In its heyday, Longview Farm in Lee’s

In its heyday, Longview Farm in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, about 20 miles from downtown Kansas City, was one of the premier horse farms in the country. Seventeen of the original 40 buildings remain — all are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Preserving these buildings was one of the central challenges during the recent charrette for New Longview, planned for a 260-acre parcel of the original farm. Residents and officials in Lee’s Summit had previously shot down an apartment complex proposal for the property, but at the conclusion of the charrette, they gave a standing ovation to developer David Gale for his role in charting a new direction for this controversial site. Anchored by a neighborhood center in the northwest corner of the site, the proposed development program includes 1,200 dwelling units and approximately 250,000 square feet of commercial space. Some historic barns are slated to be reused as commercial buildings in the neighborhood center, while the central show horse arena may be converted into an early childhood education center. Gale has promised to spend $15 million on the preservation effort. On the northern half of the site, the design team proposed replacing a previously planned, 50 mph parkway with a multiple-lane boulevard that can accommodate both fast and slow traffic and includes quiet side lanes where homes front the street. The charrette team included 25 new urbanist planners and consultants and was lead by Kevin Klinkenberg of 180 Degrees Design Studio in Kansas City and John Anderson of Anderson Lamb Associates in Chico, California.