voltopt wrote:
I think Oak Park Mall's "secret" is its location at the crux of Lenexa, Olathe, and Overland Park, and off the busiest Interstate Highway in Kansas City. A mall will find success quickly if there is enough middle-class america surrounding it - and the area around Oak Park has been carefully crafted by wily Johnson County Planners for fifty years to be the homogenized, buffered, and predominantly white area that it is.
You haven't spent much time there I take it? The neighborhoods and apartments surrounding Oak Park are probably the most racially diverse area in JoCo South of 75th St. Or were you just flaming?
And in reality, the interstate access there really isn't as good as most of the other malls in the area. The reason OP has survived over the years is mostly owed to the previous ownership constantly pumping money into keeping it maintained and updated over the years. With the exception of Mission Mall, all of the failed malls in this town had owners that let them get dated and didn't pump money into them to keep them up. The three other malls that have all seen consistent capital improvement, OP, Indep, Ward Parkway, are still going strong. No coincidence.
I guess you're right. The reasons for Oak Park's continued success are monetary and not based on social reasons - such as perception of safety, central location to many primarily white high schools, etc.
As a clarification, I used the term "white" only to piss people off. I apologize. What I meant was predominantly middle class and above. I'm sure the racial mixture around Oak Park is really exciting, but I think that's beyond my point. Noone can deny that the location has been one of the primary reasons for its continued success, along with reinvestment.
"I never quarrel, sir; but I do fight, sir; and when I fight, sir, a funeral follows, sir." -senator thomas hart benton
voltopt wrote:
What I meant was predominantly middle class and above. I'm sure the racial mixture around Oak Park is really exciting, but I think that's beyond my point.
Strike two. Oak Park is surrounded by some of the cheapest (and sketchiest) apartments you will find south of Shawnee and many of the single family neighborhoods surrounding it - especially to the east, have taken on a very blue coller complexion. That isn't really a recent development either.
i'm actually somewhat surprised that Oak Park has maintained its upscale nature and stayed strong given the (relative) decline of the immediate area it is in. the area immediately around Indep. Center is probably more "upscale" than the area immediately around OP, but of course Oak Park is sandwiched in a typical middle class area between the uber-moneyed NE JoCo burbs and the uber-moneyed south JoCo burbs. as a lot of the big money moved farther south and brought shopping along with it, it's actually sort of refreshing that the metro's premiere shopping mall is "way up" on 95th. by contrast, see metcalf south.
Last edited by chrizow on Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Count this as strike three - I redact my previous statements about the economic and racial makeup of Johnson County - and I will try not to comment on it in the future. I will adhere to topics I am familiar with, namely, Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, within the pre-WWII city limits.
"I never quarrel, sir; but I do fight, sir; and when I fight, sir, a funeral follows, sir." -senator thomas hart benton
People keep referencing a "decline" around Oak Park but I really think that is a slightly mistaken perception - the surrounding area has been at least mildly troubled for decades. Having grown up not too far from there, I can attest that the apartments and immediate surroundings have been sketchy since I was a child. And if you think about it, very little of the surrounding retail in the periphery shopping centers has ever really been successful - there are lots of places in those shopping centers that have been revolving doors for at least twenty years or more - most noteably, the giant, cursed space that Circuit City is moving into. The mall has soldiered on unaffected though.
Considering that it was built (1975) Oak Park is one of the best managed and maintained indoor shopping malls I have ever lived near. Many malls can last, NorthPark in Dallas is a good example, built in 1965 it is still one of the nicest malls in the US.
It has been almost ten years since the last major remodeling for OPM, since Nordstom came. I would not be surprised to see another one in the near future.
It would be cool to see Dillards move into one location and a new anchor like Neiman Marcus or Lord and Taylor replace it.
The owner of the mall, CBL & Associates Properties Inc., is proposing to renovate and expand the mall, 11519 W. 95th St. To do so, it is asking Overland Park for tax subsidies to help cover infrastructure improvements.
The Tennessee-based company wants the city to create a special district, a transportation development district in which extra sales taxes would be imposed on customers at the mall. CBL could charge up to 1 cent of sales tax in addition to the current sales tax.
The company is proposing to renovate the 1.5 million-square-foot mall, including making changes to the main entrance, the food court and the center court. The company would also add new lighting along walkways and improve access streets.
A city committee will review the proposal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 8500 Santa Fe Drive.
Lets not abandon this great mall after it has undergone the much needed facelift. We saw the same here in Topeka with White Lakes Mall. They did a multi million dollar facelift back in the late 70's Early 80's and then West Ridge Mall was built and White Lakes just went in the crapper.
No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant- free message.
However, a significant number of electrons have been inconvenienced.
I remember back when there was Monkey Wards at one end and Pennys at the other. Then there was the area with the theater, an arcade, Dairy Queen and a cafeteria. I think that's where we used to mostly hang out in the '80s. I even remember when there was no food court - and whatever happened to that groovy plexiglass thing (maybe a flag) that hung from the ceiling in the middle? Sadly, I even remember the song from the commercials when the mall first opened, "Great things are going on at our park, Oak Park Mall!"
Oak Park Mall could soon get a new look, and shoppers would pick up the tab.
The owner of the mall, CBL & Associates Properties Inc., is proposing to renovate and expand the mall, 11519 W. 95th St. To do so, it is asking Overland Park for tax subsidies to help cover infrastructure improvements.
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator
Wouldn't the incentives be a one cent tax on all purchases at the mall? I don't see a big issue with that considering the upgrade would ensure overall sales tax growth and make the surrounding neighborhoods more attractive for redevelopment.
This project was also called an expansion...I seriously doubt they would add a significant amount to retail floor. I'm guessing they would build out the main entrance with new sit-down restaurants and enlarge the food court. Am I crazy or was Oak Park renovated in the early 2000s?
trailerkid wrote:
Am I crazy or was Oak Park renovated in the early 2000s?
Yeah...I think they did some work to parts when they added Nordstrom, but I don't think it was the entire mall--just that portion going to the new store / garage.
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator
