A Shawnee tenant project passes the City Council in difficulty

The developer said the project features a “luxury” lifestyle.

The 40-acre project is planned for 188 residential units, including 97 single-family homes as well as 91 condominium units spread across 20 attached townhome-style buildings.

It will also include amenities, such as a resort-style pool, a two-story clubhouse with a fitness center, co-working spaces, pocket parks and walking trails.

Rent will range between $2,300 and $3,000 a month, said David Craig, a representative of the Charleston, South Carolina-based real estate developer Material Capital Partners, which is developing the project.

The project targets “tenants by choice.”

The project is designed to provide rental opportunities for older millennials and adults who don’t want to deal with the responsibilities of homeownership, Craig said.

“We also see adults who may be empty nesters looking to downsize and enjoy the freedom that renting gives them,” Craig said.

Craig also said the project fills an unmet Shawnee need.

“There are apartments for rent in Shawnee, and there are houses to buy in Shawnee,” he said. “But there are no real homes for rent in Shawnee at this level.”

Council members and the public oppose the project

Most of the criticism from the City Council came from Gillette and Thomas, who raised questions about adequate parking, routes for emergency vehicles, and traffic that might spill over onto Silverhill Avenue and 64th Street.

During the public hearing, Shawnee resident Justin Walker said he considers the project harmful to the area.

“This is a very high-density (project),” Walker said. “This may not appear on paper due to the overall area of ​​the site…the rentals are stacked on top of each other and out of harmony with the surrounding areas.”

Walker was concerned that rental properties would persist in the area and reduce the value of nearby homes.

Other council members praised the project

While other council members expressed concerns about traffic as a result of the project, they remained supportive of it.

Councilman Tony Gillette strongly opposed the project and asked the developer to reduce the number of units. His motion to return it to the Shawnee Planning Commission failed due to a lack of votes.

Councilman Kurt Knappen, who voted in favor of the project, said it’s not something he would normally vote for. However, he liked the project because it featured mostly single-family homes.

“I’ve historically voted against high-density apartment complexes and things that were on top of single-family homes,” he said. “I’m very sensitive to that.”

Knappen also noted that land has already been approved for the Creekside Ridge project in 2021, and since Material Capital Partners already owns the property, it could develop that plan if the current rezoning proposal fails.

“I hate the plan that I voted against two years ago, and it has already been approved for construction,” he said. “If we don’t agree to this, the other will rise.”

In his comments about the project’s high rental rates, Knappen suggested that some of the tenants are “low-income people” who would not be able to afford to move there. Council members Jill Chalfie and Angela Staines objected to his comment in defense of tenants in Shawnee.

Finally, Councilman Eric Jenkins said he finds the density it would bring to the area acceptable. He fully supported that.

“This does not significantly impact neighboring properties,” he said, to laughter from some in the audience. “I’m sure some people think so. But being on the Planning Commission for 21 years, I’ve seen a lot of proposals, and this one’s a pretty good one, guys.”

Next steps for the project

The developer will submit the final development plan and final plat to the Shawnee Planning Commission at a later date, Shawnee Community Development Director Doug Allmon said.

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