A Five Guys Burgers and Fries is the first tenant to open in the first phase of the 39 Rainbow project, in a prime corner spot at 3930 Rainbow Blvd., by the University of Kansas Medical Center.

A four-story, 83-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites is scheduled to open Friday in the $15 million first phase of the center.

Lane4 Property Group said it had a leased signed for Yogurtopia, a self-serve frozen yogurt chain, but it will not open in the center by mutual agreement.

Mike and Holly Richey of RWT LLC, a Lawrence-based Five Guys franchisee, said Wyandotte County is part of their territory. While they planned to get steady traffic from the hospital, they’ve been surprised by walk-in traffic from area residents in the evening.

The Richey’s have three other locations – one in the Northland, one in Kansas City, Kan., and one in Lawrence – and also have plans to open a location soon in St. Joseph.

Prairie Village developments

Lane4, leasing agent and property manager for the Prairie Village Shops and Corinth Square Shopping Center, on Monday updated the Prairie Village City Council on its plans for the two centers.

If all goes as planned, the Hen House in Corinth Square Shopping Center, at 4050 W. 83rd St., will start renovations this fall and finish in spring 2013.

The Hen House in the Prairie Village Shops, 6950 Mission Lane, will start renovations in March and finish about six months later, nearly doubling in size from 18,000 square feet to 32,000 square feet. It will take part of a parking lot to the north.

Hen House officials did not return phone calls concerning details on the remodelings. But merchants were told this week that Hen House’s expansion could increase the grocery store’s sales about 30 percent.

Mary Rimann, president of the Prairie Village Merchants Association, approves of the Hen House expansion, saying it would increase the “customer experience” at the center. However, she would like more details on changes at the center and said merchants were concerned about losing 54 customer parking spaces.

Lane4 also wants to tear down the former Waid’s restaurant building at 6920 Mission Road and replace it with a 5,000-square-foot building that would have two to four tenants. It could include a drive-thru for a “gourmet coffee” shop, possibly a Starbucks relocation, but no leases have been signed.

Plans also are in the works to make Mission Lane a private road and the width would also be reduced to make it more pedestrian-friendly. But merchants said a drive-through in the new building might make the lane less pedestrian-friendly.

“We are being proactive. We want to incorporate things in the plan now instead of waiting until it is too late,” Lane4’s president Owen Buckley said.

He also has met with Macy’s executives about upgrading the department store but no plans are in the works.