Suburban luxury is Leawood’s brand, and it will continue to be so as long as its residents aim to keep it that way. The 75-year-old city began as a bedroom community of 1,000 residents who fled the bustle of Kansas City seeking the quiet of suburbia. As it evolved, the city has grown into the jewel of Johnson County with its multimillion-dollar neighborhoods and high-end storefronts to serve its population of roughly 34,700. Leawood’s terrain changed significantly when Tomahawk Creek Parkway was put in. Making room for commercial and office uses is an important addition to the city’s mix, Mayor Peggy Dunn said, but Leawood will never be a corporate town. Neighborhoods are the city’s niche. … Dunn said the city rarely grants incentives and never has used tax increment financing because other tools better fit residents’ needs. “We don’t want the public to pay to develop something,” Dunn said. “We’ve been persistent, and we’ve been consistent, and I think we’ve tried to treat everyone equally because other developers have foot the bill and paid for projects themselves. Our group of City Council and myself as mayor have wanted to just maintain that consistency.” One exception is if a project involves state incentives and structured parking.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
