KCRag Forum

With Brio being sued for back rent, looks like they will not be there much longer. And with the cinema gone this leaves the old Sears/Seville Square pretty much empty. Along with the stalled Nordstroms this end of the Plaza is quite forlorn. Are there any long range plans for this building?

The Plaza has been in steady decline for the better part of the past ten years, even though the conversation has been dismissed on here repeatedly. There is no luxury retail left, which was always what made The Country Club Plaza a signature destination. Stores like Burberry and Halls have all moved out. A store like Restoration Hardware would rather be on 119th street. They haven’t been able to hold onto the quality restaurants like Houstons. It’s simply been one domino after the next as it’s devolved into a blend of basic mediocrity of LensCrafters and Beauty Brands low end crap.

It can still be a great lifestyle, entertainment destination within the city but it needs a complete and total reimagination. That’s obvious.

MidtownCat wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 6:15 am The Plaza has been in steady decline for the better part of the past ten years, even though the conversation has been dismissed on here repeatedly. There is no luxury retail left, which was always what made The Country Club Plaza a signature destination. Stores like Burberry and Halls have all moved out. A store like Restoration Hardware would rather be on 119th street. They haven’t been able to hold onto the quality restaurants like Houstons. It’s simply been one domino after the next as it’s devolved into a blend of basic mediocrity of LensCrafters and Beauty Brands low end crap.

It can still be a great lifestyle, entertainment destination within the city but it needs a complete and total reimagination. That’s obvious.

Lens Crafters sells Burberry
https://www.lenscrafters.com/lc-us/brands/burberry

I thought Burberry was an example of a signature destination brand?

Selling licenses glasses and selling actual product is different.

In-store retail is dying off for volume sales. You can order a Burberry coat online and have it mailed to you. If you don't like it, mail it back. The Plaza needs to be restaurants, bars, services, and various forms of entertainment with a smattering of boutique retail. It's crazy town to me though that there is no movie theater in Midtown/Westport/Plaza anymore.

FangKC wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 6:09 pm In-store retail is dying off for volume sales. You can order a Burberry coat online and have it mailed to you. If you don't like it, mail it back. The Plaza needs to be restaurants, bars, services, and various forms of entertainment with a smattering of boutique retail. It's crazy town to me though that there is no movie theater in Midtown/Westport/Plaza anymore.

Plaza needs a nice scrub and overhaul. Lets bulldoze that Starbucks block and "Build Back Better". The buildings are dirty and need a nice scrub at a minimum.

How many theater auditoriums were in the Cinemark Palace in the former Seville Square building? Does anyone know?

I'm wondering since the Brio space might be available, and possibly Urban Outfitters could be relocated for this, that entire building could be converted into theater spaces and a theater brought back.

I think it's time the institution of the Plaza be abolished. The single ownership of the plaza has not produced any impressive results and threatens to stagnate itself. That said, I wouldn’t be too bothered by the Plaza continuing to lose prominence. It was founded explicitly as a competitor of downtown and a conduit into suburbia, so part of me says good riddance

^Given KC has very few truly urban living options it's a great opportunity to adapt Plaza from a shopping district to truly urban mixed use. It's pretty close, just needs some residential mixed within (such as above existing parking garages), broader range of nightlife, a bit of neighborhood retail and it's all set. The rest will fall into place organically over time once taking away a specific shopping district identity, but yeah would help to not have a single owner. Can do this while still welcoming the region for unique shopping, just dedicate say 15% or so fewer spots to retail.

FangKC wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 6:58 pm How many theater auditoriums were in the Cinemark Palace in the former Seville Square building? Does anyone know?

13 plus small dining theater.

At this point, it seems like many places are just holding on until their leases are up, so that makes the whole district feel trashy. A dirty Coldstone Creamery is just killing time until they leave but hurting all the other establishments and view of the district while they do it. I don't know if the management is afraid to lay down the law over and risk losing a tenant, but they need to cut some rotting wood and get down to building on a good foundation again. Of course, labor shortages are really affecting cleanliness right now too. If you can't get people to work at all, the first position you cut is the guy walking around picking up the napkins that fell on the floor at Chipotle.

