KCRag Forum

You can get most of those at CVS and now there is same day Amazon delivery (essentially an online Walmart). You can't really compare cost of living downtown to the burbs, you have to compare it to other US cities - and downtown KC is lower cost than avg. But yeah, downtown does need more retail variety. Target and yes, Ross would be two good additions.

Depends on your priority. Some want pedestrian scale living with arts/entertainment and some amenities to walk/ride to, some what 'stuff' or their own backyard. And moving downtown is still a bit pioneering. When downtown hits 35K population more retail should follow and more naturally mature.

Fusion buffet

earthling wrote:You can get most of those at CVS and now there is same day Amazon delivery (essentially an online Walmart). You can't really compare cost of living downtown to the burbs, you have to compare it to other US cities - and downtown KC is lower cost than avg. But yeah, downtown does need more retail variety. Target and yes, Ross would be two good additions.

Depends on your priority. Some want pedestrian scale living with arts/entertainment and some amenities to walk/ride to, some what 'stuff' or their own backyard. And moving downtown is still a bit pioneering. When downtown hits 35K population more retail should follow and more naturally mature.

Sure, CVS covers some stuff (usually overpriced), but when KC already requires you to own a car, why not hope across the river and get things at half the price. And CVS has a pretty small selection of stuff anyways and is NEVER open. Need a last minute thing for a Sunday get together, yea they aren't open. Get sick at 8pm on any night and just need some simple medicine, yep they aren't open.

I've been downtown for 10 years so I'm a downtown "pioneer" and veteran. I highly doubt we have a downtown target type of store within the next 10 years. Call me skeptical but im just being a realist. Half of the store fronts in downtown are vacant and I see no businesses taking the gamble by opening downtown locations, let alone one as big as a target even though we have a 100,000 downtown daytime population. (minus the UPS store...)

Some good weaknesses pointed out that need to be addressed, especially CVS hours.

It would be useful to have a Ace or True Value hardware store downtown. It doesn't have to be a large version with outdoor furniture/mowers/nursery, but one with a lot of the smaller household stuff apartment residents need.

This would be a good location for one. The empty storefront on the west side of Grand south of 19th Street.

https://tinyurl.com/y7c3d6n7

dnweava wrote:Even things as simple as breakfast cereal that is available downtown is double what it costs at hyvee or dollar General (Plus costintinos doesn't carry generic brands on most stuff)

You can get many discount grocery items adjacent to downtown at the Aldi store at Paseo and 8th Street. Aldi is as cheap as Wal-Mart, or Target on most of their grocery items. Yes, they don't have everything, but they do have most of the basic stuff, and it's the cheapest grocery store in the downtown area. They certainly are cheaper than Cosentino's.

How about a TopGolf for the North Loop?

beautyfromashes wrote:How about a TopGolf for the North Loop?

That would be soo cool.

FangKC wrote:It would be useful to have a Ace or True Value hardware store downtown. It doesn't have to be a large version with outdoor furniture/mowers/nursery, but one with a lot of the smaller household stuff apartment residents need.

This would be a good location for one. The empty storefront on the west side of Grand south of 19th Street.

https://tinyurl.com/y7c3d6n7

dnweava wrote:Even things as simple as breakfast cereal that is available downtown is double what it costs at hyvee or dollar General (Plus costintinos doesn't carry generic brands on most stuff)

You can get many discount grocery items adjacent to downtown at the Aldi store at Paseo and 8th Street. Aldi is as cheap as Wal-Mart, or Target on most of their grocery items. Yes, they don't have everything, but they do have most of the basic stuff, and it's the cheapest grocery store in the downtown area. They certainly are cheaper than Cosentino's.

There's at least three aldi's in the northland and they make up under 1 in 8 stores, probably closer to 1 in 10 or 12 AND there's Save A Lot in the northland too. You're still describing an under served market downtown with that being the second close to full sized grocery store for downtown

Hardware stores is another example. There's only really a Home Depot in midtown beyond small stores. Whereas I have a Lowes and Home Depot and True Value the same distance away from me (one has a bus stop closer to the front door than the midtown HD) and there's at least five home improvement chains with at least 12 stores in the northland. Rough guess is that's around one store per 20k people. Downtown is at the population that a 3000 sq ft store focusing on apartment living should already exist.

Sky Golf? Have Grocery stores around Downtown in KCK,Roleland Park.

mgsports wrote:Sky Golf? Have Grocery stores around Downtown in KCK,Roleland Park.

Yes, Roeland Park is the example I would use when talking about missing amenities. After about 15 other places come up first.

Planter's carries a modest selection of hardware items. If you've never wandered through Harry J. Epstein you're doing yourself a disservice. Strasser's is a bike ride away. Home Depot is a bus ride away.

For groceries, you have Cosentino's and Nature's Own within walking distance. You can supplement with produce from City Market. As mentioned, Aldi is very convenient as well.

Sure, there are gaps. But things have noticeably improved in even the half decade or so that I've lived downtown.

Unless a store asks for your zip code, they probably have no idea where you live. So if you live downtown but shop at a Northland store, then they think there is demand for something in the Northland. Limited and overpriced as some things may be, if we want more amenities downtown, we need to use what we have and show the demand for more.

here's a chance to weigh in with a KC star writer: https://twitter.com/Sarah_Gish/status/9 ... 3001174022

Good that Target is suggested off the bat. Could start some momentum.

earthling wrote:Good that Target is suggested off the bat. Could start some momentum.

it really would be on par -- psychologically, anyway -- with the addition of a grocery store.

noteworthy:

Target is accelerating the pace of opening new small-format stores to serve new guests in dense urban and suburban areas and on college campuses. By the end of 2019, Target plans to operate more than 130 small-format locations nationwide, including its first Vermont location in South Burlington, slated to open in fall 2018.

https://corporate.target.com/press/rele ... untry-expa

Sorry if I'm going over old ground, but what do you guys think would be the best Target location?

inside 3 light

Yeah, at the base of any residential/office building within a couple blocks of streetcar line, such as any upcoming Cordish building.

not in the crossroads.

Ideally in The Loop. National chains in RM and Xroads would ruin them.

Even more ideal would be new office/residential buildings along the W8th St lots, turn into a pedestrian only stretch from streetcar/Main to Broadway, anchor with urban Target and a few other major retailers (garage access can face 7th street). P&L OK too but they seem more fixated on nightlife/eats than retail. Keep Xroads and RM leaning more local and let CBD/P&L target the national retailers.

DaveKCMO wrote:not in the crossroads.

NIMBY!