Company bought part of brookside

[loftguy]

Yeah, no way in hell the Brookside shops would be allowed to be demolished/rezoned. I can't see anything like that being built in the center of Brookside.

I do think that the Brookside area could definitely use more apartments. I would like to see some mixed use development going in further east on 63rd. That empty lot on 63rd and Oak could have been a good spot, but it looks like it is just a SFH being built there.

What did I miss? Has anyone said jack about tearing down anything?

Consider the possibility that this real estate team see's great buildable value in this eclectic mix of businesses plugged successfully in to 1920's era storefronts. You can bet they paid a pretty nice chunk of change for this attractive assembly of real estate.

There's a whole lot we don't know, but I hope they have identified land and/or underutilized property to build something like the photo shown.

I'm sure anything will get lots of folks in a tizzy (their tizzy trigger is pretty sensitive) and they are for sure going to wig out when they consider the gross disruption to life as they know it ('that was my favorite parking lot!') and the agonizing parking problems that it's all going to cause.....

Change is good. Bring it on!

[chrizow]

looking at the new owner's portfolio, can there be any realistic expectation that the company is seeking to diversify its holdings and get into the quirky, local neighborhood shopping district business? tearing down the BKS shops for downtown Evanston mix-use stuff would be a godsend compared to what is on their website. i expect to see jacked up rents, which only chains can afford, and a corresponding change in tenants from local spots to more chains. the plaza-fication of BKS.

i hope i am wrong.

[loftguy]

Could be Chriz, but my gut says that the type of 'worst case' being envisioned could have been achieved for far fewer dollars and with less headache on other real estate in the area. Raze and raise type development would put a hefty pricetag on such a transition along the north side of 63rd.

They don't appear to be a Highwouldn'ts type operation, but I suppose it's possible.

[earthling]

I don't see them tearing anything down, just renting out to chains willing to pay higher rents. Though a lot of their tenants are Dollar Tree and TJ Maxx.

[chrizow]

yeah i dont think they will necessarily tear down the buildings. i just think they will rent to chains.

[shinatoo]

i just think they will rent to chains.

[kucer]

The only place that could go is on the Border Star lot. Since the neighbors are stopping the Bryant repurposing, it would be great to see the montessori moved there and Border Star reused as housing.

Months back I had heard rumors of the KCMSD in actual talks with a developer about selling Border Star and moving them to Bryant. It's likely only a matter of time for this to happen.

[Midtownkid]

The Brookside shops are really charming! I can't believe anyone is saying they should be torn down!!

They have nice little tutor details. The scale is great. Not every place in KC needs to be dense. Lets building up density north the of the Plaza before we go destroying the areas of our city that are great as-is.





This corner especially!!

[aknowledgeableperson]

I would think there would be an uproar if any proposed changes to Brookside changed its character. Many think of Brookside much like the Plaza. Like it just the way it is.

[smh]

I just want to tear down Cosentino's and rebuild it in a denser fashion. The rest of the shops can stay.



for now.

[kboish]

Not every place in KC needs to be dense.

I agree with your point that Brookside has charm and isn't necessarily in need of tearing down. I also agree there are other places in KC that could/should focus on density. However, i have to say brookside is also one of those places. There are plenty of other places in KC that are not dense and will stay that way- in fact the vast majority of KC will always stay that way. Brookside is so well positioned for growth and densification as an extension of our central city. It is extremely low density in its current form (despite what people think) and a modest increase of density will still not make it anywhere near becoming "city dense".

Also, I hear people use this "not everywhere needs to be dense" phrase for parts all over KC- from midtown, westport, and even the crossroads. I just don't buy it. KC is overly low-density. These places are designed for or perfectly positioned to accommodate density.

A developer wanting to add a project to the Brookside speaks well for its attractiveness. Thats a good thing. While it obviously can be poorly done, it can also elevate an area. These types of new investment can help breath new life into an area...

so i guess the question becomes....how would you improve brookside if you could? do we have a thread on this already somewhere?

edited for clarity

[beautyfromashes]

The structure and walkability of Brookside is great, but I don't think anyone can say that the current owners have done the best job in bringing in new businesses. The Hallmark store has been vacant for how long? A shoe repair place that literally smells like an ashtray? A travel agency in 2014? I did like the auto repair shop conversion. But, this should be one the prime retail spots in the city. I hope the new owners can do better without going suburban.

