Power and Light District Official Tenant List

[smh]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

[Anthony_Hugo98]

Garment district was a cordish ran thing that was pretty popular. It was reported those spaces were emptied due to the forthcoming building going on top and those spots were going to be used as the lobby and other things for the building. That doesn't account for those spaces on the south side of the alley where the jewelry store was. The space on the corner of 14th and main has never had a tenant.

Ty, didn’t know it was cordish ran. Seems they could’ve kept it in there up until ground breaking, as now it’s just sitting vacant.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

Actually leasing out commercial space would be the first step.

[beautyfromashes]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

Actually leasing out commercial space would be the first step.

You tie incentives directly to occupancy or give a disincentive for unleased space. Doesn’t have to be much, but developers hate to see negatives (costs) on their balance sheets. They don’t seem to care about missed opportunity costs as they will fight like crazy to keep from writing a check.

[Chris Stritzel]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

For P&L, the alley between Main and Baltimore, and the PNC Plaza area, are perfect for incubator retail spaces for local businesses that want to be in a high-trafficked area for visibility purposes. If Cordish slashed the rent on those spaces to affordable levels for these businesses (because getting no revenue from them right now is really a financial loser), I guarantee you'd see them open, thrive, and expand overtime creating a more diverse offering at P&L.

The motto for this should be "Be Found. Be Seen. Believe in KC" ("Believe in KC" coming from the fact that visitors to these businesses are helping local folks live a dream of theirs and believing in the future of their business).

If Pennway Point is one of the other retail/entertainment districts, then I'm confident it won't be effected by anything else. As presented, they have a solid line-up. The key to activation there is drawing people in year round to special events. I'm unsure of the other two planned retail/entertainment districts.

[smh]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

For P&L, the alley between Main and Baltimore, and the PNC Plaza area, are perfect for incubator retail spaces for local businesses that want to be in a high-trafficked area for visibility purposes. If Cordish slashed the rent on those spaces to affordable levels for these businesses (because getting no revenue from them right now is really a financial loser), I guarantee you'd see them open, thrive, and expand overtime creating a more diverse offering at P&L.

The motto for this should be "Be Found. Be Seen. Believe in KC" ("Believe in KC" coming from the fact that visitors to these businesses are helping local folks live a dream of theirs and believing in the future of their business).

If Pennway Point is one of the other retail/entertainment districts, then I'm confident it won't be effected by anything else. As presented, they have a solid line-up. The key to activation there is drawing people in year round to special events. I'm unsure of the other two planned retail/entertainment districts.

I'm thinking of the Royals and the Riverfront. Everyone wants retail and to be an entertainment destination, but what is the capacity of downtown to handle 3 more Live! Blocks or 3 more Yardhouse-sized establishments. I feel like all of these things are competing with one another rather than increasing the size of the pie. But I might be too cynical. I'd just like to see more Armour & Troost and less additional P&L-esque development.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

For P&L, the alley between Main and Baltimore, and the PNC Plaza area, are perfect for incubator retail spaces for local businesses that want to be in a high-trafficked area for visibility purposes. If Cordish slashed the rent on those spaces to affordable levels for these businesses (because getting no revenue from them right now is really a financial loser), I guarantee you'd see them open, thrive, and expand overtime creating a more diverse offering at P&L.

The motto for this should be "Be Found. Be Seen. Believe in KC" ("Believe in KC" coming from the fact that visitors to these businesses are helping local folks live a dream of theirs and believing in the future of their business).

If Pennway Point is one of the other retail/entertainment districts, then I'm confident it won't be effected by anything else. As presented, they have a solid line-up. The key to activation there is drawing people in year round to special events. I'm unsure of the other two planned retail/entertainment districts.

I'm thinking of the Royals and the Riverfront. Everyone wants retail and to be an entertainment destination, but what is the capacity of downtown to handle 3 more Live! Blocks or 3 more Yardhouse-sized establishments. I feel like all of these things are competing with one another rather than increasing the size of the pie. But I might be too cynical. I'd just like to see more Armour & Troost and less additional P&L-esque development.

From my perspective, it seems that all these developments will share is what essentially is a common plaza space for said development, but outside of that, commercial seems to differ, at least so far. Cordish has their standard chain-fair with one or two local concepts at P&L. Depending on who does Royals, you’ll likely see more of a focus on sports bars, local or otherwise. PP has what seems like primarily local concepts. Riverfront will probably be a mix of P&L & Royals style, but with a heavier emphasis on local concepts, as well as adjacent resident uses.

At the end of the day though, these spaces (barring cordish and their ineptitude in leasing) will be filled because Devs would rather see income from a space than it sit empty. Streetcar connection will be important for these, as it helps disperse patrons to each, but I doubt we’d get to an over saturation point just yet. Just my observations though

[KCPowercat]

As I walked through the district yesterday couldn't help to think of this thread and how 3L and Midland additional housing could be that break point that gets them enough hyper local residents to support a few more quick service / fast food operations. Or just services to fill some spaces.

