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Council approves The Rise: 11‑story mixed‑use project, rooftop bar and related development agreements in City Center
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Summary
The Lenexa City Council on Oct. 7 approved the preliminary plan for The Rise, an 11‑story mixed‑use building with 120 apartments, office space and a rooftop restaurant at 80th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard, and adopted a development agreement and TIF/project‑plan amendments tied to the project.
The Lenexa City Council voted Oct. 7 to approve the preliminary plan for The Rise, an 11‑story mixed‑use building proposed for the southeast corner of 80th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard in Lenexa City Center, and to adopt a development agreement and related TIF/project‑plan amendments needed to advance the project.
Stephanie Sullivan summarized the plan, saying the applicant revised the unit mix since the planning commission hearing from 132 units to 120 units (fewer one‑bedrooms and more two‑bedrooms) and that the proposal includes roughly 5,000 square feet of office on the first floor and a roughly 2,000‑square‑foot rooftop restaurant/bar. The building’s top was shown at about 136 feet, exceeding the typical 110‑foot code limit for the district but allowed by plan approval in City Center.
The applicant’s team described design and market rationale. Hal Shapiro of Real Property Group said the rooftop venue (working name “Zenith”) is intended as an elevated public gathering space: “It will be open to the public,” he said during the presentation. The applicant also confirmed that each apartment unit would have an assigned, covered parking space: “Each residential unit will have 1 assigned covered parking space available,” Shapiro told the council.
Staff noted the project proposes 197 parking spaces on and adjacent to the site compared with a code requirement of 281 spaces for the proposed uses; staff recommended approval based on City Center’s shared‑parking environment and the applicant’s market study. Several council members questioned the height and the parking assumptions; staff and the applicant discussed existing and planned nearby public parking and proposed temporary and long‑term parking arrangements, including the developer’s ability to lease additional spaces in nearby private parking if demand required it.
Architect John Garfinkel (Finkel Williams) and city staff described the site’s grading, the benched garage levels and the pedestrian connections that would link the project to nearby restaurants and the rest of City Center. One resident raised concerns at public comment about view impacts, 80th Street signal spacing and parking; councilmembers discussed the city’s intent to concentrate density in City Center and to preserve remaining buildable land for mixed‑use development.
By motion the council approved the preliminary plan for The Rise, then approved the development agreement and the companion TIF/project‑plan amendments for the parcel and a technical amendment tied to the adjacent Lofts parcel. Staff explained the city retains title to the City Center East property and the development agreement and amendments secure repayment of city costs related to land acquisition and public improvements previously invested in that block.
Next steps: the applicant will complete final engineering, building permits and any required platting; the development agreement and TIF document approvals set the financial and land ownership conditions that enable building permits and construction.
