Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Find out what's going on in the Sunflower State's portions of the Metro here.
Sani
Strip mall
Strip mall
Posts: 273
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:22 pm
Location: Shawnee

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by Sani »

I thought this would have gotten a more recent post. Huh. At any rate...

$305 million plan for Olathe Great Mall site envisions a mixed-use sports destination
Developers envision a $305 million plan for the site of the razed Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe.

An application to use Kansas STAR bonds to finance the project proposes a mixed-use project with a heavy emphasis on sports and fitness.

It would also incorporate entertainment venues, restaurants, retail space, office and medical office space, hotels, residential units, and public spaces that could draw nearly 1.8 million visitors a year to the underused site at Interstate 35 and 151st Street.

The redevelopment could include a 4,000-5,000 seat arena and a community ice sheet for youth hockey tournaments and practice, interactive golf, and rock climbing.
It all seems pretty pie-in-the-sky at the moment.
User avatar
StL_Dan
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 3661
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 3:04 pm
Location: Olathe via St Louis

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by StL_Dan »

A new community ice rink? SWEET. Bring it!
User avatar
AlbertHammond
New York Life
New York Life
Posts: 355
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 9:52 am

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by AlbertHammond »

Sani wrote:I thought this would have gotten a more recent post. Huh. At any rate...
Us Kansans like to throw good money after bad. :( This is not STAR bond worthy.
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by flyingember »

If this area could drive 1.8 million people annually the mall would still be open.
mgsports
Hotel President
Hotel President
Posts: 3417
Joined: Sat May 31, 2008 7:00 pm

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by mgsports »

Sky Golf? Costco or Sam's Club? Sprouts or Fresh Thyme Market? Sun Fresh or Albertsons or Ramey Price Cutter? Meijer? Pizza Ranch? McCalister's Deli? Here Today? Dunham Sports? Milio's Sandwich Shop? like at Ward Parkway Shops a Restaurant District? A Sports Arena?
User avatar
GRID
City Hall
City Hall
Posts: 17083
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2003 12:20 pm
Contact:

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by GRID »

I see some things never change about Kansas. They are going after STAR bonds to build this redevelopment making sure it will be a "tourist destination". FYI, The Great Mall was highly subsidized and was supposed bring in people from all over the midwest by the bus load too. Now it's a field again.

JoCo is still the most corporate welfare, ridiculously subsidized (by the state, not just local) high growth suburban area I have seen anywhere in the country. LOL.
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by flyingember »

GRID wrote:I see some things never change about Kansas. They are going after STAR bonds to build this redevelopment making sure it will be a "tourist destination". FYI, The Great Mall was highly subsidized and was supposed bring in people from all over the midwest by the bus load too. Now it's a field again.

JoCo is still the most corporate welfare, ridiculously subsidized (by the state, not just local) high growth suburban area I have seen anywhere in the country. LOL.
And since then 135th has built up a ton of retail. It's in a much more competitive market than before.
User avatar
GRID
City Hall
City Hall
Posts: 17083
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2003 12:20 pm
Contact:

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by GRID »

flyingember wrote:
GRID wrote:I see some things never change about Kansas. They are going after STAR bonds to build this redevelopment making sure it will be a "tourist destination". FYI, The Great Mall was highly subsidized and was supposed bring in people from all over the midwest by the bus load too. Now it's a field again.

JoCo is still the most corporate welfare, ridiculously subsidized (by the state, not just local) high growth suburban area I have seen anywhere in the country. LOL.
And since then 135th has built up a ton of retail. It's in a much more competitive market than before.
And it's all super subsidized. BlueHawk is getting star bonds, local tifs, transportation sales tax etc. Same with Prairie Fire. Corbin Park has been getting money right and left for years and is still struggling to build out.

