Crossing the State Line

September 8, 2022

The Village of Loch Lloyd continues its decades-long growth with a recent expansion from Missouri into Kansas.

Words by Jessica Bahr | Photos and Videos by Josie Henderson

he Blue River is a natural treasure in Kansas City’s southern reaches. It spans the Missouri-Kansas state line, originating in east Johnson County, Kansas, and meandering north to meet with the Missouri River. It has carved out many scenic byways along its way—but near its source, where the city meets the country, the river has created a view that could stop you in your tracks.

See video tour of Loch Lloyd at the end of the article.

It’s this view that may have prompted businessman and real estate developer Harry J. Lloyd to create the Village of Loch Lloyd in the late 1980s. Today, this private gated community has grown to include approximately 450 home sites and 800 residents. Its newest neighborhood, known as Stonehaven at Loch Lloyd, opens this September and allows the community to expand from Missouri into Kansas.

As Ashlea Black, vice president of real estate and marketing for Loch Lloyd Residential Real Estate, explains, the undeniable defining element of this community is its location. It holds the perfect balance of proximity to nature and to dining and shopping in nearby Martin City, Leawood and Overland Park.

“The location is incomparable,” Ashlea says. “It’s a semi-rural setting with a varied topography, nestled in the rolling hills along the Blue River. And with its wooded acreage homesites, Stonehaven is arguably the most beautiful land we’ve developed to date.”

Accessed through Loch Lloyd’s new west gate at 167th Street and Kenneth Road, Stonehaven covers the area where Cass County, Missouri, meets Johnson County, Kansas. That’s a big benefit for professionals who may need to maintain a Kansas address and for families with school-age children who want to enroll in the desirable Blue Valley School District.

From young families to empty nesters, Loch Lloyd’s residents represent all ages and life stages. And everyone has plenty to do thanks to the community’s planned activities, amenities and services. A spring-fed lake is the “loch” of Loch Lloyd and a community gathering point. This 110-acre reservoir has two marinas for residents’ water access. Residents also take advantage of the view from the surrounding lakeside nature trail.

And, of course, all that rolling topography lends itself to a world-class golf course. The Loch Lloyd Country Club is home to the Tom Watson Signature Design eighteen-hole golf course, which the Kansas City golf legend designed in 2012. Many enthusiasts consider it his finest design.

“Golf is undoubtedly the most popular sport in Loch Lloyd, and a large portion of the community is woven around the course,” Ashlea says. “Tom Watson took his inspiration from Loch Lloyd’s hilly, wooded terrain to create a course to challenge golfers and to create a memorable experience they want to repeat again and again. In Loch Lloyd, it all comes back to the land!”

And the houses. Loch Lloyd is known for having some of the most exclusive properties in the region. The community has a preferred group of eleven premier builders, three of whom showcased homes on the 2022 Artisan Home Tour this summer—see page 107 for more.

Loch Lloyd is an incorporated community and governed by a board of trustees. While it still bears the name of its original developer, the community was acquired in 2002 by FiveStar Lifestyles, which was owned at the time by Cerner Corporation cofounders Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig. The community has grown considerably in the twenty years since and is still evolving to meet a variety of residents’ needs, including the development of its maintenance-provided neighborhood, The Cove at Loch Lloyd.

The most recent expansion—Stonehaven—crosses the state line like the Blue River itself. While the community’s original master plan called for greater density throughout the development, the current and former ownership has revised that plan to emphasize their most valuable resource, the land. The revision respects the original plan’s intent but allows more space for protecting the natural environment—which is the draw in the first place.

Loch Lloyd’s appeal is even more popular since the COVID-19 pandemic, as homeowners seek restorative retreats from which to work, live and play. As new neighborhoods join established ones in this treasured setting, Loch Lloyd already has the perfect scene for creating a lifetime of memories.