Downtown Mission/ The Gateway

[Tosspot]

Ruby Tuesdays at Mission Mall is now closed and many stores in Mission Mall are now closed. The remaining few will close in January.

Wow, I had completely forgotten about Ruby Tuesday's. They only built that silly little pad building but a few years ago.

[Missionite]

Here's another interesting article from Saturday's Star:

Developers see vision for West Gateway

Mixed use plan for Mission accommodates pedestrians

By MICHELLE BURHENN The Kansas City Star


The vision for Mission’s West Gateway came into focus Friday, but the private sector will have to pay before it becomes a reality.

A group of about 120 developers, businessmen and women, and residents gathered for a breakfast and the final unveiling of the design recommendations from two firms hired to plan the pre-redevelopment of the area.

The plan focuses on the pedestrian, not the driver, and the importance of blurring the boundaries between residential, retail and commercial properties into mixed-use buildings.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 315181.htm

Matt

[KCMax]

Stopped by Mission Mall to see if there were any cheap items and everything is now closed except the kiosks which I imagine get absolutely no business now. Tear this damn thing down already!

Matt, thanks for the article. That's great to hear about West Gateway, which is an absolute eyesore for NE JoCo. Its fast food avenue, filled with concrete parking lots. I LOVE the idea of a town square. One of the biggest problems with NE JoCo is that none of the cities have an identity. Lenexa is like Mission is like Shawnee is like Merriam is like Roeland Park. Having a town square sets Mission apart and gives that community feeling sorely lacking. I also love that they're considering green roofts. We have some smart city leaders in Mission.

[GRID]

Mission is doing an awesome job redeveloping their city and maintaining stability in that older inner ring suburb.  West Gateway will be very nice and it will tie into other proposed redevelopments in the area via trails and transit.  It's looking like taking a stand against Walmart is going to pay off for Mission.

[DiggityDawg]

Surprised that nobody's posted this yet :

A magnet for Mission?

By MICHELLE BURHENN - The Kansas City Star

Plans for the redevelopment of the Mission Center site indicate Mission’s East Gateway would get more than just a facelift.

Cameron Group LLC of East Syracuse, N.Y., along with Slaggie Architects Inc. of Kansas City, this week submitted preliminary plans and sketches for the 17-acre site to city officials. The seven-building plan, estimated to cost between $250 million and $300 million, provides for a mix of residential and retail space with a garden walk, row houses and a residential tower at the mall site.

The rest : http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 469806.htm

[ComandanteCero]

great article diggity!  Mission is doing gang busters.

Cameron Group LLC of East Syracuse, N.Y., along with Slaggie Architects Inc. of Kansas City, this week submitted preliminary plans and sketches for the 17-acre site to city officials. The seven-building plan, estimated to cost between $250 million and $300 million, provides for a mix of residential and retail space with a garden walk, row houses and a residential tower at the mall site.

Row houses and towers tend to cause concerns within cities, Scanlon acknowledged, and a tower of 10 to 15 stories might seem out of place the way the area looks now. But with a large part of the city poised for redevelopment, he said, Mission is likely to accept the new forms of housing as parts of the overall plan.

Retail in the area would be unique and not a duplication of what can be found at other large-scale shopping areas such as the Country Club Plaza and Zona Rosa, Valenti said. He would like to retain unique businesses in addition to large retail chains. “We want to make it a place where people say, ‘We ought to go over there because that’s the only one around,’â€

[Tosspot]

I noticed driving by a few days ago that the Ruby Tuesday's pad building has been vacated now.

[DiggityDawg]

I noticed that awhile back...kinda surprised they closed up - mall or no mall.

Thanks for blowing up the pics a bit, Cero...I was having trouble making out what's what.

[Maitre D]

I'd be interested to know what the cost of the units will be.  The area is pretty gentrified right now.  I'm not sure there is going to be any appetite for condo units > $200K.

[KCMax]

That is awesome news. I think we dodged a bullet not getting that Wal Mart.

PPA brings up a good point. I don't see why anyone would pay $200k for a condo there when you can get a house for cheaper within walking distance. I wonder how much our homes near this development will increase in value though.

