Crown Center: urban disaster, shining star, or in-between

[FangKC]

The Printemps department store in Paris.



Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris.



La Samaritaine department store buildings in Paris.





Le Bon Marche department stores in Paris.





Peter Jones department store in London.



The Liberty department store in London.



Fenwick's department store in London.



Harrods in London.



Selfridges department store in London.



Kaufhaus des Westens in Berlin.



Jelmoli department store in Zurich.



Stockman department store in Helsinki.



Ahlens department store in Stockholm.

[Highlander]

Poor choice of words on my part Fang. Those European stores, and I've been in many of the ones you posted pictures of, have windows but they have little to no natural lighting. The windows are not all that evident from the inside as they have obscured in various ways.

[moderne]

Ah, Ka de We in Berlin on the Kurfurstendam where a can of Campbells tomato soup goes for 6 Euros.

[kcjak]

The Hallmark Gold Crown store is closed and being boarded up for remodel.

[KCMax]

As one Halls closes, the other readies for a September debut

Cole said the new Crown Center store, with a price of about $10 million, will be a metrowide draw for its “reimagined retail experience,” its central location, and its lineup of traditional and contemporary designers.

Halls on Grand’s features will include:

The Bridge — in an overpass structure that spans Grand Boulevard — will house the men’s and women’s contemporary departments. The 8,500-square-foot “urban-industrial environment” will have an exposed ceiling and painted concrete floor with its own sound system. Its lounge area, in front of a 60-foot window, will have a view of the downtown skyline.

H Bar, a full-service cafe and bar serving soups, salads, sandwiches and cocktails, will seat about 20 people. Kansas City’s Roasterie is creating a Halls on Grand specialty blend of coffee for the cafe.

A 5,000-square-foot interactive beauty department. Each brand will have boutique-like settings. Customers also will be able to test men’s and women’s fragrances at a new fragrance bar. Makeup application and treatment stations will be tucked away from the higher-traffic area. It also will have an event space for makeup demonstrations and designer personal appearances.

[rxlexi]

The Hallmark Gold Crown store is closed and being boarded up for remodel.

Going to the new HMK format a la the Plaza store? I hope so, as it would be a great addition to Crown Center and a showcase for the brand.

[kcjak]

The Hallmark Gold Crown store is closed and being boarded up for remodel.

Going to the new HMK format a la the Plaza store? I hope so, as it would be a great addition to Crown Center and a showcase for the brand.

No, not HMK, just Gold Crown is all I know. I'm hoping for something more along a flagship store line than cookie-cutter layout, but I don't have any more details yet.

[LCDSI]

Just in case anyone was interested in what the new Halls on Grand will look like inside.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... -tour.html

They are basically construction shots but still gives you an idea of what's to come in about one month.

[PumpkinStalker]

Some tid-bits on Halls...

• Café: H BAR, a full-service café and bar serving soups, salads, sandwiches and cocktails, will seat about 20 people. Kansas City's Roasterie is creating a Halls on Grand specialty blend of coffee for the café.

• The Bridge: In an overpass structure that spans Grand Boulevard, The Bridge will house the men's and women's contemporary departments. The 8,500-square-foot urban-industrial environment will have an exposed ceiling and painted concrete floor with its own sound system.

Its lounge area, in front of a 60-foot window, will have a view of the downtown skyline.

• Unique beauty setting: In the 5,000-square-foot interactive beauty department, each brand will have boutique-like settings. Customers will be able to test men's and women's fragrances at a new fragrance bar, and makeup application and treatment stations will be available in lower-traffic areas. It also will have an event space for makeup demonstrations and designer appearances.

[IraGlacialis]

I hope that the home furnishing (namely the tableware and crystal) section is as extensive as the Plaza store.

[PumpkinStalker]

Halls has quietly opened. There are still workers on ladders, carts being wheeled around, and product being arranged. The cafe/bar isn't up and running yet but it's close. Some areas are completely empty so I'm not sure what they are planning in them. I'm honored to have this near downtown. It's bright, airy, and well merchandised. Gone are dark and heavy looking fixtures and finishes. Everything is white and shiny. They have a few temporary art installations that I think they will rotate out.

I wish the home section was a little less "artsy" and more practical with more furniture. I also don't remember seeing much in the way of kitchen things. If they had them I missed them, but no cutlery, table linens, etc. They had china, crystal, but again, wish they had some more of the high-end but practical wares and less of the decor type merchandise.

Overall a great impression for travelers staying at a downtown hotel. If only they would raise image of the other two levels, they are begging for a makeover/retailer turnover. Including the horrible food court choices.


This image would have formerly been the hat store on the right and the local art store on the left as you went down the six stairs from the old cosmetic section.


Same as above


This would be the hallway and you're looking at the current escalators behind this bar. Behind you would have been Victoria Secret.


I don't remember what was here, some womens clothing store...Vivone or something?


Same as above

[earthling]

Hmm, white ceiling tiles a big fail but look forward to checking it out.

[PumpkinStalker]

Hmm, white ceiling tiles a big fail but look forward to checking it out.

