earthling wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:20 am
Plaza owner Taubman had a deal to be purchased by mall owner Simon, but it's not going through due to pandemic...
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/10/mall-ow ... demic.html
Time to sell off The Plaza in pieces?
If a new Plaza Neighborhood Association with multiple entities per block were formed that focuses on local expectations of what Plaza should be, could be better than a single bad actor owner who doesn't recognize there's a neighborhood around it and only interested in bottom line of all their assets. Many individual owners typically provides more organic evolution of variety. FangKC can describe that better than I can.
Organic development tends to work in restarting low-value real estate and turning it back into a useful, functioning mixed neighborhood again.
It has less impact in an already high-value neighborhood where the developer/owners wants to control programming of the product mix (Plaza, Cordish).
One thing I'd like to point out about the Plaza -- versus most other retail districts in the Metro -- is that the owner(s) do have to attempt to maintain exclusivity and prestige that comes from higher-end retail and tenants (law firms, investment firms, etc.). Even residential needs to be somewhat higher-end.
Why? Because the architecture requires more maintenance and the neighborhood upkeep (Landscaping, fountains). To keep the district an exclusive property, the owner(s) must be able to afford to repair historic architecture in its' original form, and not resort to removing expensive baubles like the Spanish towers, fountains, etc.
Many real estate firms might try and cut corners. So to keep the Plaza "the Plaza," you need high rents to pay for upkeep of buildings -- that because of their design -- are more expensive to maintain than non-descript structures in a strip mall.
I'll give an example. The former Coates House Hotel building at 10th and Broadway had -- at some point in its' life -- the decorative Victorian towers removed from its' corners. That was probably done to minimize expensive maintenance.
The are pros and cons for both types of Plaza ownership: single entity vs. multiple owners. A single owner has some incentive to keep a consistent level of maintenance and standards in the district to maximize rents and property value.
Multiple owners increases the likelihood of competition in rents, and innovation in the retail mix. Multiple ownership of the Plaza would likely increase the likelihood of more bad actor owners. Imagine, for example, if an Abnos purchased two or three individual buildings on different blocks and did minimal maintenance -- including non-compliant alterations and repairs. Abnos' actions could start to affect the property value of adjacent buildings and blocks. What if Abnos rented space to tattoo parlors, a dollar store, and payday loan companies?
A neighborhood association would deal with many of these problems assuming that one could be set up. When building new, a developer can set one up at the start making things much easier. It's harder to set one up in an existing district because you have to get buy-in from a majority of property owners to contribute financially to the association, and to submit to enforcement actions. The most common approach is to set up a community improvement district, but that doesn't have the strict rules that a neighborhood association might.
Multiple ownership might work with just a good CID; strict zoning; and tough code enforcement by the CIty. The problem with the last two is that KCMO doesn't have the best history with long-term zoning, city plans, and code enforcement. One change in administration and all progress can be easily lost. Better with most buildings in the Plaza in a historic district, and certain buildings individually listed. While historic designation doesn't completely protect the district, it sets a tone. Individual building listing provides some financial help in affording expensive maintenance. Good luck ever getting a single owner to place the Plaza on the National Register of Historic Places, or allowing the City to landmark buildings. It's not in their financial interest to limit what they can do with such a large property. Multiple ownership might get some individual buildings on the historic register since the owner might seek tax credits to renovate--since they might not have as much access to capital or liquidity.
I wish the Nichols family would have placed the entire property on the National Register before they sold it. That was probably the best chance it had for that. I don't think the Save the Plaza group is ever going to get a single owner to agree to it.
