Whats the missing piece to the P&L puzzle?

[ColumbusParkian]

Regardless of current developments, i think that everybody could agree that the Power and Light District has not yet lived up to our expectations, and that too much space is sitting around unleased. Regardless, I believe that as tenants slowly move in, people will begin to see the district as a multi-functional neighborhood rather than just a place to get drunk.

In your wildest dreams, what single tenant move-in would really get the ball rolling, bringing new people downtown and spurring additional development?

My choice: A multifloor Barnes & Noble or Borders

[kcmetro]

An upscale hotel

[mykem]

An upscale hotel

and condos!

[ColumbusParkian]

i was more refering to retail, but yeah i agree both of those would be great! I've been told that the NW corner of 13th and Walnut was supposed to be a W hotel before the economy tanked. Now it's an asphalt parking lot. almost as good, right!?!?!?

[KC-wildcat]

My choice: A multifloor Barnes & Noble or Borders

+1

[DaveKCMO]

i know you said retail, but retail exists already. residential, however, is completely absent (and was part of the plan).

a comfortable coffee shop with long hours and outdoor seating is sorely needed within the boundaries of the district, preferably in the courtyard area south of H+R block. why this has yet to happen is a complete mystery to me. where are you, latteland?

[jdubwaldo]

Great thread!  I was just talking about this question with my hubby - he and I agree, we think it is maybe more an image problem.  That there are a lot of folks who don't want to go because of the perceptions they have about the crowd or goings on based on the mubmo jumbo in the media.....

[Highlander]

In my opinion, the missing piece is a light rail train or at least streetcar running down Main or Grand.  

[FangKC]

I agree with Dave. P&L needs the new residential component. 

A good deal of downtown loop housing is made up of apartments that have been converted out of old office buildings that were never designed to be apartments.  The layouts often have a combination of several problems: rooms that are too small; not enough storage, or closet space; poor physical layout; poor light exposure in parts of apartment; exposed ductwork and electrical conduits; and no outside space (balconies, terraces). Often the bathrooms can't accommodate modern amenities like large whirlpool baths, etc.

My point is that the living spaces are not as well-thought out because the building was not originally a residential space.

I personally don't like spaces where kitchens and bedrooms are open to the rest of the living space. Or having people walk through my bedroom to the bathroom.  That way, if people drop by, I can close doors and not have to make my bed (which I hardly ever do), or worry about dishes being in the sink.

I've also been in apartments where there is hardly any place to hang artwork because of a combination of floor-to-ceiling windows, open kitchens, multiple doorways, etc.

When I moved to KC from New York City, I had a really hard time finding an apartment that I liked downtown.

[im2kull]

Any Retail.

A flagship Boutique Hotel (Like a "W"),
With upper level Residential.

[dangerboy]

Retail and residential, of course.  The original plan seemed solid.  It's the execution that has been somewhat disappointing.

[macnw]

Nordstrom Rack/Ross/Marshall's(discount retailer)

[pearcejp]

Crate and Barrel outlet.  People go ape sh*t for C&B.  It would draw a hoard of people downtown and would be the major retail anchor.  Also like the Barnes&Noble/Borders angle.

[ignatius]

Retail and residential, of course.  The original plan seemed solid.  It's the execution that has been somewhat disappointing.

A more specific direction of this thread might be what missing piece can be realistically accomplished in the next year or so.  

Is hard to execute new residential construction when there is an oversupply of high end condos that aren't moving.  High rise leasing is also expensive to build, which would result in lease rates too high for KC.  Look at the rates of the new R Market apts, and that's not even a high rise.  Most realistic chance of residential in the short term is to convert the actual P&L building to apts and maybe the Jenkins Music building too.  Would like to see P&L building become hotel/residential combo.

Otherwise, a bookstore seems to be the most practically realistic next step.  The rumored Staples may not be a bad fit either.  If Cordish wants to attract a metro audience, they must otherwise pull off desired retailers that would be exclusive to the metro.

[loftguy]

i know you said retail, but retail exists already. residential, however, is completely absent (and was part of the plan).

Residential is in the works.  Announcements are expected in the coming months.

[mister816]

Residential is in the works.  Announcements are expected in the coming months.

I'll believe it when I see it.

[DaveKCMO]

i believe it now. who wouldn't want people living as close to the shops and restaurants as possible? as many have noted before, there is a noticeable lack of weeknight foot traffic when there is not event at midland/sprint/bartle.

the loop should have residents on every single block, where possible.

[mister816]

i believe it now. who wouldn't want people living as close to the shops and restaurants as possible? as many have noted before, there is a noticeable lack of weeknight foot traffic when there is not event at midland/sprint/bartle.

the loop should have residents on every single block, where possible.

I totally agree... but who wouldn't want a downtown ballpark?  who wouldn't want a light rail system connecting downtown with the rest of the metro? 

I hate to sound like one of those KC haters because I live downtown and i love my city, but we just have a way of messing everything up for ourselves.

[im2kull]

I totally agree... but who wouldn't want a downtown ballpark? 

Not to tread tooooo far off topic..But I'm sure that nearly every person who values any kind of Density strongly objects to a DT ballpark (as its a complete waste of space, has density for an entire 4 hours a day when in use, and is nothing but an empty hole for the nearly other 300 days of the year, not to mention that its a completely private space with zero non-financial contributions to the surrounding community)

[splash]

I might have a different/unwanted perspective (because I don't live downtown), but here are my thoughts. 

I live south of town and have a friend who lives downtown.  When we get together to hang out, we never go to P&L.  We pretty much always go to the plaza and what we end up doing is walking around and the places we generally hit are B&N, one of the coffee shops, the Apple store, and end up at one of the bars for dinner or a couple of drinks.  Neither of us have any interest in clubbing or barhopping, which is basically (in our view) the only thing going on at P&L.