I see what Kaufman Village will be is very sports focused and maybe not enough something open frequently. Definitely not a Live! block type thing.

[smh]

As I walked through the district yesterday couldn't help to think of this thread and how 3L and Midland additional housing could be that break point that gets them enough hyper local residents to support a few more quick service / fast food operations. Or just services to fill some spaces.

I see what Kaufman Village will be is very sports focused and maybe not enough something open frequently. Definitely not a Live! block type thing.

That's fair. To clarify a little, I'm not thinking Live! Block as in concerts and World Cup watch parties, I mean more large format Wrigleyville-esque bars and restaurants that hold a few hundred people each and are mostly catering to the stadium crowd and not nearby residents. I suppose I am equating the stadium crowds with something like the convention crowds that enliven P&L on weeknights from time to time. I don't think it has to be this way of course, and hopefully the Royals proposal will be more nuanced. Also, definitely nothing wrong with a few large bars/restos around an urban stadium, just concerned that we may end up with a bunch of areas that are only that plus a smattering of housing to which people mostly drive.

[WoodDraw]

As I walked through the district yesterday couldn't help to think of this thread and how 3L and Midland additional housing could be that break point that gets them enough hyper local residents to support a few more quick service / fast food operations. Or just services to fill some spaces.

I see what Kaufman Village will be is very sports focused and maybe not enough something open frequently. Definitely not a Live! block type thing.

I don’t get why they can’t already? I went to sauced yesterday, and I think something like that would do great in power and light. It does a decent business in the crossroads it seems.

I wonder if we’re starting to see the opportunity cost of building power and light when we did. If you did it today, with residential established, maybe it is less insular and a bit more creative. Places with less square footage.

PNC plaza especially I think you’d change completely.

Having one developer in charge too, but knowing other developers there they’d just put in a gravel lot for events

[KCPowercat]

As I walked through the district yesterday couldn't help to think of this thread and how 3L and Midland additional housing could be that break point that gets them enough hyper local residents to support a few more quick service / fast food operations. Or just services to fill some spaces.

I see what Kaufman Village will be is very sports focused and maybe not enough something open frequently. Definitely not a Live! block type thing.

That's fair. To clarify a little, I'm not thinking Live! Block as in concerts and World Cup watch parties, I mean more large format Wrigleyville-esque bars and restaurants that hold a few hundred people each and are mostly catering to the stadium crowd and not nearby residents. I suppose I am equating the stadium crowds with something like the convention crowds that enliven P&L on weeknights from time to time. I don't think it has to be this way of course, and hopefully the Royals proposal will be more nuanced. Also, definitely nothing wrong with a few large bars/restos around an urban stadium, just concerned that we may end up with a bunch of areas that are only that plus a smattering of housing to which people mostly drive.

Yeah I'm hoping for way more variety as well. A more adult Live! even and then some services. I struggle to be able to grasp in my mind how it's going to work and be different. I don't see the Penway thing as any threat, it's basically an outdoor food hall. Riverfront I can see going almost totally neighborhood services and make a nice destination restaurant or two. River views and all.

Not to mention Rock Island Bridge. Maybe this deserves it's own thread. It needs a catchy title. Downtown Entertainment Districts, let's help make them all succeed, here is how inside this thread.

[droopy]

Yeah I'm hoping for way more variety as well. A more adult Live! even and then some services. I struggle to be able to grasp in my mind how it's going to work and be different.

I’m curious to see who the Royals target with their village. Kaufman seems to cater pretty hard to kids/families. This may change some with a downtown location but I wouldn’t think they will abandon family friendly businesses in favor of exclusively large bars, there has to be variety

[smh]

Yeah I'm hoping for way more variety as well. A more adult Live! even and then some services. I struggle to be able to grasp in my mind how it's going to work and be different.

I’m curious to see who the Royals target with their village. Kaufman seems to cater pretty hard to kids/families. This may change some with a downtown location but I wouldn’t think they will abandon family friendly businesses in favor of exclusively large bars, there has to be variety

Sure, but when we say bars I think we (or at least I) mean mostly things like Yardhouse etc. Really as much restaurant as bar. Not the Blarney Stone.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

Yeah I'm hoping for way more variety as well. A more adult Live! even and then some services. I struggle to be able to grasp in my mind how it's going to work and be different.

I’m curious to see who the Royals target with their village. Kaufman seems to cater pretty hard to kids/families. This may change some with a downtown location but I wouldn’t think they will abandon family friendly businesses in favor of exclusively large bars, there has to be variety

Sure, but when we say bars I think we (or at least I) mean mostly things like Yardhouse etc. Really as much restaurant as bar. Not the Blarney Stone.

Yeah this is what’s meant I feel. Most sports bars have a (relatively) family friendly atmosphere.

