KCRag Forum

American Girl opening a store @ Oak Park. Would've been better in Crown Center or the Plaza where there are actual tourists instead of teenage mall rats. I wouldn't be surprised if they got a sweetheart deal on the lease.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries to open in Oak Park Mall where RAINFOREST cafe use to be.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/21/20 ... ffers.html

New tenants:

Apricot Lane Boutique
Brow Art 23
CCS
Clearwire
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Windsor

Oak Park Mall to get multi-million dollar renovation this year

Exterior improvements will include new mall signage, parking lot resurfacing, new landscaping, parking lot lighting, and a "Park and Ride" parking lot and shelter.

Just for carpooling or do they expect more transit?

KCMax wrote:
Just for carpooling or do they expect more transit?

I'm guessing it's just for existing JO service.

Joyce Smith really tucked away the fact the whole renovation is basically financed by the public. "YAY!...your sales tax money is going to pay for this!!"

I'm guessing the renovation will be tied to adding an elevated tenant mix. I would not be surprised if Oak Park is the new home to Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Juicy Couture, Kiehl's, Kate Spade and other "better" brands after the renovation is complete.

The Plaza has really taken itself out of the game with Highwoods failure at negotiating leasing terms with anyone except office tenants. It'll continue as more of an upscale, quasi-urban, niche shopping and dining area (think StL West End) and Oak Park's presence will grow to be the most significant retail center between Chicago and Denver.

trailerkid wrote: Joyce Smith really tucked away the fact the whole renovation is basically financed by the public. "YAY!...your sales tax money is going to pay for this!!"

I'm guessing the renovation will be tied to adding an elevated tenant mix. I would not be surprised if Oak Park is the new home to Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Juicy Couture, Kiehl's, Kate Spade and other "better" brands after the renovation is complete.

The Plaza has really taken itself out of the game with Highwoods failure at negotiating leasing terms with anyone except office tenants. It'll continue as more of an upscale, quasi-urban, niche shopping and dining area (think StL West End) and Oak Park's presence will grow to be the most significant retail center between Chicago and Denver.

Wow, that's really saying something...between Chicago and Denver!  Who is the competition in that corridor?  Salina? Peoria?  Haha.

Do you really think Oak Park will keep its status once new projects to the south get off the ground?  I sort of doubt it.

What new Projects?

GRID wrote: Wow, that's really saying something...between Chicago and Denver!  Who is the competition in that corridor?  Salina? Peoria?  Haha.

Do you really think Oak Park will keep its status once new projects to the south get off the ground?  I sort of doubt it.

re: CHI + Denver...StL for sure--as well as regional draws like Des Moines, Omaha, Quad Cities which all have large, super-regional malls roughly the size of Oak Park.

You don't undergo a multi-million dollar renovation for no reason when you're already a top-performer. The idea is likely to attract new, higher performing stores. I think Oak Park is a joke of a property, but I wouldn't bet against them when their only competition in the market is the Plaza which is virtually comatose.

"new projects" like what? Corbin Park which is going to turn into a big box center once its rescued from bankruptcy? The Great Mall? Everything on 119th is strip mall and there's very little presence from apparel retailers outside of GAP and Express. That area is more catering to the affluent homes nearby rather than trying to be a destination for tourists.

trailerkid wrote: You don't undergo a multi-million dollar renovation for no reason when you're already a top-performer.

The reason is to stay a top-performer.

droopy wrote: The reason is to stay a top-performer.

droopy is correct.  The real reason that Oak Park has continued to be successful when ALL the others have failed or floundered is that it continues to pile money back into itself for upgrades and renovations.  It is not a perfect concept or location but it stays relevent because it is clean, light and up to date with a reasonable sense of security.  If they would just take all profits out and not re-invest, they would soon be a Metcalf South or Bannister Mall.

Security?  Oak park is the last place I think of as secure for a suburban location.

KCPowercat wrote: Security?  Oak park is the last place I think of as secure for a suburban location.

