KCRag Forum

Posted: **Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:38 am**

With the recent closings we've seen, here are some confirmed upcoming openings to lighten things up:

Amazon 4-star (former Tesla/Burberry space)
Capital One Café (former Sur La Table space)
Lovesac (former Baldwin space on 47th)
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition (former Nike space)
Psycho Bunny (location unknown)
Pure Barre (former Vom Fass/Gymboree space)

Posted: **Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:04 am**

Highlander wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:38 am Restoration Emporium is closing on the Plaza to focus put their emphasis on their Crossroads store. The SE part of the Plaza is becoming kind of scant in terms of tenants.

Could this be an opportunity to restore the old theater?

Posted: **Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:20 pm**

I'd guess we're getting closer and closer to a default. Bank investors taking over the Plaza and either selling it off in blocks or to another developer might not be the worst thing in the world. A resetting of rents at a lower, more realistic rate might pump some life back into the district and allow for different types of businesses and more local businesses.

Posted: **Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:56 pm**

This is an interesting read on local retailer challenges in erratic times within constraints/requirements of a corporate mall operator.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... plaza.html

Posted: **Thu Feb 17, 2022 11:52 am**

Plans submitted to city show that Interior Define is headed to the Kindred spot on Nichols Road. It's a great modern, national and quickly growing furniture brand.. definitely a win for the Plaza.

Posted: **Mon Feb 28, 2022 1:48 pm**

msmith011 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 11:52 am Plans submitted to city show that Interior Define is headed to the Kindred spot on Nichols Road. It's a great modern, national and quickly growing furniture brand.. definitely a win for the Plaza.

Seems like a good get. One just opened a few blocks from me in a new development on the trending 14th St NW in DC – alongside Amazon Fresh, Sephora, Bluestone Lane.

Posted: **Wed Mar 02, 2022 6:33 pm**

Amazon announced today that they are shutting down the entire four-star chunk of their retail division. They currently had two stores under construction in Kansas City at the CCP and TCP, one in Des Moines at Jordan Creek, and one under construction in Wichita at Bradley Fair, as well as an open store in St. Louis at the Galleria mall.

Amazon Books is also going to be a casualty of this closing wave.

Posted: **Wed Mar 02, 2022 6:42 pm**

Might have better luck opening a store that focuses on what the neighborhood/local visitors want rather than what is 4* online across US/planet. Start with some expected broadly hot items then have QR codes across store for visitors to vote for what they want to see in store. Adjust inventory to what sells and toward neighborhood/visitors taste as they change over time (on a per store basis). Maybe a concept for any retail wannabee entrepreneur in urban areas with challenged retail options.

Target is on right path with selecting items missing in immediate neighborhood for City Targets (and not competing with neighborhood owned stores when possible) but they too could take it to this next step.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 4:25 am**

As empty storefronts increase, is the Country Club Plaza losing its appeal?

About two dozen empty storefronts line the Country Club Plaza.

Recent losses include such big-name brands as Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Brighton Collectibles. Local home décor and furnishings retailer RE: is about to go dark, leaving behind a 21,274-square-foot space at 4704 Wyandotte St. The former t.Loft space, which sits on a prime corner spot, hasn't been filled since the local eatery opted to not renew its lease in 2020 because of business challenges.

"As an owner, I've never been more worried about the Plaza," Drake Development LLC President Matt Pennington said. "You see all the big names going away. It's going to have a domino effect because big names draw in big names. Additional people will fall out. ... I'm passionate about this. I'm living it. I'm breathing it every day, and it's tough to watch."
...
"If you keep walking by empty storefronts to go from one store that you love to the next store that you love, or to the next restaurant, you kind of get this sense that the area is in decline," Enders said. "The same goes for when you see a lot of local tenants come in and you see someone who comes in seasonally, and then they're gone the next season. It creates a little bit of confusion. It also casts local retail in a bad light sometimes because a customer might think that local retailers aren't sophisticated enough to operate at a high enough level to stay in business.
...
The Plaza is challenged with older buildings, and Taubman Centers and Macerich inherited deferred maintenance when they took over, Taubman said. Although they've tackled some of it, there's more to do, he said.
...
The Plaza needs to adapt to the marketplace and customers, and it needs some fresh and exclusive tenants, he said. As the sports and convention businesses pick back up, out-of-towners will be looking for tenants they can't find at home.
...
In today's retail environment, the Plaza is shackled with too many retail spaces. It needs a new vision and the ability to add more residential living to drive activity and attract relevant tenants, he said. Height restrictions, the amount of parking and the Plaza's density should be re-evaluated against current and future needs.
...
One of the most anticipated new tenants is Nordstrom, which has said it will relocate from Oak Park Mall in Overland Park to the Plaza at 4720 Jefferson St. Construction started in 2019, and Nordstrom originally planned to open the 122,000-square-foot store in 2021. The timeline has since been pushed back to the fall of 2023. According to Taubman, Nordstrom remains on track to open.
...

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity ... 2022-03-02

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 6:57 am**

At least it sounds like Nordstrom is moving forward. Good to hear a 'need for new vision to add more residential' is on their minds.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 10:20 am**

It's still a huge fail not to turn the Nordstrom building mixed use and add a few floors of housing on top... I miss Cinemark.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:00 pm**

Here’s an idea for the Plaza: lower your rents

The Plaza isn’t “dying”. People love the Plaza, there’s a huge market for it always. It’s just too expensive to have a store there paying that rent level.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:09 pm**

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:00 pm Here’s an idea for the Plaza: lower your rents

The Plaza isn’t “dying”. People love the Plaza, there’s a huge market for it always. It’s just too expensive to have a store there paying that rent level.

The owner couldn't do that without going bankrupt.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:23 pm**

daGOAT wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 10:20 am It's still a huge fail not to turn the Nordstrom building mixed use and add a few floors of housing on top... I miss Cinemark.

I agree with this.

That appears to be what contributed to so many shopping centers and malls failing. They never took the opportunity to put highly-dense housing along the perimeters with tree-lined streets feeding some pedestrian traffic.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:39 pm**

I don’t care if they want to turn the Plaza into a neighborhood and more stores and buildings like that, but they *have* to keep up with the design. If you lose the design then you lose the appeal.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:15 pm**

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:09 pm
AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:00 pm Here’s an idea for the Plaza: lower your rents

The Plaza isn’t “dying”. People love the Plaza, there’s a huge market for it always. It’s just too expensive to have a store there paying that rent level.
The owner couldn't do that without going bankrupt.

Maybe bankruptcy and restructuring would be the best thing for the Plaza at this point.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:31 pm**

shinatoo wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:15 pm
beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:09 pm
AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:00 pm Here’s an idea for the Plaza: lower your rents

The Plaza isn’t “dying”. People love the Plaza, there’s a huge market for it always. It’s just too expensive to have a store there paying that rent level.
The owner couldn't do that without going bankrupt.
Maybe bankruptcy and restructuring would be the best thing for the Plaza at this point.

Totally. But, you can't expect them to drop rents knowing it would probably force it. They'll keep grinding it out trying to add new tenants, hoping against hope that Nordstroms brings back all the lost retail rent. Portfolio bankers don't want it to go bankrupt either. So, everyone's in fairy tale land until it's unavoidable. I'd guess there are probably already investors tracking the property to be ready to buy it out of bank hold, if that happens.

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:30 pm**

Amazon Fresh or Bloomingdales.

Posted: **Thu Mar 10, 2022 11:14 am**

https://cityscenekc.com/new-development ... -casualty/

Posted: **Thu Mar 10, 2022 11:33 am**

Loose a nice Romanesque building for a 119th and Roe building.

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