An old automotive service station across the street from Johnny Kaw at Manhattan City Park is going to get a new look.
The Manhattan City Commission Tuesday voted to rezone a 22,500 square foot area adjacent to the park to allow for a planned restaurant, drinking establishment and bakery. Unanimously approved by the City Commission, the old service station at 1026 Poyntz Avenue will transform into Parkside Station by the end of 2020.
“It looks like a great development,” says Mayor Pro Tempore Wynn Butler. “It looks like it fits perfect, a good thing to have next to City Park.”
Extensive landscaping and renovations are planned, but the character of the circa-1967 building will be maintained. Owner Phyllis Pease is seeking to place the building on the Register of Historic Kansas Places, which will open the door for historic tax credits.
“They’re going to leave the gas station in that basic shape as like an old-timey diner?” asked Commissioner Linda Morse.
“Yep,” said Assistant Community Development Director Chad Bunger. “And that is a fairly popular use for these old buildings across the country and the state.”
Preliminary plans for the establishment show a combination of indoor dining with decoratively landscaped exterior seating and gathering spots. Parkside Station will serve food and drinks in addition to housing a local produce market. They’ll also close and narrow multiple curb cuts around the building.
“It won’t be overpowering to the neighborhood or be intrusive,” says Bunger. “[It] should — as we envision with the future land use map — fit really well.”
In addition, the formerly separately operated office building at 1018 Poyntz has come under Pease’s ownership as well and will renovated to house bakery operations for Little Batch Bakery — a related bakery catering business. The two businesses are expected to employ between 9 to 13 workers.
Morse was pleased the project will include both the former service station and the old Morning Star, Inc. buildings.
“They have been aging for all these years without much improvement,” says Morse. “This will be a nice clean-up.”
Projections show renovations wrapping in 2021.
Kirkwood Extension
Looking to coordinate completion with the new middle school recreation centers, Manhattan is seeking bids on the Kirkwood Drive extension project.
The extension would connect Walters Drive and Marlatt Avenue and serve as the primary access to the Eisenhower Middle School recreation center as well as an exit route for drop-offs.
But City Engineer Brian Johnson says the project also has safety benefits. The new road will funnel buses and drop-off traffic North onto Marlatt where they can venture onto Tuttle Creek Boulevard more safely thanks to a traffic light. He says currently, departing traffic funnels into side streets or onto T.C.B. via Walters — which has resulted in numerous high speed accidents including a near miss with a school bus.
Twenty accidents have occurred at that location in five years, six of which resulted in serious injury. Johnson says with the extension, they can install an island to eliminate left turns off of Walters onto T.C.B.
The project will also improve area storm sewer infrastructure and install a concrete trail connecting Walters and Marlatt.
Road plans require acquiring a part of the Walters-Morgan property — which the company is preparing to vacate for a new location in the Manhattan Corporate Park. Once their new facility is complete, Walters-Morgan has expressed interest in annexing their 8 acres into the city with the goal of creating a new commercial area.
“We see survey after survey that talks about the Northview area and how they don’t have commercial opportunities to go buy groceries, to go buy gas, to go shop and go do things,” says Johnson. “This is potentially that 8 acres that they’re looking for.”
Morse says that development is encouraging and that the commercial area just “makes sense” considering its proximity to Northview.
The project is estimated at $1.2 million. A projected funding breakdown draws close to $695,000 from the stormwater fund for the storm sewer aspect of the project, $71,000 for the trail aspect, and $250,000 from Surface Transportation funding — leaving a $235,000 funding gap.
That funding gap boils down to 0.04 mills, which Johnson says will be more than offset by new tax revenue if the Walters-Morgan land is redeveloped for commercial use. Conservative estimates project $30,000 to $40,000 in new tax revenue annually in that case.
“It adds immensely to school bus safety when school’s back in session,” says Butler. “And then when you add the possibility of this 8 acres being developed, I don’t think you can get a much better plan.”
Construction is slated to last 12 months, completing next April.
Joint Maintenance Facility
Commissioners took a moment to consider the financial impact of COVID-19 before voting to hire a construction manager at risk for the joint maintenance facility project.
Manhattan unanimously opted to go with BBN Architects, signing them to a $1 million contract to oversee the design and construction of the $13 million facility — which will be offset by the sale of the current building locations. The building, to be constructed near the Wastewater Treatment Plan in Pottawatomie County, will replace dated facilities that Manhattan officials say cannot accommodate their workforce and technical needs.
“I’m a little excited about getting that property back onto the tax roll so something more interesting than those 1920s buildings and our igloo of a salt pile down there,” says Hatesohl.
Morse had the item pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion, saying they need to be sure now is the time to move forward on this project.
“We’re going to be talking pretty soon about some other issues that, taken together, will put us significantly over the budget this year,” says Morse.
Commissioner Aaron Estabrook says while the discussion is important to have, the new facility will result in new energy savings and workforce efficiency. He says the city will be in a “sorry place” to handle its growth.
“A well-maintained vehicle saves lives, it saves time, it’s important,” says Estabrook. “You don’t want things to be broken in the middle of a crisis.”
Butler agreed, saying the JMF one of his top project priorities and that the current buildings can’t fit fire engines in for maintenance.
“The return on investment is just a must here on this,” says Butler. “And I also agree that we’re going to have to tighten our belt [and]that may affect some other projects that are not as high on my priority list as this.”
Reddi also recommended extra scrutiny on all projects over $1 million in light of the anticipated economic impact the city’s budget will feel due to COVID-19.
Originally posted at https://1350kman.com/manhattan-moves-forward-on-kirkwood-dr-extension-rezones-new-cafe-site/
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