North Kickapoo Avenue Road Widening Land Acquisition

City of Shawnee needed to acquire rights-of-way for a street widening and reconstruction project on one of its main arterial streets — North Kickapoo Avenue from Farrall Street to Kickapoo Spur.

The City of solicited only the four firms — including Meshek — on ODOT’s approved turnkey service providers list. The City selected Meshek as its land acquisition partner based on our expertise, thorough research of the project, and our transparent explanation of the process to the City.

The project consists of more than 155 parcels associated with 127 landowners, and will likely include three residential relocations and six commercial relocations. The team is currently working through the valuation stage for acquisition and interview stage for relocation. We are on schedule to present offers by mid-summer.

Some of the key factors our project analysis addressed are:

• Convenience Stores. The acquisition will include several gas stations / convenience stores. The proposed right-of-way and utility easements may affect vehicular entry, as well as the current location of underground storage tanks and pump islands.

• BIA Tracts. It had been our experience that acquisitions involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs typically take longer to negotiate and resolve than a typical residential or commercial land acquisition. We have identified the parcels owned by BIA and have considered the potential extended negotiation time when outlining our proposed schedule.

• Proximity Issues. Based on our initial research, we have determined that some residential structures will fall within the proposed rights-of-way. We are highly experienced in helping landowners understand and overcome the proximity issues like the ones we anticipate here.