During an April 1st special mail-in election in Westwood, voters rejected a City-backed effort to replace Joe D. Dennis Park at 50th and Rainbow with an office building and build a new park immediately west.

In 2023, Karbank Real Estate approached the City of Westwood with a proposal to replace Joe D. Dennis Park with a mixed-use development and creation of a new, larger park. Plans called for 90,000sf of office space and around 26,000sf of retail space with 296 parking spaces spread out between a below-grade garage and surface parking. The new park, which would be built on the site of a presently vacant school, would’ve been 3.86 acres in size. For reference, the current Joe D. Dennis Park is around 1 acre in size. Westwood City government approved the project in 2023.

A condition of the project receiving tax increment financing (TIF) was that Karbank would be responsible for acquiring the neighboring property and building a new city park. Westwood government did approve the plans in 2023, but a legal back-and-forth went on throughout 2024 with a Kansas judge eventually ruling that Westwood residents could vote on the future of the park. Depending on the decision of the voters, Westwood government officials said they would honor the vote of their residents.

During the April 1st special mail-in election, the proposal lost in a vote of 52.8% to 47.2% voted for it. 835 total voters (60%) turned out to vote. 47 votes separated the “for” and “against” votes.

Residents were split on the proposal with those in support of the project excited about the prospect of a new park. On the flip side, opponents were concerned about traffic, losing the park, changes to the character of their neighborhood, and the amount of parking the development included.

What comes next is unknown. After all, Karbank Real Estate spent money on architectural designs for both the office building (the design approved by the City was the third design for the project) and the new park. Money was also spent on lawyer fees from the legal challenges that lasted throughout 2024. It’s possible Karbank takes the loss and walks away entirely or approaches Westwood about developing the office building on the former school site (where the new park was planned).

Perspective Architecture led design for Karbank’s office building proposal. PORT Urbanism led conceptual design efforts for the new park.

Westwood encompasses an area of only .41 square miles and, at the 2020 census, 1750 residents. It’s predominantly made up of detached single-family houses, but does include the Woodside Village apartment complex at 47th and Rainbow along with some commercial buildings, and a Walmart Neighborhood Market, on West 47th Street to the border with Roeland Park at Mission Road.

In nearby Mission Woods, Karbank has an active proposal for a new, mixed-use building at 1957 West 51st Street.