Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission backs PUD to convert vacant Kmart into Washburn Tech campus
Summary
The commission recommended approval of a PUD to allow redevelopment of a vacant Kmart at 2240 Northwest Tyler Street into a Washburn Tech campus, subject to four staff conditions; no public opposition was recorded at the hearing.
The Topeka Planning Commission recommended approval of a Planned Unit Development application to allow Washburn University to redevelop the vacant Kmart building at 2240 Northwest Tyler Street into a Washburn Tech campus.
Staff said the 8.3-acre site would be split into two areas: a 0.76-acre commercial pad and a 7.47-acre area for adaptive reuse of the former Kmart building as a vocational campus. Existing C-4 Commercial and I-1 Light Industrial zoning already allows many of the proposed educational uses, but the property owner requested PUD zoning to restrict allowable uses on the commercial pad and to place contingency language on a future sale.
Kevin Holland, again representing the applicant team, described the project as an infill, adaptive reuse project that reactivates a building vacant since 2016. Staff said neighborhood outreach produced two attendees who did not oppose the plan. Following a short discussion, commissioners voted to forward approval with staff's four conditions.
The motion passed on a roll call vote. If the governing body approves the PUD, Washburn Tech and the property owner will proceed to design and permitting under the terms of the approved master plan.
