The Merriam City Council has voted unanimously to purchase a single-family home at 5036 Merriam Drive for $245,000, adding to a cluster of properties the city already owns along the corridor. The house, built in 1920 and sitting on less than an acre, belongs to Brian Burnett, who reached out to the city in March about possibly selling. Merriam hopes to close on the deal by September 15.
The purchase is not an isolated transaction. As The Kansas City Star reported, Merriam already owns four homes surrounding Burnett's property and at least six other properties along Merriam Drive. City staffer Ciera White told the paper the city pursued the Burnett purchase because of its key location and proximity to other city-owned sites, and that the sale has not yet been finalized. Beyond the $245,000 purchase price, the city agreed to pay Burnett $45,000 to cover interest, moving costs and a down payment on a future home.
Clearing a Path for Downtown's Front Door
City official Chris Engel said Merriam plans to remove all the purchased properties to make way for future development, according to the same Star report. The goal, per that account, is to transform the area between Merriam Drive, Johnson Drive and the bridge north of 57th Street into a future entry point to downtown Merriam. For now, the city has no specific plan for the Burnett property itself, but it fits into a broader strategy of moving structures out of the floodplain to accommodate flood mitigation infrastructure planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That infrastructure carries a price tag that has ballooned well beyond original expectations. In June, the Army Corps presented 65% design plans for the Upper Turkey Creek flood project, showing that 740 feet of levee, more than 6,000 feet of floodwalls and two bridge replacements will likely cost more than $73 million, according to the Shawnee Mission Post. That is the current estimate described for the project.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 2016 Report to Congress on Future Water Resources, the Upper Turkey Creek Basin project in Kansas was a City of Merriam feasibility report whose signed Chief's Report was in review, and its recommended plan reduces flood damages. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers listed Upper Turkey Creek Basin Design, Merriam, KS, in its May 25, 2022 work plan, according to the agency's records.
Federal Rules Push Cities to Buy Land Early
Federal rules are part of the context for Merriam's property acquisitions ahead of construction. The city is acquiring land and other property along Merriam Drive as it prepares for the flood project.
Federal support for the broader Upper Turkey Creek levee and floodwall system dates back to 2022, when Congress approved funding toward its design and construction. More recently, in January, the Merriam City Council approved a cost-sharing agreement allowing the city to invoice Johnson County for $412,500 toward the project's design costs, drawing from $2 million the county had allocated, per Citizen Portal. The agreement concerns the project's design costs.
Why Merriam Can't Just Build Outward
Merriam's predicament is partly geographic. Floodplain constraints leave the city little room to grow, and Merriam is acquiring existing homes along the Upper Turkey Creek corridor, which is part of why assembling land near downtown has become a focus.
This is not the city's first round of buyouts in the area. Last October, Merriam began demolishing three commercial properties in the 5700 block of Merriam Drive to clear land within the floodplain, the city said in a release. Merriam has faced flooding risks in the area.
The Johnson Drive Bridge over Turkey Creek was previously closed after a flood classified as a 100-year flood, according to the City of Merriam.
A Downtown Master Plan Takes Shape
The property purchases are unfolding alongside a much larger planning effort. In March, the Merriam City Council unanimously awarded a $292,000 contract to Overland Park-based Shockey Consulting, selected from among 18 applicant firms, to develop the city's first downtown master plan in at least 20 years, according to the Johnson County Post. City officials say the plan is meant to support and sustain future growth as the council looks to revamp downtown Merriam.
The current property acquisitions also follow the city's 2021 Comprehensive Plan 2040, which addresses land use, housing, development and sustainability, according to the City of Merriam.
The city is planning a public survey as part of its downtown master-planning effort. The city plans to collect community feedback to inform the final master plan. That effort follows earlier community feedback about downtown.
The scale and timeline of the Army Corps project raise real questions for residents watching homes and businesses along Merriam Drive disappear one by one. The Upper Turkey Creek corridor has long dealt with aging infrastructure and flooding risks, while the current wave of acquisitions and eventual construction is bringing disruption to the neighborhood in the meantime.