I don't think it was as bad as you might think. There were a lot of interesting things going on with curves and varying levels of the ceiling, it didn't detract from it I didn't think. A few spots had small crystal chandeliers, white marble floor tiles and some big pearly white little square moasic tile sections. The fit and finish really was pretty nice. Very crisp.

[cknab1]

I was really impressed by what they have done. It hit the target of a high end shopping area. Although the only thing I can probably afford will be a drink at the bar, I'm really glad Hallmark has invested 10 million in my neighborhood. Now if they can do something with Milano Crown Center will be even more of a destination. And yes, the food courts are in need of a serious upgrade.

[rxlexi]

I'm really excited for Halls on Grand, and I think consolidating the Hall's brand downtown at CC, in the shadow of Hallmark is a great idea. However, I am a little concerned about the layout and feel of the new store - those white drop ceilings look a bit low-brow to me as well. Also concerned that until the rest of CC is further updated it will be out-of-place there (though not hard to renovate CC, the space is still high-quality). Nonetheless I'll remain excited and withhold judgement until I check the store out.

It seems like Hall's is serious about enlivening their brand, from the awesome "we're moving" packing boxes and bubble-wrapped mannequins in the final days of the Plaza store to the unique displays, cafe/bar and more youthful merchandise at the new store. I just hope the city supports this new pillar of downtown retail.

Finally CK, I totally agree on Milano. It's a nice location and interesting building with great views of the square. Should be so much more.

[herrfrank]

That initial layout of CC shops included an area that was sort of a rat cage with modular cubicles on varying levels with stairs all over the place. It may have had its own subname something like "west village."

Yes, this was the 3-storey space in the "L" of the building. It was Crown Center's response to the enclosed suburban mall tiny-retail kiosk offering. I also recall a separate name for the area, signed in neon. This was eliminated in the 1980s refit, although I think some of the old light fixtures remain.

[PumpkinStalker]

I still haven't figured out what they're doing with the old Halls Womens section. Where the shoes, cosmetic used to be, that's all still basically untouched and closed off. The doors were open today so I cut through to go have lunch at the H Bar. Studio Dan Meiners was in there setting up, and there were temporary projection screens, artsy diffuser panels, chairs, and DJ equipment being set up, presumably for the VIP Grand Opening Gala they are having on Saturday. Other than that, old fixtures remain, and nothing has been demo'd in there. Not sure if it will eventually be a Halls addition or if there will be a different tennant there. I thought about maybe they were expanding Sea Life or Legoland, but I can't imagine that would be the case?

As for H Bar, it is run by Starwood Hotel Group. Quality was very good, although very pricey. My lunch - carved turkey sandwich, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli on really good toasted wheat bread with a side of either kettle chips or orzo pasta with sundried tomatoes runs $12. Add $3.19 for an iced tea! Tax and tip was $21, so I won't be having lunch there often. I can get a lot more for that money at a ton of local places around downtown. Don't get me wrong, quality of everything was great, the iced tea was good and strong, turkey had good flavor and the bread was great, the fancy marble counter you eat on, really nice silverware, etc.

[cknab1]

Nancy and I also had lunch there today. I had the Charcuterie plate and Nancy had the half sandwich and soup. It was all really good. Phillip from Milano was the server/bartender. He said the food was prepared at the hotel kitchen and brought over. A very nice atmosphere and I can see having a drink there at some point before dinner. The prices could be less but as mentioned it is very nice.

[kcjak]

I've only walked through once, but at first glance wish there were more floor space dedicated to clothing and less open space/fewer displays.

[herrfrank]

I hope that the home furnishing (namely the tableware and crystal) section is as extensive as the Plaza store.

It is not. I went to the opening of "Halls on Grand" (although all of the signage just remains "Halls"). The store is nice, but it feels much less of a retail store than Halls Plaza did. There is just way less merchandise. We will see what it looks like at Christmas.

Two data points: I asked where the sterling giftware was -- no longer stocked. Only sterling flatware, and none on display. They could special order pieces, but then I could simply go to Amazon if I want to special order something. (For decades I have given a pair of sterling candlesticks as a wedding present, made I believe by Empire or Wallace, and they were all engraved with the Halls logo on the bottom of each stick). This conversation led to a further discussion of the missing antiques -- both silver and fine and decorative arts. As many may have seen mentioned on Antiques Roadshow, Halls used to sell fine art and continued to sell vintage decorative art or "antiques" up until Halls Plaza closed, mixed in with the new merchandise and often described on handwritten labels in some detail. Some of these items were purchased directly by the Hall family in England and NYC. None of this remains -- a big disappointment to me. Instead we have a sorry corner full of MacKenzie-Childs crap like a bad 1980s nightmare.

Second point, I could not find any decent selection of cashmere sweaters. Where did they go? They had a tiny grouping of Peter Millar overpriced Chinese sportswear. What happened to the store-label menswear? I understand that clothing trends have changed, but I found the whole selection disappointing.

The physical aspect of the store is positive. The H-Bar (the look and feel channels the old "Picnic" cafe) is nice. I was surprised that they didn't include in the new real estate the old third floor Halls -- it's boarded up, and this makes the back entrance inaccessible. I'm still irritated that Halls Crown Center got rid of the downstairs space many moons ago to put in Legoland. I loved the room with the Marklin trains.