Council names Flaherty & Collins developer for downtown ‘lumberyard’ site after presentation

The Blue Springs City Council voted March 17 to designate Flaherty & Collins as the preferred developer for the city-owned lumberyard site, a roughly 3.5-acre block just west of the railroad south of Main Street. The council also authorized staff to negotiate a funding and development/performance agreement with the firm.

Why it matters: The lumberyard site sits immediately adjacent to downtown Main Street and is seen by city staff and the developer as a potential catalytic infill project to increase downtown residents and street-level activity.

Key points from the developer presentation and council discussion - Developer and team: Flaherty & Collins (development/management), David Wingerson (project contact), Michael Collins (property management), with architect Rob Welker and Hayfer/Hafer Welker (architecture). Presenters described the submission as conceptual and said they planned extensive community charrettes to refine design. - Project summary: Concept submission showed two primary buildings totaling about 210–212 multifamily units with roughly 5,000 sq ft of ground-floor commercial and approximately 8,000 sq ft of amenity space; the design emphasizes a five-story building fronting Main Street, ground-floor transparency, and pedestrian linkages to activate downtown. - Financials presented by the developer: total development cost ~ $57,000,000 (approx. $270,000 per unit), developer contribution roughly $36,000,000, and a gap/subsidy estimate of about $21,500,000 to reach a target return (figures described as conceptual). The developer noted potential public tools including land contribution, a 25-year 95% tax abatement (present value presented around $7,000,000), loans/grants, and city assistance to fill an estimated $12.5 million intermediate gap. - Timeline and operations: The developers projected a roughly 24-month construction period with phased openings beginning near month 18. They emphasized long-term ownership and local property management after stabilization. - Parking and retail questions: Council members raised parking adequacy (developer initially described 209 parking spaces that appear to include some on-street spaces; developers acknowledged on-street/street-front parking was part of the plan and said parking would be refined during negotiations) and commercial-space sizing (developers indicated the 5,000 sq ft figure was flexible and could be expanded with further negotiation).

Council action and next steps: Following the presentation, council voted by voice to adopt a resolution designating Flaherty & Collins as the developer and to authorize staff to negotiate funding and development/performance agreements. Staff told council the resolution would allow work to begin on detailed negotiations, public engagement and agreement drafting; council did not approve any financial incentives at this meeting.

Ending: The designation starts a formal negotiation phase; the developer said it will pursue detailed design work, community charrettes, and financing conversations with the city if council’s selection is confirmed by the negotiated agreement.