K-7 & 55th Street/Johnson Drive Interchange Project in Shawnee, KS- Work to Begin Monday, March 29th

-KDOT News Release

K-7 & 55th Street/Johnson Drive Interchange Project Work to Begin in Johnson County

Weather permitting, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, March 29, access to and from Johnson Drive from both northbound and southbound K-7 will be closed for construction work on the new K-7 & 55th Street/Johnson Drive interchange project in Johnson County.

Marked detours for project-related closures will be provided via signage on K-7 and adjoining city streets, and will also be included on a full-color interchange project detour map.  To provide drivers with an easy to follow detour route, the City of Shawnee is placing color coordinated arrows on the pavement along the detour routes.  The color of the arrows will coordinate with each individual detour route included on the project detour map.  The interchange project detour map is available online at:http://www.ksdot.org/kcMetro/projectstudytest.asp. 

To view an aerial map of detour routes available during construction on the interchange project, click here.  In addition, drivers can pick up project information, including the detour map and construction phasing/traffic impact map at: 1) Bank of Blue Valley, 5520 Hedge Lane Terrace; and/or at 2) Security Bank of Kansas City, 5450 Roberts Street, during normal business hours.

Johnson Drive access to and from K-7 will close on Monday, March 29, for construction work on the east side of the interchange project.  During the Johnson Drive closure, drivers will detour via 47th Street to Silverheel Street to Woodsonia Drive (blue detour route).  In early August 2010, the new Silverheel Street (a City of Shawnee construction project) spur located via Clear Creek Parkway south of the interchange project is scheduled to open providing an additional detour route (purple detour route).  Drivers will then be able to detour via Clear Creek Parkway to Silverheel Street to Woodsonia Drive.  Johnson Drive access to and from K-7 is scheduled to reopen to all traffic in mid-2011.

In early June 2010, 55th Street west of K-7 is scheduled to close for construction work on the new roundabout that will be located on the west side of the interchange.  During the 55th Street closure, traffic will detour via 47th Street to Old K-7 Highway (red detour route) or via Clear Creek Parkway to Hedge Lane Terrace (green detour route).

Advance message boards will alert drivers to all lane and ramp closures on the interchange project.  Drivers should expect delays and are advised to use alternate routes.  Updated daily lane/ramp closure information for the project can be viewed online at: www.ksdot.org/kcmetro/laneclose.asp.

The interchange project includes construction of a roundabout to merge the K-7 on- and off-ramps with 55th Street/Johnson Drive and a second roundabout will be constructed west of K-7 at the intersection of Hedge Lane Terrace and 55th Street.  Also included with the project is the construction of a side-road overpass at Clear Creek Parkway and K-7 and the already completed construction of Hedge Lane Terrace from 55th Street south to Clear Creek Parkway.  When the interchange project is completed, 55th Street/Johnson Drive will run under K-7.

Miles Excavating, Inc. (Basehor, KS) is the primary contractor on the interchange project with a total contract cost of $21.4 million.  The K-7 & 55th Street/Johnson Drive interchange project is a cooperative effort, funded in part by the Kansas Department of Transportation and the City of Shawnee.  The entire K-7 & 55th Street/Johnson Drive interchange project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011. 

The Kansas Department of Transportation urges all motorists to be alert, obey the warning signs, and “Give ‘Em a Brake!” when approaching and driving through the project work zone.  For more project information, please contact Kimberly Qualls, Northeast Kansas Public Affairs Manager, at (785) 640-9340, or Amy Pope, Bonner Springs Construction Engineer, at (913) 721-2754.

Only 38 Days Remain to Take Advantage of the First Time/Repeat Buyers Tax Credit

Believe it or not, your April deadline is quickly approaching.  The First Time/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline is April 30th...only 38 days away as of today! 

What does this mean for you?  It's an $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and $6500 for repeat buyers, if you meet certain requirements.  You have until April 30th to be under contract, but unlike the credit last year, you have until June 30th to close.  And with interest rates for a 30-yr fixed mortgage still hovering under 4.9%, now is the time to buy...or sell and buy!