"development" in Johnson County, KS is still fake as ever. Even though it's supposed to be this vibrant affluent economy, it's more subsidized than almost anyplace in the country that I know of, including urban areas where subsidies are actually needed and warranted. When you add in all the job poaching they have done from KCMO over the years with insane PEAK incentives (and yet today they produce very few new net jobs to the metro) it's actually comical that people actually think JoCo has a strong economy and is a desirable place for companies to relocate to.
User avatar
Highlander
City Center Square
City Center Square
Posts: 10169
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:40 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by Highlander »

flyingember wrote:
GRID wrote:I see some things never change about Kansas. They are going after STAR bonds to build this redevelopment making sure it will be a "tourist destination". FYI, The Great Mall was highly subsidized and was supposed bring in people from all over the midwest by the bus load too. Now it's a field again.

JoCo is still the most corporate welfare, ridiculously subsidized (by the state, not just local) high growth suburban area I have seen anywhere in the country. LOL.
And since then 135th has built up a ton of retail. It's in a much more competitive market than before.
With a few exceptions, I don't think retail should ever be subsidized with incentives. First of all, if the market was there, retail would be there. Kansas is just robbing Peter (who lives elsewhere in Wyandotte or Johnson County) to pay Paul. As you say, it's already very competitive in southern Johnson County so any new jobs created by retail incentives will most likely lead to job losses elsewhere in the Kansas burbs (probably unsubsidized jobs). One exception might be something like the P&L District where something was necessary to augment the then nascent but growing urban lifestyle and to give instant life to one of the more visible and at the time embarrassing parts of the city. I'm all for subsidizing actual jobs for people with careers that pay well etc... Bring jobs downtown and you bring people downtown to live and retail and entertainment will follow. Subsidizing retail just creates more competition for the same finite number of retail spendable dollars and the only surety is that there will be as many losers as there are winners.
empires228
Strip mall
Strip mall
Posts: 284
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 2:23 pm

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by empires228 »

GRID wrote:I see some things never change about Kansas. They are going after STAR bonds to build this redevelopment making sure it will be a "tourist destination". FYI, The Great Mall was highly subsidized and was supposed bring in people from all over the midwest by the bus load too. Now it's a field again.

JoCo is still the most corporate welfare, ridiculously subsidized (by the state, not just local) high growth suburban area I have seen anywhere in the country. LOL.
Cite your source for the mall having been heavily subsidized. As I recall, the owner wanted help after Legends was built though a STAR Bond and was denied then, and then they asked again around the middle of the recession when CBL threatened to let Oak Park Mall rot without subsidies. I approved of the latter because when you let a huge mall get dated you end up with Metro North and what’s starting to happen at Independence Center.
mgsports
Hotel President
Hotel President
Posts: 3417
Joined: Sat May 31, 2008 7:00 pm

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by mgsports »

User avatar
FangKC
City Hall
City Hall
Posts: 18142
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:02 pm
Location: Old Northeast -- Indian Mound

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by FangKC »

Image

I can't believe they are still designing retail buildings in projects like this without putting at least two floors of apartments on top of the buildings.

I will give them credit for putting some apartments on the edge of the project. Still, have developers and urban planners not learned any lessons? You need to also place housing above retail. It is especially needed for seniors who might no longer drive. They don't want to walk through a sea of surface parking to go shopping. Restaurants and hair salons do better when they have on-site housing. Seniors need to be near grocery and drug stores--their two primary reasons to regularly leave their apartment. The largest generation in US history is aging--and retired, and many are trapped in suburban single family houses when they stop driving. They need mixed use projects like this to offer the housing they need, if and when they downsize.

I wouldn't be surprised if this project will be struggling again in 20 years. What do we do then? Tear it down?
mgsports
Hotel President
Hotel President
Posts: 3417
Joined: Sat May 31, 2008 7:00 pm

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by mgsports »

https://www.olatheks.org/home/showdocument?id=13428 Hopefully one of big box is a Grocery and others new to Olathe or KC area. Some of Restaurants listed that aren't in KC area hopefully get here or Olathe Gateway phase 2 or so on.
mgsports
Hotel President
Hotel President
Posts: 3417
Joined: Sat May 31, 2008 7:00 pm

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by mgsports »

The Golf place to be like Top Golf.
User avatar
StL_Dan
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 3661
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 3:04 pm
Location: Olathe via St Louis

Re: Dismantling of Great Mall (ongoing)

Post by StL_Dan »

I wish there were plans for an outdoor ice sheet similar to Lee's Summit new facility.
Post Reply