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Cities poised for additional growth

By Joshua Roberts - | May 9, 2002

In southern Leavenworth County, residential development is booming, with more than 2,000 new homes platted in Basehor and five subdivisions in the works in Tonganoxie.

Both cities are also expected to experience significant commercial and industrial growth as well, with Tonganoxie having three areas platted for that use and Basehor pinning its hopes on a sewer interceptor project.

For both cities and for southern Leavenworth County, the future looks bright, city officials said.

The Basehor sewer interceptor line project would connect developments south of U.S. Highway 24-40 and properties east along the highway to the Basehor Wastewater Treatment Facility opening up the city for commercial/industrial growth.

“As soon as the interceptor line goes in, a whole lot of good things can happen,” Basehor Mayor Bill Hooker said.

For a city already short of commercial properties, a fire on Dec. 15 that destroyed the Basehor shopping center didn’t help, making the interceptor line all the more important, Hooker said.

“The door is wide open as to what we would accept here, quite frankly,” Hooker said.

Some of the businesses that would be a good addition to the city would be a grocery store the city is currently without one, a hardware store and more restaurants, of which the city has two, Hooker said.

The future of Basehor could also entail the city’s center moving west near the Prairie Gardens development on 158th Street, Basehor officials said.

Prairie Gardens is a 550-home development that when completed would have commercial property available.

Basehor City Hall and Basehor Community Library could move west to Prairie Gardens in the future.

Moving west is something that Tonganoxie officials are hoping continues in the future.

Tonganoxie officials said a 500,000-gallon wastewater treatment facility expansion project should make the city more available for future growth.

Preliminary work is under way on the expansion project, which is slated to cost $2.2 million.

“I think in Tonganoxie, we’re optimistic developments will want to come out west,” said Shane Krull, Tonganoxie city administrator.

Krull said recent residential and commercial growth has brought the need for the expansion project.

The city currently owns land along the Kansas River west of Linwood for future water well-sites, he said.

Southern Leavenworth County, it appears, would be at the forefront of expansion in both residential and commercial properties, city officials said.

“It is obvious where the majority of southern Leavenworth County is going to be,” Hooker said. “It’s going to be south. There will be some north and west but the majority is coming from the south.”