Extensive Corinth Square facelift to begin in April

View at the southwest corner of Corinth Square, toward the Wild Bird Center, from architect's drawings of the Corinth Square renovations that will begin in April..

Construction crews: Ready your implements.

LANE4 vice president Jeff Berg told the Prairie Village City Council on Monday that the first round of major renovations funded by the Corinth Square Community Improvement District sales tax should begin the first week of April.

The first phase of renovations will include a significant facelift of the main center structure, incorporating many of the design elements and materials used in the exterior of Urban Table. Crews will also replace the current wood-shingled roof with ludowici clay tiles (a sample of the roofing material is currently sitting on the north side of the Urban Table roof).

The construction of the four “pocket parks” presented to the city Planning Commission in September are scheduled to be completed as well.

The work will fulfill LANE4′s obligation under the CID agreement to begin a signature project at Corinth before the end of the year. Berg said work on the main center structure should be complete by Labor Day.

A renovation to the Johnny’s Tavern exterior and patio area is on the docket as well, but Berg said it was on a separate timeline. He also added the the company was “very close” to being able to announce major renovations to the Hen House markets at both Corinth and the Village Shops. He said those renovations were likely to begin in 2012, and may even be finished by the end of the year.

The overview of planned projects at both Corinth and the Village Shops — where Berg said extensive renovations to Mission Lane were on track to begin before the end of 2012 — drew praise from the council.

“I’m so excited,” said Councilwoman Laura Wassmer. “We’re going to have shopping centers that we can really be proud of.”

Berg said the feedback he’d gotten from current tenants at the centers about recent tenant additions had been very positive.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.