Tornado Leaves Vacancy for Villas and Smaller Lots Builder Says

A local builder with nearly 36 years of experience told city leaders the tornado-ravaged corner in Sunset Hills would be a good place to rebuild a mix of villas and a few detached houses.

Mike Kuehnle addressed a task force appointed by Sunset Hills Mayor Bill Nolan that is examining the potential fate of vacant property at the corner of Lindbergh Boulevard and E. Watson Road.

"It's going to boil down to who wants what, and how much money," Kuehnle said. "That's the problem, because of Sunset Hills high property value."

For a developer to be interested in taking on the project, there has to be a certain margin of profit involved. With the high cost of property in Sunset Hills, more dwellings would need to be built on the same property to turn that profit. 

While the estimated 10 acres is all privately owned, the task force is looking to recommend a potential course of action to the city Planning and Zoning Board if that would hurry along redevelopment of the site.

Last month, a bid was voted down by the city board that would ultimately re-zone the tornado site for commercial use from residential, after repeated public outcry against commercial use.

However, an estimated 6-10 property owners at the site of the New Year's Eve tornado touchdown have options to sell their lots to a commercial developer, officials said.

Other residents who want to keep their houses on Court Drive and neighboring lots question why single-family houses can't be rebuilt there.

But some who lost their homes say they can't afford to rebuild, or want to move away. Others may be eyeing higher-priced commercial offers as a bonus.

Also, many of the lots are smaller than the city's required 20,000 square feet to build, so they are stuck. The demolished houses and lots in most cases are older than the city itself, and were not subject to today's zoning codes.

Kuehnle said he worked on the final phase of building the Courtyard housing development on the opposite corner of Lindbergh Boulevard at Eddy and Park. The houses back up to Lindbergh Boulevard and are shielded from some noise and sight by high berms, trees and shrubs.

Task force member Bob Mayer said one sold recently in the Courtyard for $468,000. City Alderman Frank Hardy said one resident was struggling to sell a home in the Courtyard.

Kuehnle told the task force that the economy was ready for this kind of project, with the appropriate zoning.

The task force wants to hear from a handful of developers and contractors on the potential for the 10 acres, before recommending action to the Planning and Zoning Board.

However, the task force informally agreed to aim within the next two weeks for a proposal to allow more dense housing at the tornado site. 

The task force meetings are public and is set to meet next on Wed., 4pm at City Hall.

The official name is Residential Recovery Task Force, with Jim Williams as chairman and members Bob Baer, Bill Bollinger, Nick Dragan, Scott Haggerty, Bob Mayer, Frank Pellegrini, Drew Stitz, Jim Suellentrop, David Witbrodt.