CREEKSIDE DEVELOPMENT CHANGING THE FACE OF AN AREA
A major development is changing the face of an area of Platte County. In fact, it’s relatively sudden appearance is catching some folks–even longtime residents of the area–off guard, in a good way.
Creekside Development is a $300 million project at the Intersection of 435 and Hwy. 45 at the west end of Parkville. Motorists who haven’t navigated through that part of the county in recent months might be stunned by the seemingly sudden nature of its growth.
“For people that weren’t aware of what’s been happening here, it has gone from nothing to ‘wow, look at all these places open for business,’” says Michael Meier of Aristocrat Realty.
Meier, principal/realtor for Aristocrat, says he was brought on to handle the realtor services of the Creekside project by developer Brian Mertz.
“I had worked with Brian previously and he asked us to take over. We are honored to showcase Creekside and do what we can to help grow the area,” Meier said in a recent interview with The Landmark.
Creekside is a mixed use development that is fast becoming a destination spot in the region. Restaurants, retail space, residential offerings, and more are offered, with plenty of new occupants yet to come, Meier says.
The Creekside Baseball Complex, hosting competitive leagues, already attracts more than a million visitors per year, Meier says. Creekside Baseball Complex has six diamonds. The nearby Creekside Hotel is bustling on Thursdays through Sundays because of the baseball complex alone.
According to recent Creekside promotional material, the development has 184,700 sq. ft. of restaurant and retail space. There is 38,000 sq. ft. of public green space with walking trails.
In addition to the retail areas, there are 215 single-family homes, 272 townhomes and 366 apartments.
Many restaurants and businesses have opened and many more on the way.
Some of the businesses already open include Johnny’s Tavern, Ten and Two Coffee, Taco Bell, Burger King, Anytime Fitness, The Station convenience store, Capital Electric new headquarters featuring 80 employees, and more. Others on the way include Char Bar, Plaza Mariachi Mexican Restaurant, XGolf, Bubbles Liquor Store, Gusto Coffee, a brewery, a pizza place, a furniture store, Smoothie King, a Wells Bank location, a nail salon, two additional hotels, medical facilities, a dog boarding operation, a storage facility, a national restaurant, a small grocery store, and more, including a planned Creekside Elementary School in the Park Hill School District.
Meier says the developers of Creekside are also working to attract an ice cream offering and more sit-down restaurants.
The places that have already opened are happy with the amount of customer traffic they’re receiving, Meier says.
“This is the first Johnny’s Tavern in the Northland. The fact they went out on a limb and took the risk to come here speaks volumes. They were looking at a lot of high traffic areas up north and chose here. And they’re happy about it. And they want more restaurants to come,” Meier remarked.
“When people are thinking about ‘where do we want to go eat,’ they want people to say ‘I want to go to Creekside and I want to have six different options to go to,’” Meier added.
Char Bar has purchased an entire pad site and will be going in soon. Char Bar has a location in Westport. Their Creekside location will have a large outdoor area to include pickleball and all sorts of outdoor games. Meier raves about Char Bar’s barbecue.
Meier specifically mentioned that Anytime Fitness is also extremely happy with its level of business, and a Blush Fitness just opened in the development as well.
“Ten and Two Coffee is extremely happy with their traffic. You saw there were basically no open tables,” Meier said at 10 a.m. on a Monday inside the coffee shop.
Car wash companies have shown some interest.
“People are now thinking ‘we want to be a part of this, how do we get involved?’ Meier stated.
And the untapped potential of the development remains large.
“It’s unreal the amount of people who live within a few miles of Creekside have no idea. They don’t go west on Hwy. 45. Typically if they’re on Hwy. 45 they’re going east, they never go west,” he said, adding Creekside’s presence will change that.
“You really have to come here, you really have to drive through it to say ‘wow, look at all this,’” Meier said.
Creekside also has a large courtyard area that features a large exterior television screen to show things like Chiefs games and other programming. Meier says the courtyard space will be a great attraction for gatherings and events, and includes a putt-putt and bocce ball area. The area would also make a perfect spot for live music.
“I think the courtyard area will fill up with people. There will be Chiefs games on the screen, there will be Royals games, women’s soccer games, Sporting KC games on the screen, and just regular events,” Meier said.
As for the folks buying and leasing the residential offerings at Creekside, Meier says they’re coming from all over.
“There are a lot of out-of-state license plates. The proximity to the airport plays a big role in the area. Also, (by car) you can really be to pretty much any area of the metro in a very reasonable amount of time,” he said.
“It’s location. It’s great for people, whether you work further north or whether you work further south,” Meier said, adding that residential spaces at Creekside are filling up fast.
“You’re outside the one percent Kansas City earnings tax. It’s a phenomenal location. With its proximity to I-435, it’s easy to get anywhere. Legends is eight minutes away, the airport is 10 minutes away.”
For more information on Creekside and its offerings, Meier can be reached at 913-271-7656.
