STANDEES gets green light; trail size cut down at Village Shops

A rendering of the STANDEES main entrance.

STANDEES got the green light from the Prairie Village planning commission Tuesday, but an eight-foot trail through the Village Shops didn’t fare as well.

The restaurant and theater combination that will move into the old Macy’s home store and Einstein Brothers bagel shop had no problem getting its site plan approval and cleared its last hurdle to getting construction started. Frank Rash, president of STANDEES’ owner Dineplex International, said they hope to begin construction in December and to be open by late May 2013. The plans hit no opposition in the neighborhood meeting conducted earlier and had few questions from the planning commission.

The approval includes plans for a 32-seat patio on the courtyard side of the restaurant. Windows on the north and west sides will be retained, but changed to frosted glass since the three theaters will be on the interior. The exterior will incorporate movie poster boxes to make it more lively.

While STANDEES had an easy route, the eight-foot trail along the east side of Mission Lane was sliced down to a six-foot wide sidewalk. The planning commission decision to allow the narrower walkway came despite a divided city council vote Monday that requested the eight-foot path.

Commissioner Nancy Wallerstein pleaded the case for the wider path.

“Moving people is why I think eight feet is important. We need the space to move people through the center.”

The developer had asked for a six-foot minimum, contending some sections would require additional construction – such as a retaining wall — and others would cut into parking to go wider. City staff disagreed, saying other options existed to create a wider path without losing parking, but the commissioners sided with the six-foot request. The sidewalk will run along Mission Lane across the street from the Hen House.

The planning commission also approved plans for the Hen House expansion that will add more than 14,000 square feet to the store and plans for a number of other improvements along Mission Lane and in the parking lots between Mission Lane and Mission Road.

The planning commission did reject a staff recommendation to close the entrance from Mission Road into the lot that fronts Starbucks, TCBY, Village Flower Company and Dolce. Some commissioners commented that creating a dead end parking lot would be more problematic than keeping the intersection.