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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The future of Mission Gateway remains unclear.
The site sits with only a hint of the development that was supposed to rise from the property that once was the Mission Mall.
The land has been mostly empty since 2006. After multiple development plans failed to materialize, the site has been in limbo ever since.
There’s been some recent work at the Mission Gateway site, with graffiti removal at the beginning of May.
‘Our hands are tied’: Mission Gateway site remains idle, cleanup effort on property
The site has been in foreclosure since 2023, when Mission terminated its agreement with the developer. The city is not part of the ongoing litigation.
Mayor Sollie Flora said this leaves their hands mostly tied beyond basic code enforcement, like the recent graffiti removal.
“We don’t have control over the property,” Mayor Flora said. “And just like we can’t come take your house, we can’t go take the Gateway site.”
According to Mission City Administrator Laura Smith, “the only quantifiable dollar amount of lost revenue relates to one year’s worth of unpaid taxes and special assessments on the property.” Smith said.
She said the property owner, Aryeh Realty, LLC, owes the city of Mission $727,166.09 in unpaid taxes. This includes property tax, stormwater utility fees, and special assessments.
Smith said the owners owe $301,628.52 in unpaid taxes to other jurisdictions.
“We’re still committed to seeing a successful project at that site and something that fits with our vision for that site, which would be a project with some density, with mixed uses,” Mayor Flora said.
“People are frustrated and tired of looking at it,” resident Bev Carlson said. “The whole corner here is just a mess and it really brings people down.”
Carlson has lived near the site for around 15 years.
“I think we’ve all kind of got used to seeing it. I know the city’s hands are tied. They’ve tried everything they can to be able to do something about it,” Patti Meier, owner of nearby KC Maker Studio and Fabrics, said. “I don’t think it’s an accurate representation (of Mission) at all.”
