APRIL - JUNE 2022
2022 is halfway over and the summer heat is just starting.
This is a big year for Crestwood, with lots of road repairs, parks improvements, ballot issues, and of course it's our 75th anniversary of our founding in 1947. As is evidenced by an army of heavy equipment and what seems like millions of concrete blocks being placed - Crestwood Crossing is moving full steam ahead. BriteWorx carwash opened recently, McDonalds is being rebuilt, Taco Bell opened, and Aldi's will be moving to their new location. Crestwood is busy with activity. There's even a big new development in the planning stages, described below. It's a great time to live in Crestwood!
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There are potential BIG changes coming to the shopping plaza at 8800 Watson. This is where Victory Raceway go-karts and the Social Security office currently reside and is adjacent to Crestview Senior Living.
The owners of the site have applied for the location to be rezoned to PD-MXD (Planned Development – Mixed Use District), which would allow a combination of residential and commercial.
According to city documents:
The site is an approximately 12-acre parcel. The applicant’s Preliminary Development Plan calls for a mixed-use development with three new multi-family buildings consisting of approximately 276 apartments (one, two, and three bedroom) and two new commercial buildings with over 12,000 square feet of new retail, services, and restaurants. The plan also includes private amenity spaces for tenants.
The existing Crestview living facility is not part of this project, is located on a separate parcel of land, and will stay as is. The new high-end apartments would become “neighbors” to Crestview and two proposed restaurant / commercial buildings will front Watson.
The application to rezone this property will be presented and discussed at the next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at 6pm on Wednesday July 6 (via Zoom). Additional approvals will also be required by this commission and the Board of Aldermen.
This is very early in the process, but the applicant indicated they would like to start construction mid-2023 and it would take about 2-years to complete. Stay tuned!
For more information, follow these links:
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| Artist rendering - potential median updates to Watson Road |
As part of the Crestwood Crossing Redevelopment Agreement, Dierbergs agreed to fund up to $625,000 to “beautify” the Watson Road medians from one end of the former mall property to the other (Sappington to the “Aldi shopping plaza”).
As the first step in this process, the city awarded a contract in May to DG2 Design to provide design and engineering services and to develop the overall plan. It is anticipated that the final design will include plantings, decorative lighting, irrigation, planters, etc. to provide a much-improved appearance of those medians. Going forward, the city will be responsible for maintenance and upkeep.
The design should be completed this fall with construction anticipated to occur in 2023. MODOT has plans to repave Watson in 2024, and the city originally thought that these median improvements would need to wait for that project, but MODOT and the DG2 engineers agreed that it would be better to complete the median improvements before that repaving.
Dierbergs has plans to open in mid-2023, so this median work will hopefully be completed and ready for that grand opening.
I’m sure we have all noticed the building at 9415 Watson Road. It is the old Firestone store next to the former mall site. It is currently owned by Calverts Express Real Estate from Kansas City and is leased by Kirkwood Audi for their off-site car prep site. It is not open to the public and is not functioning as a typical commercial site.
The Redevelopment Agreement between the city and Dierbergs calls for Dierbergs to purchase this property (and the former City Music site) and integrate the properties into the overall design. Dierbergs had until June 2022 to complete this sale, otherwise the city would proceed with a process which could eventually lead to an eminent domain transfer.
Dierbergs was able to purchase the City Music site, but despite months of efforts and offers, an agreement between Calverts and Dierbergs has not happened. At the June Board of Aldermen meeting, the legal process officially began.
In accordance with chapter 353 of MO State law, the site was declared blighted and is now within a “353 district”. While this is the first step in a longer legal process, the owner and Dierbergs are still allowed to come to an agreement on price and avoid the remaining steps – and hopefully will.
If they still can’t come to an agreement, then at least one state certified appraiser will evaluate the site and calculate current value. A judicial review panel will hear arguments and make a final ruling on value and if eminent domain is justified. If all those hurdles are cleared, then the city can receive ownership of the property in exchange for that calculated market value. Per the agreement with Dierbergs, they will in turn purchase the property from the city.
This is not a fun process, and none of the parties involved wanted to get to this point. It’s expensive and takes much more time than a normal sale. Hopefully Calverts and Dierbergs can still come to an agreement, but if not, we’ll see what happens and how the state/county proceed. All city expenses associated with this are being reimbursed by Dierbergs.
Earlier this year the city applied for a grant to help cover costs associated with upgrading the existing sidewalk into an 8-foot-wide path between the Grant Trail and Whitecliff Park, along Pardee Road. The thought was that this improved path would provide better connectivity to pedestrians and cyclists and “link” Whitecliff to a broader user base.
While I liked the benefits of the proposed trail, I wasn’t excited about the impact to those residents on Pardee Road and was the only “no” vote for this project.
The city submitted the grant application, and while it did receive some positive recognition by the grant committee, it ultimately was not selected for 2022 funding. The city has indicated that they plan to try again next year so we may have the opportunity to revisit this in 2023.
Want to show your Crestwood city pride? You can pick up a free 6”x3” oval vinyl sticker from the City Clerk’s office at City Hall. Just walk in and pick one up from the counter.
This is Crestwood’s 75th anniversary and there are special events planned throughout the year, with the big bash in October which will include multiple concerts, a parade, 5K run, fireworks, and a live broadcast by K-SHE radio (which of course is originally from Crestwood).
We have so many great things happening, and I am proud to show the “Crestwood Colors” on my van. Stickers are free while supplies last.
If you missed any of the previous newsletters, you can find a link to all of them here.