Sprint Nextel, City Consider Partnership to Develop Unique Mixed-Use, Entertainment District

Overland Park, Kan. — Monday night at a City Council meeting, elected officials agreed to a non-binding Letter of Intent with Sprint Nextel to pursue the creation of a "world-class," multi-use district that could include entertainment. The district would be located less than 1,000 feet from the Overland Park Convention Center.

Overland Park and Sprint Nextel will now work to hire a consultant to put together a request for qualifications for a master developer to lead the project.

The district represents a proposed destination that would be unique to the region, attract national and international business travelers, drive business to the city's convention center and hotels, and complement surrounding developments in the metropolitan area. It also would give local residents new entertainment opportunities not currently available in Overland Park.

The property is 55 acres of undeveloped land, owned by Sprint Nextel, on the southwest corner of College Boulevard and Nall.

"This parcel of land is one the company has owned since 1989. It's a strategic asset, and we've been particular about to whom we'd sell it and for what purpose. What this partnership with the city of Overland Park envisions is a development that extends the value of the asset into something that is unique and beyond the likes of anything that currently exists in the region," said Faye Davis, vice president, real estate for Sprint Nextel. "This type of development, we believe, would bolster the region's drawing power and complement existing retail, convention and restaurant interests in and around Johnson County."

"We are pursuing the idea to construct a unique entertainment venue that will serve as a destination for tourists, business travelers, residents and others," Mayor Carl Gerlach said. "We intend to build a world-class entertainment complex that is unique in design, function, attractions and appeal."