[flyingember]

The structure and walkability of Brookside is great, but I don't think anyone can say that the current owners have done the best job in bringing in new businesses. The Hallmark store has been vacant for how long? A shoe repair place that literally smells like an ashtray? A travel agency in 2014? I did like the auto repair shop conversion. But, this should be one the prime retail spots in the city. I hope the new owners can do better without going suburban.

it's a tough area for a shop. without better transit there's not enough parking for a large number of traditional shops to get the foot traffic they need. look at how much parking the grocery store needed instead of putting in more rentable space

Waldo has retail with more parking.

so rather than be a neighborhood shopping center you end up with boutiques and businesses that can run on low foot traffic

[aknowledgeableperson]

"so i guess the question becomes....how would you improve brookside if you could?"

You really cannot improve Brookside on a grand scale. A small improvement here and there one could do but to do something drastic would make Brookside into something that it is not now. The parking lots will remain parking lots since the businesses need them (looking at an overview of the shopping area and the parking areas look about 65% to 70% occupied. A few buildings could be torn down and replaced with buildings that fit in the Brookside character but the new buildings wouldn't be over two stories so your density wouldn't increase that much. The old YMCA on Wornall could be replaced but unless the church needs some money I doubt it would be available. Border Star could be repurposed but I doubt torn down.

A drastic change to Brookside would met a greater opposition than what the locals got together for using the CCROW for a new streetcar system.

[flyingember]

the only change I would think makes sense is to look at turning 63rd EAST of Brookside Blvd into a commercial corridor with modern housing above. rezone so the next buyer is commercial/busines and have a targeted incentive to rebuild to mixed use commercial (residential above).

there's already commercial, just finish connecting the commercial into one piece


I'm thinking Magazine St in NOLA as a model. it's a neighborhood that feels very similar to Brookside and it works.

edit: typo in direction

[beautyfromashes]

I think it really starts with the Borderstar building. The rest of the retail space is penned in by residential with little room to expand. That's the best place to add parking and new retail. Also, I know there's probably difficulties in doing it, but I'd like to see Brookside Blvd close between 63rd and Meyer.

[chaglang]

Also, I know there's probably difficulties in doing it, but I'd like to see Brookside Blvd close between 63rd and Meyer.

That's a really good idea. That block doesn't make a difference on Brookside Blvd, and it would allow a more coherent arrangement of parking, new development, and trolley trail through there.

[brewcrew1000]

I kind of wish this company or a company like this would buy something in Westport. Westport has great local restaurant momentum going on right now but I think its really missing apartment density in a 2-3 block area to support it. Wouldn't it be nice to be building a nice apt complex in almost any direction of westport. Surely someone has a parking lot or land they want to sell to a developer like this.

[Demosthenes]

I kind of wish this company or a company like this would buy something in Westport. Westport has great local restaurant momentum going on right now but I think its really missing apartment density in a 2-3 block area to support it. Wouldn't it be nice to be building a nice apt complex in almost any direction of westport. Surely someone has a parking lot or land they want to sell to a developer like this.

Yea it would be great to build on all the parking lots in Westport, starting with the one smack dab in the center of it: the buzzard beach lot. 3-5 story apartments with commercial on the bottom. Maybe a little office space in some of them. Lets get on it.

[Stockton]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Brookside is perhaps the nicest, most balanced, and most complete residential neighborhood in Kansas City. Sure, there may be room for a couple of small projects, such as squeezing in a bit more multi-family residential, *maybe* a redeveloped Cosentino's Market property, but otherwise leave the area alone! I'm not sure I like the idea of Border Star being torn down, but *maybe*, and that is as far as I would go. The qualities that make Brookside such a great and desirable neighborhood could easily be destroyed by ideas people with their head up their asses have - whether they be premature, overzealous urban-development geeks who lack wisdom and fail to realize they have a lot to learn or greedy developers who care about nothing more than making money (IE: Highwoods original idea to obliterate the Plaza). In my opinion, an idea like turning 63rd St into solidly street-abutting developments all with first-floor retail space is obsessive-compulsive and lacking in sophistication. I think the same of destroying the residential, even single-family homes, that hug such business districts as Brookside's - in fact, I think the houses that have been turned commercial should go back to being residential. I better like the idea of nodes. I think Waldo has lots of reasonable capacity for development, such as townhouses, apartment/condo buildings, even new single-family homes, and major new-urbanism development on the SE corner of 75th and Wornall and south on Wornall. The Landing, 63rd and Troost, and E. 63rd also have a ton of potential for development. Troost has old, urban building stock north of 63rd ripe for better utilization, and potential for redevelopment south of 63rd. Leave Brookside alone. It's a great neighborhood. Instead, think about expanding other areas into being great neighborhoods.