[dukuboy1]

Really hope with the continued additions to residential developments and adding more & more people living downtown that businesses like fast food/fast casual will come downtown more. Also some retail, especially a "box store" of sorts. Really look at the business growth organically as the money follows the people so to speak. Then perhaps there will be at least 1 or 2 companies that decide to have an HQ presence downtown to bring back that business traffic. Ideally a homegrown KC company that is experiencing growth and ready to take that next step in their growth.

But nice to see activity in development still going after the all the COVID crap.

[WoodDraw]

One of thing I’ve been doing a little research on is the impact of franchisees on locations. And the banking and loan industry surrounding that.

It’s not insignificant.

[droopy]

Depends on who you are I suppose. I find yardhouse relatively family friendly but don’t think everyone would. It’s a beer place but does have that familiar bar/restaurant chain feel to it.

[DColeKC]

Walked through the district today and paid attention to the vacant retail spaces and then cross-referenced to the Cordish leasing website (assumed the former T-Mobile space is 4500sf). 82,361sf of retail and restaurant space is vacant. There are no active listings for the space on LoopNet or any online CRE website beyond Cordish's own and whether that is super recent is debate (as T-Mobile is still listed as a tenant).

Walking through the area, the pedestrian alley between Main and Baltimore has enough smaller spaces that would be great incubator spaces for local businesses that otherwise would be forced to a less-trafficked area of town and where rent is cheaper (in other words, these spaces should be subsidized to give local business owners the shot at making it big). The vacant retail spaces on 14th between Blue Sushi and Yard House would make great "flagship" retail spots due to activity on the street while the former Drunken Fish space would be a good "flagship" restaurant (they might be chains, but I was thinking a Maggiano's or Cheesecake Factory).

The spaces fronting PNC Plaza could make good incubator spaces for local businesses as well with the small central bar becoming a themed bar during summer months (think a Tiki bar).

But having 82,000+ square feet of vacant retail and restaurant space in Downtown's most active area hinders street activity far more than it should. It also pulls the rest of the neighborhood down from achieving something more walkable and more impressive. More and more residents can continue to be added downtown, and at the P&L District, but additional retail and restaurant concepts are needed to draw an even wider-range of clientele and key streets busy for longer periods (retail during the day and evenings and bars/restaurants into the evenings and late nights).

Regardless of LOIs (which only mean so much until an official lease is signed), we can always debate whether or not leasing activity is taking place behind the scenes, but I'll point out that Ballpark Village doesn't have this problem as they've handed leasing activity off to a third party company and have just four retail spaces vacant of 20 total. It might be time to do the same here.

Give it a spin and see what happens.

Ballpark Village's leasing strategy differs from that of PNL in one way, they utilize the power of the Cardinals organization. A third party does not oversee or handle leasing of Ballpark Village. Recently, I attended a brokers open organized by PNL, and I observed that Ballpark Village is comparatively smaller than PNL and had some spaces that took several years to fill, with one of them having a dirt floor until a few months ago.

Based on my personal experience and relationships with the leasing team, I can confidently say that leasing activity is indeed taking place behind the scenes. It is essential to consider factual evidence and information before making critical judgments. Accusing the owners of negligence or lack of effort in leasing the spaces is unjustified.

Building owners have no incentive to keep spaces empty as it incurs expenses such as taxes and utilities. Cordish, offers highly flexible leasing terms and works closely with each prospect to reach an agreement. Unlike areas like Westport,PNL operates selectively when choosing who to work with, which I believe is a more prudent approach, even if it results in some empty spaces.

To gain a better understanding of the situation, I encourage you to reach out to Cordish and have a candid conversation with the individuals in charge. Addressing the lack of understanding on this forum is vital, and engaging directly with the key stakeholders might help in achieving that goal. Let's promote constructive dialogue and thoughtful ideas instead of unwarranted accusations.

[DColeKC]

Garment district was a cordish ran thing that was pretty popular. It was reported those spaces were emptied due to the forthcoming building going on top and those spots were going to be used as the lobby and other things for the building. That doesn't account for those spaces on the south side of the alley where the jewelry store was. The space on the corner of 14th and main has never had a tenant.

Ty, didn’t know it was cordish ran. Seems they could’ve kept it in there up until ground breaking, as now it’s just sitting vacant.

The Garment District never made a single penny. It was kept open despite this because they do want clothing retail in the district.

[DColeKC]

And with three more retail/entertainment districts planned/proposed how to we propose to fill?

Actually leasing out commercial space would be the first step.

You tie incentives directly to occupancy or give a disincentive for unleased space. Doesn’t have to be much, but developers hate to see negatives (costs) on their balance sheets. They don’t seem to care about missed opportunity costs as they will fight like crazy to keep from writing a check.

Exactly, developers hate to see negative cash flow which happens with every empty space, but sure, charge the owner of a building more money if they don't lease it. Seems like a massive overstep and abuse of power to me. In this country, you should be able to buy up whatever you want and never fill it if that's your prerogative. As long as it's maintained and not a public nuisance.