Rezoning historic Westwood school and park would spoil neighborhood character forever | Opinion
The rezoning and potential sale of land where Joe D. Dennis Park and Westwood View Elementary School now sit may forever change the rich cultural landscape sited at 50th to 51st streets along Rainbow Boulevard, a 7.6-acre parcel located smack in the middle of a densely populated residential area in Westwood.
Rezoning would allow for a 4.2-acre commercial development plan consisting of four two-to-four-story buildings, two one-story buildings, surface parking lots and a below-ground parking garage, thereby clearing existing parkland covered with old growth trees and demolishing a historic school.
Simply stated, the plan from Karbank Real Estate Co., in its current scheme approved by the Westwood City Council on Oct. 12, is wrong for the site and wrong for the health and welfare of the surrounding residential neighborhood.
Regarding what could be best for the city of Westwood, the planning commissioners and council members should be reminded of the 2021 report written by the prestigious Urban Land Institute titled “Redevelopment Opportunities for the City of Westwood, Kansas.” In this detailed and comprehensive study sponsored by the city, which outlines in full the best use of the Joe D. Dennis Park, and the historic Westwood View school, it’s apparently clear that current leaders have ignored the professional recommendations of the analysis.
In short, the institute makes a great case for relocating City Hall from the intersection of West 47th Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard to Joe D. Dennis Park, thereby keeping the landscape named after a former mayor of Westwood. City Hall would do best by setting up offices in the historic Westwood View school, designed by the prominent architectural firm of Neville, Sharp and Simon and dedicated in 1969.
To wit, the report recommends:
“The panel encourages the city to acquire the Westwood View Elementary School property as a first step in realizing the potential around the park. With this property in hand, the city can contemplate a potential park expansion and the addition of a new civic amenity to Westwood. This expanded park space will address residents’ goals for improved and expanded park amenities in Westwood. It can also provide a welcome central gathering space for city-led meetings, neighborhood gatherings, or private events should the city wish to make the space available for private rentals.”
To regrade Westwood’s only sizable park and demolish the innovative and transformative school, recently deemed potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places by Kansas’ State Historic Preservation Office as architecturally significant, would result in a loss of Westwood’s cultural heritage and set a precedent for similar undertakings in the future.
There are countless other reasons to back off from the current plan. Many are discussed in detail in the 2021 study.
Many Westwood residents voiced their concerns about the Karbank plan during a recent neighborhood canvassing conducted by Malisa Monyakula:
“Why not put this massive development to a city-wide election? If the government believes this is the best plan for Westwood, let the citizens decide.”
“Why is the City selling these properties to the first and only bidder?”
“Why should six people decide the fate of our community of 1,700 people?”
Westwood resident Lou Wetzel points out that “parks are one of our most valued city assets and that this combined public green space is the last remaining sizable parcel of land in the three-city area of Westwood, Westwood Hills and Mission Woods.”
Mike Coffman, who lives directly adjacent to the park, fears that “the proposed commercial project will exacerbate an already congested intersection.”
As it stands today, Joe D. Dennis Park, one resident so aptly stated, “is our beachfront property.”
And it’s about to be sold for a beachfront development.
Cydney E. Millstein is the founder and principal of Architectural & Historical Research LLC. She lives in Kansas City.
