Woodside Village apartment project moving forward

The $79 million Woodside Village project, a redevelopment plan that will add hundreds of apartments and retail space to Westwood, is underway more than two years after receiving city approval for tax breaks.

The project being built by Los Angeles-based Tanner & White is a big addition to Westwood, a small (pop. 1,500) inner-ring suburb in northeast Johnson County. Its City Council authorized up to $20 million in tax incentives to subsidize the project in late 2011.

Developer Blair Tanner said it took a while to arrange the financing and coordinate the project with improvements made to the Woodside Health and Tennis Club, but work is beginning this week.

The $26 million first phase calls for a four-story building with 91 luxury apartments on the upper floors and 20,000 square feet of retail space on the first level.

It will be on the site of the former Youthfront building at 4715 Rainbow Blvd. Demolition of that structure is scheduled to begin in August.

“We like the project being in Kansas and close to the amenities and work centers in Missouri,” Tanner said. “The Woodside Health and Tennis Club is a critical focus of the development, providing key amenities.”

Last year, the firm completed a $3 million overhaul of the Woodside swimming pool. At the same time the first apartments are to be built, the owner is planning a $13 million expansion of the main clubhouse and other improvements.

The most substantial change from the original plan is that a Green Acres Market originally in the first phase is being pushed back to the second phase.

Instead, a 6,500-square-foot restaurant to be operated by Bread & Butter Concepts is planned for the first phase.

The firm also owns BRGR Kitchen + Bar and Urban Table in Prairie Village; Gram & Dun on the Country Club Plaza; and a new BRGR in the Power & Light District. Tanner said a new theme is being cooked up for the Woodside Village project.

After the first-phase apartments are completed, the developer envisions $40 million in second-phase construction that will include 242 apartments and 16,000 square feet of retail.

The design of the Woodside Village development is intended to make the neighborhood better for walking. Utility lines will be buried, and wider sidewalks are planned.

Residents of the development will also have membership to the health club. The intended market includes empty-nesters who want to remain in the Westwood area, as well as young professionals working at the nearby University of Kansas medical complex and the Country Club Plaza.