a time. Those sessions were not open to the public.

Bach said, after the comments Monday night by the commissioners, that a business park concept plan will be started on the south side of the Indian Springs site. At some point Lane 4 will bring back a more detailed flex-business park plan for the south side of Indian Springs to the Economic Development and Finance Committee, he said.

For more details about the plans for Indian Springs, the UG meeting is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcFBtq8ySvI.

For earlier stories about Indian Springs, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/opinion-column-old-indian-springs-mall-holds-many-memories/
https://wyandotteonline.com/expectations-are-high-for-indian-springs-redevelopment/

https://wyandotteonline.com/mayor-emphasizes-long-term-vision-in-annual-state-of-government-speech/