KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Viewers that attended out Let's Talk Spring Hill event shared this story idea with KSHB 41. If you have a story in your Spring Hill neighborhood, please reach out to share your voice. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Spring Hill, Kansas, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Kansas City metro area, and a major driver in that growth is a housing boom.
"It’s kind of an untapped resource, or it’s kind of a secret part of the metro area that has steadily been growing over the past few years," said Mike Mallon, Spring Hill's community development director. "It’s a prime position between Highway 169, Highway 69 over to the east, really trying to accommodate the growth that’s just naturally happening in southern Johnson County."
Spring Hill is split between Miami and Johnson counties — but a bulk of the development is taking place on the Johnson County side.
As urban sprawl continues to put pressure on the southern portion of the county, Mallon says, the city is competing with its neighbors, and they're trying to stay ahead of the game.
"We are competing on the same level as Olathe, Overland Park, Kansas City. The growth here on a per capita basis far exceeds that of some of our neighboring communities," he said.
Jake Booth and his family moved to town about five years ago, after house shopping in Overland Park and Lenexa.
"In 2021, we were looking for a house in Northern Johnson County, Overland Park, Lenexa. We missed out on a few of them; houses were kind of going crazy then, way above asking price," Booth explained. "We were looking in the $420,000 to $440,000 range. Then it just kind of climbed as you put in a bid. Then it goes for 20, 30, $40,000 over the asking price."
The Booths decided to look further south, and Spring Hill became an option they could afford.
A selling point was that the Booths could purchase a brand new home and start their next chapter almost immediately. Many of the homes that fit their price range needed extra work done, costing them more money.
The Booths are one of many examples of folks moving from out of the area looking for their first or second home.
Spring Hill issued about 400 new building permits last year, and the market is offering a wide variety, including starter homes and above.
The city told KSHB 41 that over the past four to five years, they approved 1,800 new residential dwellings.
"In the next ten years, we will continue to see an increase in population. I think we could see another 2-3,000 residents in the next ten years," Mallon said. "It is a big number. We are punching weigh out of our weight class here with the number of building permits we’re having."
Mallon says developers are noticing it as well, but primarily in the housing sector — future retail and commercial development comes with rooftops, according to the city.
While the housing boom is real, the city believes the biggest challenge will be ensuring the infrastructure can handle the rapid growth.
"I think it’s really kind of a timing issue, and a location issue the retailers and the commercial developer and office development, really want to see rooftop numbers in order to generate their demand for their shopping," he explained. "One of the biggest components is going to be infrastructure, and cities that position themselves well with infrastructure, sewer capacity, water lines, roads are going to be the ones that are able to allow for development to continue and make the city marketable for future development and provide the services and amenities residents want."
For parents like Booth, he wants to see more dining and commercial options in the community. It's not uncommon for him and his family to load up and spend their money in Olathe or Overland Park.
While the wants battle the city's needs in the present, Booth is confident in Spring Hill's plan for growth.
As for development he doesn't want to see when asked, a data center is one of those developments.
"I think the obvious one that we don’t want is a data center; we fought one over here on 191st," Booth said.
He went on to add his concerns about water and the location of the project near his home.
KSHB 41 Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa was the first to share concerns from neighbors about a data center proposal back in February.
In early March, a data center developer pulled its application at 191st Street and Renner Road.
Other than a statement from Mayor Chad Young back in March, this is the first time the city has addressed the data center project.
"We can't, as a city, set the ground rules through zoning and based upon the comprehensive plan as one of the guiding factors. A property owner has a right to request that their property be rezoned; there is a process for that in our code and in state statute, and then that’s when those requests get reviewed and evaluated by the governing body," Mallon responded when asked about the concerns residents have about a data center proposal coming back. "As a staff, we look to have a balance of land uses that provide jobs and shopping and amenities and the residential housing units to be able to support those types of other activities,"
Mallon explained the city has an obligation under Kansas law to review a rezoning proposal once it's submitted.
Gamboa asked Mallon whether a future data center project would be an economic opportunity for the city, considering the expansive residential growth in the community.
"As is known that the city did add that in as a land use into our unified zoning ordinance back in October, we don’t have any requests for industrial zoning we're reviewing at this time," Mallon responded.
While the city bases its guidelines for growth and development through the comprehensive plan, Spring Hill is currently in the process of working through future land use designations.
It's a process that began in 2023 and has kicked off again, and he continues to receive public feedback on the future growth of the community.
"When we plan cities, we really work to have that well-rounded nature, the balance where people can live, work, and play in their community," Mallon added.
On Thursday, May 21, the Spring Hill Planning Commission will meet for a work session to discuss zoning and land use designations at 7:00 p.m. in the Civic Center.
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