Leawood council approves Holbrook North rezoning and begins TIF process for $760M mixed‑use project

The Leawood City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a rezoning and preliminary development plan for Holbrook North, a proposed 34.2‑acre mixed‑use project at the northwest corner of College Boulevard and State Line Road, and opened the requested incentive process by establishing a tax‑increment financing (TIF) district and approving the form of a memorandum of understanding with developer VanTrust.

The approved preliminary plan covers 11 buildings and, as presented to the council, would include roughly 1,482,000 square feet of new construction: three office buildings (about 850,000 square feet), two multifamily residential buildings (about 500,000 square feet and 400 units), a 145‑room, 65,000‑square‑foot hotel with an associated 10,000‑square‑foot event center, a 14,000‑square‑foot childcare center, roughly 16,000 square feet of retail and about 3,673 parking spaces in surface and structured parking. The developer said the first phase would include the headquarters building and associated infrastructure and that later phases would occur based on market demand.

The council first voted to grant height deviations needed for the proposal’s tallest buildings — including a proposed 12‑story, 200‑foot headquarters building (Building A) and two 10‑story multifamily buildings at about 120 feet — and then approved the rezoning from SD‑O (planned office) to MXD (mixed‑use development) and the preliminary development plan. The height deviations and the rezoning passed unanimously; the rezoning and plan were approved on an 8‑0 roll‑call vote.

Why it matters: VanTrust told the council the project is a potential headquarters relocation site for Lockton, a large Kansas City‑area insurance firm that said it is evaluating the site for a long‑term campus. City officials and the developer told council members the project would expand Leawood’s commercial tax base, add new housing and retail, and create trail connections to City Park and Leewolf Dog Park.

Design and density details Julie Hurley, the city planner who presented the plan to the governing body, told the council the full build‑out concept includes 11 buildings, structured and surface parking, and a mix of uses intended to activate the adjacent parkland. Hurley summarized project dimensions: Building A is shown as 444,000 square feet and 12 stories; Building B (a future headquarters expansion) as 258,000 square feet and eight stories; Building D as 274,000 square feet and 225 residential units; Building E as 225,000 square feet and 175 units; and Building K as a 155,000‑square‑foot, five‑story office building. Hurley also said the applicant is requesting deviations related to setbacks, floor‑area ratio (FAR) and height allowed under the city’s Land Development Ordinance (LDO).

The applicant’s FAR calculation (before discounts or bonuses) is roughly 0.76; the team requested a 0.45 FAR with bonuses and requested a 55% residential discount under LDO provisions. Hurley noted the plan proposes roughly 1,041,174 square feet of open space — about double the 30% open‑space requirement for MXD zoning — which provides the offsets the LDO uses when evaluating FAR bonuses.

Traffic and circulation VanTrust and its traffic consultants described off‑site and on‑site improvements to handle projected traffic. Judd Claussen of Phelps Engineering and Janelle Clayton of Merge Midwest explained planned improvements along State Line Road and College Boulevard: signal reinstallation and upgrades at the main driveway near 108th Street (a new signal at Drive B), new or lengthened turn lanes, and a second right‑turn lane from the I‑435 eastbound exit as part of phase 2. The consultants said they modeled peak flows and worked with KCMO, KDOT and MoDOT reviewers; they said signal timing and corridor coordination would be part of the final design.

Lockton and developer commitments Justin Duff, vice president of development with VanTrust, and Julie Gibson, chief marketing officer for Lockton, addressed the council. Duff described VanTrust’s prior projects in Leawood and said the firm intends the site to be a connected, walkable development that integrates with the park. “We want park visitors to come into the mixed‑use development and see that one of the trails could come across that and look up into that space and be interested in what’s up there,” Duff said. Julie Gibson told the council Lockton is evaluating the site for its future headquarters and called the location “a special site.”

Stormwater and flood risk: public concerns and staff response Several residents who live north of I‑435 told the council they already experience backyard flooding and asked whether Holbrook North would worsen it. City staff and the developer’s engineering team said multiple technical reviews reached the same conclusion: because of the watershed’s timing, the best option is to move stormwater from the site into Indian Creek earlier rather than detain it on site until the watershed’s later peak. David Lay of the city’s public works group summarized consultant conclusions: the site’s peak runoff occurs roughly 15 minutes after a storm, while the larger watershed peak occurs about 5–6 hours after the storm; the developer proposed an extended dry detention basin to treat the first flush but the consultants — including a study by Dr. McEnroe (retained by the developer), a review by Water Resource Solutions and modeling by Olson Associates — concluded that on this site detention would not reduce downstream peak flood elevations and could worsen timing during certain events.