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 8:19 pm

FangKC wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 6:58 pm How many theater auditoriums were in the Cinemark Palace in the former Seville Square building? Does anyone know?

13 plus small dining theater.

Do you know how many theater auditoriums were in the building across the street that was demolished for Nordstrom's?

FangKC wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 10:50 pm

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 8:19 pm

FangKC wrote: ↑Sat Nov 06, 2021 6:58 pm How many theater auditoriums were in the Cinemark Palace in the former Seville Square building? Does anyone know?

13 plus small dining theater.

Do you know how many theater auditoriums were in the building across the street that was demolished for Nordstrom's?

5 we’re on that side.

IIRC, the creek renovation was eventually supposed to be something San Antonio Riverwalk Esque

Goonies wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 2:14 am My dream scenario would be Westport/Plaza are more connected. I think St. Luke's killed that, Make that stretch of 43rd turning into Westport less of a clusterfuck, Make Westport RD on the West Plaza more attractive as it's what alot ir visitors from Kansas see coming into KC. I will say I think the stretch of Bellview where the new development with apartments/mixed use is going is nice. I wish there was some development going Inbetween the bank and law offices instead of the bootleg looking dog park.

An engineer had pulled reports on the St. Lukes parking lots near Westport. Possible they want to build.

Goonies wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 1:36 am I think some of you are being a bit hyperbolic the art fair and lights draw plenty of folks. The gym is going to help bring people in and I still think they should beat downtown to the punch and get an urban Target. It also needs to bring in some sort of movie theater but wont because let's call it for what it is: it attracts people they do not desire. The hotels being built nearby will help as well they still need some sort of bodega on or near the plaza (no whole foods on the south plaza does not fit this description) and lastly I wish they could figure out what to do with Brush Creek. it could have potential but the fire on the creek ceremony has ran its course and the little gondola on the creek ain't it.

From someone that visits the plaza only once or twice a year (although probably not much different than most of KC), the plaza has really become an irrelevant place as far as retail. Which is odd since the surrounding area continues to grow and become more dense. This is all on the people that own the plaza and probably also on the die hard NIMBYs that won't allow any sort of real change there.

Getting rid of the theater was stupid. That theater brought tons of people to the plaza where they would eat etc while down there. Eventually a new theater will open in Mission or something instead killing any chances of a new plaza theater.

I really don't understand the theater thing. There are theaters here in the DC area that are near questionable demographics and they still thrive. The difference here seems to be that the whites don't avoid areas when blacks start going to them and that has always been the case with KC. Places get a reputation as being "bad" and they are quickly avoided.

Maybe the crime in KC is just worse now since it's been a while since I have actually lived there, but KC really seems to struggle to have things like theaters in areas that are not just white people. KC has a very poor and uneducated minority population, which may be one reason for it. My local mall for example is thriving and I would say at least 50% of the people that shop there are black. But it's a more affluent black population that KC seems to lack.

I'm rambling. I guess I'm just saying that KC not being able to have a theater in the entire midtown area is an indication of much more serious problems that the city is still dealing with.

GRID wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 1:19 pm Getting rid of the theater was stupid. That theater brought tons of people to the plaza where they would eat etc while down there. Eventually a new theater will open in Mission or something instead killing any chances of a new plaza theater.

I really don't understand the theater thing. There are theaters here in the DC area that are near questionable demographics and they still thrive. The difference here seems to be that the whites don't avoid areas when blacks start going to them and that has always been the case with KC. Places get a reputation as being "bad" and they are quickly avoided.

The theater totally could have stayed, even with Nordstrom going in. They could have downsized to just 8 theaters instead of 13, clean and fix up the remaining and done well. I think the reason they didn't do it was because the parking garage is being torn out for Nordstroms, and "no one will come to a theater without a place to park a block away!" bs. Honestly, I'd bet the theaters on the east of the skywalk are probably still intact. Just need the owner to get a theater company to update them and run it.

Theatres are dying. Don’t understand the hype to have one.

normalthings wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 3:18 pm Theatres are dying. Don’t understand the hype to have one.

Everything that dies is reborn.

As a nearby resident I would like to see more neighborhood type amenities. Also a fan of closing a street for a block for outdoor dining and what not.