A new $50 million housing and parking development is planned for The Legends Outlets at the intersection of Parallel Parkway and Village West Parkway.
Described at a Unified Government Economic Development and Finance Standing Committee meeting Monday night, the new three-story development features 246 luxury market-rate apartments above it. There will be more than 400 parking spaces for the public to use. The apartments will have one and two bedrooms.
The new three-story development will be located to the west of the existing Legends Outlets parking garage on a 2.5-acre vacant parcel, according to George Brajkovic, UG director of economic development. There will be a bridge connection to the existing garage. To the south of it is the new Residence Inn hotel under construction.
The development team is EPC Real Estate, RED Legacy, KKR and Humphreys Architects. EPC also has done other projects in the metropolitan area, including Village at Mission Farms, Highlands Lodge near the Plaza, and Avenue 80 in Overland Park.
Brajkovic said some of the more recent multifamily housing in the area includes Delaware Heights, west on State Avenue; and Northpoint’s Village West Apartments, phase 1 which is completed, and phase 2 which is under construction.
Steve Coon of EPC Real Estate said the company introduced luxury high-density apartments to the Kansas City area. Its projects have three criteria, connectivity, proximity and walkability, he said.
The developments have many amenities and have access to transportation and to jobs, he said. Residents can walk to retail stores and parks or trails, according to Coon. It’s something very different from a suburban walk-up garden apartment, he added.
“We look for the ability to take the elevator down to the curb, take your dog for a walk, and enjoy it,” he said. The Legends Outlets is a highly walkable area, which is attractive to this sort of development.
He said EPC tries to make sure the architecture of the developments fits the neighborhood and its surroundings.
“With The Legends, we’re helping to bring an urban feel in a suburban location, which is a real opportunity,” Coon said. “Renters really like the urban environment a lot.”
This project proposes industrial revenue bonds with a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes and a 0 percent tax abatement, Brajkovic said. The one-year PILOT is projected to be $300,000, he said. The development is in the Piper school district.
Also, a six-tenth of one percent sales tax add-on would move the total sales tax to 9.975 percent in the community improvement district, he said. This sales tax add-on would include The Legends Outlets area, except for the movie theater and the CommunityAmerica Ballpark, which are owned by the UG, and excluding Sporting KC, Cabela’s and Nebraska Furniture Mart, he said. The CID district is from 110th Street to the east, excluding NFM, Sporting KC, the movie theater and baseball park.
While the project may be without any dedicated parking spaces, Brajkovic said at least one parking space per unit needs to be set aside for the apartments. With around 650 total spaces planned, about 400 of the spaces could be used by the public who are shopping at The Legends, he said.
Brajkovic felt that the CommunityAmerica Ballpark could be left out of the sales tax increase area, so that at some future date, more sales tax might be added on there to pay for improvements at the ballpark. The movie theater sales tax was not being raised, as it is just about ready to be put on the market, UG Administrator Doug Bach said.
The project is expected to return to a UG meeting in the future for more discussion.
When is the finished date for occupancy?