Residents pressed for continued outreach and additional study. Nicholas Dixon, who said he reviewed the developer’s consultant report, quoted that report’s author, saying “detention of stormwater on the Holbrook North site would do nothing to mitigate flooding.” Other neighbors described frequent backyard flooding near the dog park and urged additional mitigation. City staff said Olson Associates is adding the development into its watershed model and that the city will continue public outreach through the stormwater committee and consider additional near‑term measures for neighborhood drainage where practical.

Council action on incentives and next steps Council members unanimously approved a motion to establish the TIF redevelopment area and held a related public hearing. Bond counsel Kevin Wimpey (Gilmore & Bell) and the city finance director reviewed the incentive package outlined in a nonbinding memorandum of understanding: a 20‑year TIF district for eligible public improvements, a community improvement district (CID) sales tax (statutory maximum 2% but city policy typically uses 1%), redirection of transient guest tax within the district, and use of industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) to allow sales‑tax‑exempt purchases for qualifying construction materials and equipment (a common municipal economic development tool). The document before the council covers project area 1 (the initial phase); a separate approval would be required for the project area 2 headquarters expansion if and when it proceeds.

City staff and the developer described the financing approach as pay‑as‑you‑go: the developer would privately finance construction and be reimbursed from increment and other revenue streams as those revenues are generated; the city would not assume issuer credit risk. The developer’s materials presented to council estimate the aggregate incentives across jurisdictions at about 16% of the total development cost before accounting for net new revenues to taxing jurisdictions; staff said that, once projected new revenues are included and the incentive flows are netted, the long‑term net incentive effect falls substantially (staff projected a net city incentive share that the city finance director estimated would be recovered by new revenue within the first decade after the TIF term ends under the developer’s pro‑forma assumptions).

Council approved the form of the memorandum of understanding unanimously and adopted the ordinance establishing the TIF district (8‑0). Staff said the next procedural steps include a planning commission finding that the TIF plan conforms with the comprehensive plan (planned for Oct. 28) and final hearings and ordinances in December if the council wishes to proceed: that package would include the TIF project plan, the CID ordinance, a development agreement and final authorizing documents for IRBs.

Votes at a glance - Height deviations for Buildings A, B, D and E (required by LDO): motion to approve carried unanimously (voice vote). Moved by Councilmember Melissa Phillip; second by Councilmember Gayed. - Rezoning and preliminary development plan (Planning Commission Case 73‑25): approved 8‑0 (roll call). Motion by Dr. Castor; second by Councilmember Sippel. - Ordinance establishing a TIF redevelopment district (KSA 12‑1770): adopted 8‑0 (roll call). - Form of memorandum of understanding (incentive framework): approved unanimously (voice vote). - Consent agenda items referenced during the meeting (selected): referral of a juvenile helmet ordinance to the Bike/Walk Committee (approved unanimously); resolution approving 2026 employee benefit plan documents and transferring remaining 2026 health‑insurance budget to a designated fund (approved unanimously); authorization for staff to execute an agreement with Burns & McDonnell for a preliminary engineering study related to the 130th Street corridor (approved unanimously); public works and parks staff reports accepted (voice votes).

What’s next Staff said the TIF project plan will go to the planning commission on Oct. 28; the council will consider required public hearings and final ordinances in December if council members choose to proceed. Staff also committed to continuing neighborhood outreach on stormwater and to forwarding questions and modeling results from Olson Associates and Water Resource Solutions to residents who requested additional technical meetings.

Short quote samples “[VanTrust] wants park visitors to come into the mixed‑use development and see that one of the trails could come across that and look up into that space,” VanTrust’s Justin Duff said. “This is a special site,” Julie Gibson, chief marketing officer for Lockton, told the council. “Detention of stormwater on the Holbrook North site would do nothing to mitigate flooding,” resident Nicholas Dixon said while quoting a technical memo from a consultant retained by the developer. “It’s best to get the water out into the creek before that peak flow comes through,” David Lay, public works staff, told the council when summarizing consultant findings on timing and detention.

Ending Council members praised VanTrust’s prior work in Leawood and emphasized continuing outreach and technical review on stormwater and traffic as the project advances toward final development agreements. The council’s approvals launch an incentive review and a multi‑month city staff process; if the full package of incentives and the development agreement are approved as anticipated, construction of the initial phase could begin in 2026, the developer told council.