KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
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Residents of Shawnee will have to wait a bit longer for the completion of the Westbrooke Green shopping center to open, as the city approved a developer's request for an extension to July 31.
The shopping center, located at 75th Street and Quivira Road, has been mostly abandoned and considered an eyesore by many residents. But new details about potential tenants are giving the community hope for what's to come.
"It's been kind of an eyesore," said Melissa Sabin, who lives in an apartment next to the development.
Sabin first spoke with KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig about the abandoned shopping center last summer. As a single mother to a disabled son, she sees the development as an opportunity for better accessibility in the area.
"I would just love to not have to ... pack up our wheelchair and then have to drive to a grocery store," Sabin said.
Paul Guastello Jr., owner of Westbrooke Partners LLC, the group developing the center, shared many updates at a recent Shawnee City Council meeting.
"Just taking that old blighted building and kind of bringing it back to life, not just from an economic standpoint, but from a visual standpoint where people who live in the area are proud to live around it, versus it being an eyesore," Guastello said.
He said a grocery store is driving the development. Other interested tenants include a Mexican restaurant, local barber shop, local nail salon and a national pizza franchise.
"They have absolutely made progress, which is exciting," Sabin said.
Despite the progress, Sabin remains cautiously optimistic about the timeline, given previous delays.
"With the amount of times that has been pushed back, I am not confident that's going to happen, but please prove me wrong," Sabin said.
If the development opens as planned, it could provide the accessibility Sabin and her son need.
"Maybe if they all open by this year, we'll be renewing again in another year," Sabin said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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