KCRag Forum

msmith011 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:40 am

FangKC wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:31 am Societal changes are responsible for this. People in general don't dress up as much as they used to in the past. Casual clothing has seen the most growth.

In addition, people's incomes have not kept pace with inflation for 40 years so fewer and fewer people can afford upscale anything. More of their budgets go to needs than wants.

High-end shops have been affected the most. Many have closed stores in the hinterland cities. Many only do well in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Palm Beach, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

About 43 percent of the nation's household wealth is in four states; 50 percent of the wealth is in six states. Those numbers are skewed by a tiny fraction of the state residents who are multimillionaires or billionaires. It doesn't mean everyone in New York has money to blow. It just means there are more wealthy households in those states. These are the people who shop in high-end stores.

Some wealthy people live in more than one place. They may have a house where their business is, but live in another city a good deal of the time. They do their high-end shopping in the other city because their home city can't support the high-end shops.

Secondly, more Americans see Bloomingdale's Nordstrom's, Macy's, and Dillard's as out of reach for their budgets. They shop at stores like JC Penney, Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and Burlington Coat Factory. We are also seeing more people shopping online so physical stores don't see the foot traffic and are more expensive to operate.

The Plaza struggles because our Metro's affluent neighborhoods keep moving further outward. It can have some upscale businesses, but it needs to return to serving the neighborhoods around it, and building more density.

I get what you're saying, but I have a hard time believing Kansas City can't support high-end shopping. Despite economic challenges, the luxury sector has performed very well in recent years; just look at LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., etc. I liken it to the airline industry. The vast majority of people can't afford first class, but flights -- especially international -- are profitable because of the small number of people who pay for those seats.

In the past year-plus, Gucci has opened standalone stores in Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Nashville, Portland, Sacramento, St. Louis -- Kansas City's peers. These big brands know there's a market for luxury in tier two and three cities, especially in the midwest, because we've been ignored. I would argue that the reason we've lost luxury stores on the Plaza (St. John, Burberry) has more to do with the way the Plaza has been managed vs. people not willing to spend.

kcjak wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 7:41 am I feel like the new sushi place could be successful in a location even bigger than the t.Loft space.

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:34 pm ^That's an ideal scenario. Building multi-family on that lot would be extremely beneficial to the Plaza. Move away from anchor stores and continue having smaller spaces. Yes, I'm advocating for no big retail replacement.

The old movie theater there should come down and be replaced by additional housing as well.

The garage is not closed. It's just that depressing.

But, we all know that the Historic KC and Plaza-area NIMBYs would have a stroke because such projects would ruin the character of the Plaza. The future of the actual Plaza is mixed-use, so let's start by taking advantage of the opportunities we have today to have a vibrant and stable future tomorrow.

GRID wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 12:06 am On a positive note, the Hilton hotel looks much better. At least from a distance.

kcjak wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 8:55 am

GRID wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 12:06 am On a positive note, the Hilton hotel looks much better. At least from a distance.

It does look cleaner, but I kinda miss the pink of the Sheraton Suites...it tied in a *little* better to a modern Spanish-y feel.

kcjak wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 8:55 am

GRID wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 12:06 am On a positive note, the Hilton hotel looks much better. At least from a distance.

It does look cleaner, but I kinda miss the pink of the Sheraton Suites...it tied in a *little* better to a modern Spanish-y feel.

Midtownkid wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 2:47 pm If the Plaza was to add some apartments on this site or elsewhere, I would really love it if they would look to Spain for inspiration. Barcelona had blocks and blocks of handsome apartment houses. It was very common for the apartments to have French doors and balconies in every room. Many of the exterior walls has interesting façade treatments as well, not just plain stucco. I'd love to look down Nichols and see something along those lines at the end of the street:

KCKev wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 3:06 pm

Midtownkid wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 2:47 pm If the Plaza was to add some apartments on this site or elsewhere, I would really love it if they would look to Spain for inspiration. Barcelona had blocks and blocks of handsome apartment houses. It was very common for the apartments to have French doors and balconies in every room. Many of the exterior walls has interesting façade treatments as well, not just plain stucco. I'd love to look down Nichols and see something along those lines at the end of the street:

This looks more New Orleans than Kansas City to me.

Midtownkid wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 2:57 pm I also really like this building in San Diego. (aside from that color).



Something similar Would fit in well with the Plaza's architecture. I believe this is a newer building (anyone know who designed it?). Giving some height to the Dillard's building would also help block the ugly garage beyond. We need the new building to be mixed use, a focal point, and to have some Spanish flair. Otherwise, it will detract from the Plaza.