[Tosspot]

That is awesome news. I think we dodged a bullet not getting that Wal Mart.

PPA brings up a good point. I don't see why anyone would pay $200k for a condo there when you can get a house for cheaper within walking distance. I wonder how much our homes near this development will increase in value though.

I bet home values would appreciate quite a bit over the decade following the implementation of this project. But this begs the question: How many NIMBYs are in Mission and how many will be showing up to decry this project?

Though I admit NIMBYism has its advantages occasionally- specifically the Wal-Mart debacle in Mission from last year.

[KCMax]

Well the neighborhoods around seem to be filled with either young, 20ish families or couples, and senior citizens. No in between. I'd imagine the younger crowd might actually welcome this development. Count me in as a PPIMBY. Please Put In My Back Yard!

[dangerboy]

That is awesome news. I think we dodged a bullet not getting that Wal Mart.

PPA brings up a good point. I don't see why anyone would pay $200k for a condo there when you can get a house for cheaper within walking distance. I wonder how much our homes near this development will increase in value though.

I'll bet it's quite popular.  There are probably lots of empty nesters and yuppies interested in the loft/condo thing but not quite ready to make the leap to a real urban environment.  This would be a great compromise between a walkable urban neigbhorhood and a familiar suburban location.  I bet the going rate would also surprise a lot of people.

Think about a couple that's paid off a $30,000 mortgage on their ranch house and now owns what is essentially a $150,000 pile of cash.

[GRID]

This will be a great project.  I only wish KCMO could have made the same thing happen to the Blue Rige Mall, but I'm still holding out hope that we will see a mixed use development in that area after the first center opens.

[DanCa]

Stopped by Mission Mall to see if there were any cheap items and everything is now closed except the kiosks which I imagine get absolutely no business now. Tear this damn thing down already!

Matt, thanks for the article. That's great to hear about West Gateway, which is an absolute eyesore for NE JoCo. Its fast food avenue, filled with concrete parking lots. I LOVE the idea of a town square. One of the biggest problems with NE JoCo is that none of the cities have an identity. Lenexa is like Mission is like Shawnee is like Merriam is like Roeland Park. Having a town square sets Mission apart and gives that community feeling sorely lacking. I also love that they're considering green roofts. We have some smart city leaders in Mission.

I'd disagree somewhat with the identity issue.  Lenexa is nothing like Mission or Roeland Park/Fairway.  Lenexa seems to me to be big 70's to 80's era houses, strip malls and warehouses whereas NE JoCo is a bit denser (smaller lots) and I was in Roeland Park last year and surprised at how diverse (architecturally speaking) the neighborhoods looked.  Almost Midtownish.  The area also looks very New England to me as well with all the Cape Cods. 

If I remember correctly, home prices in NE JoCo are generally higher than further out on a per square foot basis.  I'm sure you find more urban-minded people there who like being near the Plaza.

[trailerkid]

That is awesome news. I think we dodged a bullet not getting that Wal Mart.

PPA brings up a good point. I don't see why anyone would pay $200k for a condo there when you can get a house for cheaper within walking distance. I wonder how much our homes near this development will increase in value though.

Developers recently told residents this project is proposed to include a curved 16-story residential tower at the corner of Johnson Drive and Roe Boulevard and a seven-story hotel on Roeland Drive. It also has been renamed The Gateway.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 622597.htm

[bbqboy]

The Roe sisters' house used to sit on the NW corner of Johnson Drive and Roe. It was destroyed for the interchange in the early '50's.
  “The handsome Roe home survived until 1957, housing the spinster Roe sisters. The sisters generously donated land to the city for the original swimming pool as well as land to St. Agnes,â€

[KCMax]

Who cares if its tall? I really don't understand why this is a concern. I also don't think traffic density should be that big of a concern. Its not like this area is devoid of traffic now what with Shawnee Mission Parkway, Roe, and Johnson Drive all intersecting there.

[GRID]

That thing will look like a skyscraper there.  Go Mission

[KCK]

There is no way in hell that tower is getting built there. Does no one else remember all the nimbys whining and protesting heavily a few months back about the 6 story "Monstrosity" that was to be the Waddell and Reed HQ? I believe that project was less than 1 mile away.