Since July, Leawood's Town Center Plaza has added Johnson County's only LEGO Store, the area's first [solidcore] studio, a drybar, a children's play space, and ALO's first Kansas location. In September, the company that owns the center went before the Leawood City Council and, as the Johnson County Post reported, described the buildings housing those stores as "visibly aging."
The new tenants came first. Federal Realty Investment Trust now wants to rebuild the exterior, and it is asking the city to let a sales tax collected inside the centers pay for most of that work. This holiday season, the newest stores on 119th Street sit inside the buildings the owner wants to redo.
A $289 Million Purchase, Then the New Tenants
Federal Realty bought Town Center Plaza and Town Center Crossing on July 1, 2025, for $289 million. The deal covered about 550,000 square feet. In its announcement of the acquisition, the company said rents at the centers were below market, which left room to create value. Fourteen months later, the tenant roster looks like that strategy at work. Here's what KCTV5 reported in September and how things stood heading into November:
| Business | Where | Timing as reported |
|---|---|---|
| LEGO Store | Town Center | Opened in July |
| [solidcore] | South side of Town Center Plaza | Opened in July |
| drybar | Town Center | Opened in July |
| Play Street Museum | Town Center | Opened Sept. 9 |
| Vuori | Town Center | Scheduled for September |
| ALO | Town Center Plaza, 4868 W. 119th St. | Scheduled for Sept. 11 |
| J.Crew | Town Center Crossing | Moved into a larger 5,226-square-foot store |
| Lululemon | Town Center Crossing | Expanded its existing space |
| COACH and The Coach Coffee Shop | Town Center Crossing, 4403 W. 119th St. | Announced for this fall |
| Local Lime Tacos and Margaritas | North side of Town Center Plaza, 5000 W. 119th St. | Listed as coming, slated for November |
Look at the mix. It's mostly retail and fitness, plus one children's attraction and one restaurant. ALO's store is 4,603 square feet, and the center's directory places COACH and its coffee shop next to EVEREVE. Apart from The Coach Coffee Shop, Local Lime is the only new food stop on the list, and the chef-driven Cali-Mex restaurant is the one full restaurant scheduled to open before the holidays.
The Dining Comes Later, on Two Sites With Long Histories
The bigger restaurant changes are happening on land Leawood has known for decades. The Johnson County Post called Hereford House and Houlihan's "30-year stalwarts," and the two sat on opposite sides of the plaza. Each one is getting a different treatment.
- The former Hereford House closed in August 2024. Leawood's Planning Commission approved a plan on March 24, 2026, that keeps the building, redoes the exterior, and adds a bigger patio for a Brooksider Sportsbar & Grill. In a Kansas City Star report from February, the owners predicted a fall opening, depending on permits. No firm opening day has been announced.
- The former Houlihan's closed March 27, 2026. It stood on its own pad on the south side of the plaza, between RH and Pottery Barn. The approved plan for this site is called French Corner. It tears down the old building and replaces it with two buildings holding four restaurants. So far Flower Child is the only one named. The Kansas City Star reported that its Leawood location is expected in late 2027.
French Corner already shows how the larger remake could work, because it went through the same kind of financing review. On April 20, the City Council voted 6–2 to approve a Community Improvement District for the project, a special taxing district that adds a sales tax inside its boundaries to help pay for improvements there. This one adds a 1% sales tax capped at $4.3 million over 22 years, toward a project the outlet put at $18 million. The Johnson County Post covered that vote. For the former Houlihan's lot, the city has already approved the financing.
The $59.8 Million Request
Federal Realty's request for the rest of the property is much larger. It took the request to a City Council work session on Sept. 21. According to the company's presentation to the city, the proposal covers both Town Center Plaza and Town Center Crossing:
- Project cost: about $59.8 million
- Paid through the district: about $35.6 million, roughly 60%, which Federal Realty would recover through the new tax over time. The company would finance the rest.
- Tax: an extra 1% sales tax inside the centers, for up to 22 years or until the agreed amount is collected
- Scope: utility upgrades, new parking lot and sidewalk surfaces, a roof replacement, tenant and exterior improvements, signs, artwork, furnishings, a new retail pad on the north side, outdoor plazas, and LED lighting
The design goals center on the buildings themselves. In the Johnson County Post's account of the work session, the plan focuses on planting trees along the sidewalks, adding gathering spaces that can host events, and opening up the storefronts so each business has signs people can actually see. Geoff Sharpe, Federal's vice president of development, said the design is "about 30 years out of date." The plan would also emphasize the 119th Street entrances at Rosewood and Cedar. Brands like ALO and Vuori are now in storefronts that, by the owner's own account, need opening up so each business can be told apart.
Some council members were skeptical, and the council talked through the proposal at the Sept. 21 work session without voting. Leawood doesn't have a long history with this kind of financing. Its first-ever TIF district, Hallbrook North, came only last year. Town Center Crossing did have a 1% transportation development district sales tax from 2009 to 2018. These districts generally can't overlap, so French Corner's district and the one Federal Realty wants would be separate.
Federal Realty's own schedule called for a final development plan in October 2026, with bids, permits, and the start of construction all in the first quarter of 2027. That timeline is the developer's goal. The Johnson County Post reported that the full council was expected to take up the final development plan as early as its Oct. 6 meeting. The start date for the roof and parking lot work, and whether the extra 1% applies at the centers, depend on the city's decisions on the plan and the district.
The Season on 119th Street, in Order
This is the first holiday season with the new tenants open, and if the developer's timeline holds, the last before exterior work begins. Here are the dates on the calendar now:
- November: Local Lime Tacos and Margaritas is slated to open on the north side of the plaza, at 5000 W. 119th St.
- This fall: COACH and The Coach Coffee Shop are due at Town Center Crossing, at 4403 W. 119th St.
- Nov. 21 through Dec. 23: Santa photo appointments run daily at the Jordan Photography storefront, 4872 W. 119th St., which also takes toy donations during the same weeks.
- Dec. 5: the Nolan Davidson Champion's Run, which Jordan Photography supports, takes place at Sporting Park. The Town Center storefront serves as the toy drop-off.
Town Center Plaza's events page points visitors to the center's Instagram for event news instead of posting a schedule. Any additional holiday programming will likely show up there first.
Leawood City Council agendas will show when the Federal Realty plan and district come up for action.
Town Center is a working example of what our team pays attention to on every property: the difference between what has been finished, what has been approved, and what is only planned. If you'd like to talk through how projects like the Town Center remake shape the Leawood blocks around 119th Street, Joseph Pfannenstiel and the Pfannenstiel Group are glad to help. Contact Us.