Check out homes for sale in the Kansas City metro area (Shawnee, Prairie Village, Lenexa, Overland Park, Olathe, Leawood, and more) here or contact Pickett Property Group with any questions.  Send us an email or call Brett at 913.787.1870.

Grey Oaks Market Stats for Shawnee, KS

It’s always interesting when I do market stat reports on my own neighborhood.  Grey Oaks, a popular Rodrock Development, is located in Western Shawnee, and features award winning schools (grades Pre-K through 12), recreational amenities such as a community pool, sand volleyball court, picnic area and playground, walking trails, and a Mom’s Council, which facilitates several community activities throughout the year.


Looking over the past 12 months, Grey Oaks has had 31 homes sales dating back to March 2009.  Of those homes, the average sales price was $357,917 with an average of about 245 days on market.


Currently, there are 19 active listings in the community.  The average list price is $375,250.   The homes currently listed in MLS are for the mid and upper ranges of the community, Madison Ridge and Eagle View , and explains in part the higher average listing price I am currently seeing.  So far, the average days on market is showing 239, so that is in line with what has sold since March 2009 (245 days on market).


If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Grey Oaks or any other part of Shawnee or the KC Metro area, please give me a call (913.787.1870) or email me!

Kansas Market Stats for January 2010

Kansas home sales fell by 7.8% percent in January compared to the same period last year, according to new figures released by the Kansas Association of REALTORS®. Sales totaled 1,237 units in January, down from 1,342 units in 2009. In comparison, sales on a national level increased 11.5% for the month.
Across the state there were 15,805 active listings at the end of the month. Supply of new and existing homes on the market -- which is determined by taking the number of active listings and dividing it by the number of sales -- represents 12.8 months.
KAR President, Brian Jones, Broker/Owner of Jones Heritage REALTORS® in Pittsburg, Kansas said the months' supply figures are high as is typical for January when new listings are coming on the market getting ready for spring, while sales lag behind waiting for warmer months. "Mortgage interest rates are expected to trend up later this year, so we expect activity in the markets to begin to pick up as soon as the weather turns warmer and buyers move to take advantage of available tax credits through April 30th."
The statewide average sale price of existing homes last month was $158,919, compared to $139,740 in January 2009. This represents an increase of 13.7%. The statewide median sale price of existing homes last month was $138,000 compared to $138,000 for the same period last year. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the median home price in the Midwest rose 2.4% to $162,700. The national median existing home price was $212,000 which is 2.6% above last year. The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate on a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage last week was 4.97%.
Click on the link below to view a pie chart of sales across the state of Kansas for the month.
January 2010

~Information courtesy of Kansas Association of Realtors

Welcome Home!!

The joke between my wife and I is that we have lived at over 14 different addresses, between 4 different states, during the past 19 years that we have been together. That’s almost a new physical address every year! We both grew up and went to school in the Kansas City area…she went to Shawnee Mission West and I went to Pembroke Hill…but we met at KU and after graduation, we traveled from one side of the country to the other due to my job at the time (I was a Corporate Trainer in the hospitality industry). Deep inside, we always knew we would come back home…we just liked to keep our families guessing as to when!


Well, the guessing ended after the birth of our second son. We sold our home in Las Vegas, packed the U-Haul and with the help of our families, made the cross-country trek back to the Midwest.

We started Pickett Property Group once we got settled and have enjoyed the ride the real estate industry has blessed us with over the years. Like other Realtors, we have our website, our Facebook Fan Page, and a Twitter account…yes, we “tweet” from time to time.

We have a LOT of new things planned for the months ahead that we will be rolling out to better help our clients, but our most recent project was moving our blog here, to our new home. This will allow us to present market statistics, tips to sell your home, neighborhood info, living green tips, and more in a much friendlier, easier to use format. Please bear with us as we finish our “remodel”!

In the meantime, feel free to subscribe to our blog (click on the “Sign Me Up!” button) and get a sneek peek into Real Estate do’s for the Kansas City area. Take a look around and leave a comment to introduce yourself, share your thoughts, or ask a question. We’d love to meet you!