Do you have to post just to see yourself type - I have seen many of your posts and know that you are more intelligent than that comment.  I agree that it is not locked down and I would feel much safer at 159th & Metcalf or at the grocery store in Kearney but I said "reasonable" sense of security - meaning as compared to Bannister Mall in its last years or even Ward Parkway now.  Obviously, many people deem the mall reasonably secure or they would quit going there.

Hurst wrote: droopy is correct.  The real reason that Oak Park has continued to be successful when ALL the others have failed or floundered is that it continues to pile money back into itself for upgrades and renovations.  It is not a perfect concept or location but it stays relevent because it is clean, light and up to date with a reasonable sense of security.  If they would just take all profits out and not re-invest, they would soon be a Metcalf South or Bannister Mall.

Bannister Mall was nicer than Oak Park mall in its heyday.  It was a nice, modern structure right up till it began to lose tenants.  Oak Park is one of the most under whelming, boring 1980's looking malls I have ever been to.  I'm not a huge mall fan, but Independence Center is a whole lot more inviting, attractive and modern feeling than Oak Park.

Oak Park just happens to have the higher end tenants.  For now.

That can change in a heartbeat though and with metro KC's track record of abandoning massive retail centers for new ones, I think it will happen sooner than people think.

Is the Oak Park Mall security fleet still using BMW SUVs?

Hurst.....just saying I see a lot of reports that center around oak park mall on the news....safety isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Feel free to disagree.

KCPowercat wrote: Hurst.....just saying I see a lot of reports that center around oak park mall on the news....safety isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Feel free to disagree.

Perception v. reality.

GRID wrote: Bannister Mall was nicer than Oak Park mall in its heyday.  It was a nice, modern structure right up till it began to lose tenants.  

A friend from Miami who is a Coast Guard engineer asked me to drive him to Bannister Mall (this was ~15 years ago) because he had attended a seminar on drainage and the instructors cited Bannister Mall, its parking lot and whatever free-standing store was near the interstate (Macy's? Penney's? I can't recall now) as THE WORST example of engineering they had ever seen. I thought it was funny - come to KC and see "how NOT to . . . "

Hurst wrote: Do you have to post just to see yourself type - I have seen many of your posts and know that you are more intelligent than that comment.  I agree that it is not locked down and I would feel much safer at 159th & Metcalf or at the grocery store in Kearney but I said "reasonable" sense of security - meaning as compared to Bannister Mall in its last years or even Ward Parkway now.  Obviously, many people deem the mall reasonably secure or they would quit going there.

Anybody who is known to play up KCMO's safety and minimize its crime being concerned about safety at Oak Park mall is simply not being sincere or legit and/or their bias is pushing them toward the edge of reality.

With Oak Park, it is likely every little incident is reported and makes the media, whereas in urban KCMO there's so much going on things are either underreported or ignored. While I like the urban core and spend most of my time in and live in KCMO, I realize safety is quite a bit riskier here than JoCo. Anecdotally, I simply don't see sketchy looking men (and women) drinking, dealing/smoking crack, panhandling, or schizophrenics just hanging around the mall or JoCo period. Obviously, I have an urban eye and feel safe enough in the city, but that really changes and it weighs on me when a woman comes into the picture, as I'm sure it does with others. Maybe this is why I refuse to ignore the fact the suburbs and city do offer a difference in safety. In that regard, however, I think it was the Oak Park Target incident that is the only thing that has ever really scared me. That was a random incident, however - a crime that is truly random.

Anyway, the last news story I remember about Oak Park crime was that crew from KCMO running out of Macy's with $3000 worth of Polo RL and other clothing in their hands. I don?t recall seeing anything since.

I don't think the way to show urban areas are safe is to say "crime also occurs in the suburbs" since any comparison is likely to always come up short. I think it is a better tack to show that pretty much everywhere is safe, that the chances of anyone being involved in a serious crime is very low, and that statistically, you're more likely to be seriously hurt in a car accident  (40,000 fatal car accidents in this country compared to 15,000 murders; 3 million injuries resulting from car accidents, 800,000 aggravated assaults)