Olathe council approves MOU with Johnson County and authorizes City Hall parking garage project

The Olathe City Council on Tuesday approved an interlocal cooperative agreement with Johnson County and authorized the City Hall parking garage project, a downtown parking structure the city estimates will cost about $22,500,000 and add roughly 225 net new parking spaces.

The council voted 5-0 to approve the interlocal agreement and, separately, to authorize the project. The county approved its portion of the agreement June 5 and is committing $11,000,000 toward the work, city staff said.

City staff said the project responds to a long-running downtown parking shortfall identified in updated consultant work by Walker Consultants. Deputy Director of Infrastructure Zach Hardy told the council the “proposed project has about 380 total parking spaces with about 225 net new parking spaces if approved,” and that the team plans to issue a design-build RFQ in July and return to council with a recommended award likely in October.

Why it matters: Council members and staff said the garage is intended to support the county courthouse, City Hall, the library and downtown development north of Santa Fe Street. Council members pressed staff for more detail about alternatives, cost per space, construction impacts and aesthetics before design is finalized.

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