OLATHE, Kan. — One of Johnson County’s largest current public-building projects is now taking shape near 119th Street and Ridgeview Road, where construction continues on a new 140,000-square-foot Health Services Building designed to bring several county health and human-service programs under one roof. The county has authorized up to $116.524 million for the project.
The new facility is being built on Johnson County’s Sunset Drive campus, just south of the existing Health Services Building at 11875 S. Sunset Drive. It will combine operations from the Johnson County Mental Health Center, Department of Health and Environment, and Aging and Human Services, reducing the number of separate buildings residents must visit for county services.
Among the services planned for the building are adult and children’s mental-health programs, emergency mental-health services, pharmacy services, the county’s walk-in health clinic, WIC, community health programs, environmental health and child-care licensing. A commercial kitchen will also support Aging and Human Services’ nutrition programs.
Construction began in 2025 and has reached several major milestones. Structural steel was scheduled for completion in May, followed by completion of the building façade in July. The first move-in is planned for February 2027, when Health and Environment programs and the Aging and Human Services kitchen are expected to relocate.
The project is scheduled to be fully completed in September 2027. The second phase will move Mental Health services from the current Olathe Mental Health Office, along with Environmental Health and Child Care Licensing programs now housed elsewhere on the Sunset Drive campus.
Residents who currently use those facilities should not see an immediate disruption. Johnson County says the existing Health Services Building and Olathe Mental Health Office will remain operational during construction. After services move into the new building, both older facilities are scheduled for demolition so parking and remaining site improvements can be completed.
The building is also being designed with private consultation rooms, group-therapy and community-event spaces, more natural daylight and flexible areas that can be adapted as county programs change. Sustainability features include rooftop solar panels and a water-reclamation system. County officials have estimated the solar system alone could avoid about $85,000 a year in purchased electricity costs.
The project is being designed by Finkle + Williams Architecture and Perkins&Will, with McCownGordon Construction serving as contractor. Johnson County has also posted architectural renderings and a drone flyover showing construction progress on the site.
WHY IT MATTERS: The new building will consolidate several heavily used health, mental-health and family-service programs at one Olathe campus, meaning the project will affect residents from across Johnson County—not just those living nearby.
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