Oak Park Mall

[kanasalumn]

I work at a store there PT, and our store do not like this idea.  I agree.  I think it is CBL's full respondsbilty to make upgrades to their property as they owned it.  If the city owns it or some of it then maybe having the special tax. 

Overland Park City Council OKs special sales tax district for Oak Park Mall

On Monday night, the Overland Park City Council approved a measure that will create a special sales tax district to help pay for some of the mall’s proposed roadway renovations.

The sales tax, which would add 0.5 percent to every purchase at the mall, could generate roughly $19 million — if the council approves the full amount requested by CBL & Associates Properties Inc.

[trailerkid]

Lacoste is coming to Oak Park...posted on its web site.

Makes sense. Too bad for Plaza or P+L.

[PumpkinStalker]

Boooo.  I'm disappointed.  I buy a lot of Lacoste polos from Halls though, they frequently go on sale at the CC location, and then I get my Hallmark 20% discount on top of the sale price!    But I still would have loved having on at P&L.  I see it as a disappointment.

[KCLover]

Oak Parks still a pretty strong competitor. At least they are keeping the place alive. I think the recent bust on the other indoor malls in town have made them a little worried so they are trying to attract more destination stores. I noticed they are getting a Forever 21, its a girly store but it will be a huge hit with the females. I noticed it was a huge hit in vegas while I was there during christmas.... the shopping bags were dime a dozen- seen them everywhere, so good land there I suppose.

[drramos101]

Also wish Lacoste wouldve gone to the Plaza. The Plaza can still score one, I think. I see many markets that have two. Especially since Kansas City and OP are two different cities. Forever 21 isn't that new to the area anymore though. The first location was in Zona Rosa back in '03, and they just opened a location in The Legends last year. It is a popular store though for the young female demographic.

[Angel]

I just saw that Lush is going into Oak Park.  My friends and I are all pretty excited about this.  I wish it was going to P&L, but I'm just happy that KC is getting a Lush store so I guess it doesn't matter where it goes.

[DaveKCMO]

I just saw that Lush is going into Oak Park.  My friends and I are all pretty excited about this.  I wish it was going to P&L, but I'm just happy that KC is getting a Lush store so I guess it doesn't matter where it goes.

soaps and such? neat store, but zum bar soaps are just as good and made locally.

[PumpkinStalker]

soaps and such? neat store, but zum bar soaps are just as good and made locally.

Dave, is that the place in the back of that textiles business next to YJ's?

[DaveKCMO]

Dave, is that the place in the back of that textiles business next to YJ's?

nope. web site says they're at 31st and mercier. i've seen the soaps at just about every store that sells such things (wild oats, basil+bay, best of KC, perfect scents).

[chrizow]

i didn't know zum bar soaps were made here.  i will start buying them. 

[Angel]

soaps and such? neat store, but zum bar soaps are just as good and made locally.

That may be - you can buy lots of all natural, handmade soaps that smell great almost anywhere - but there's nothing like the atmosphere and experience of going to a Lush store.  I can buy Zum soap at the grocery store.  Going to a Lush store is heavenly and something fun my friends and I can go experience.

[nota]

soaps and such? neat store, but zum bar soaps are just as good and made locally.

Just as good as what????

Which "flavors" have you compared?

[kanasalumn]

Eddie Bauer will start renovations into the men's side or move into a new location opening this Fall.  No Final decision has been made

[GRID]

Why is this mall not on I-35?  How does it pull in through traffic?  When you drive around most large metros, the biggest malls are always along a major freeway.  Oak Park is hidden away.  If that mall were at 95th and 35, I think it would be even larger than it already is.

[GuyInLenexa]

I think the mall is in a very strategic location.  Probably, that is why it remains one of the most successful malls in the metro.  It is on the intersection of two major and busy thoroughfares, it is about a half a mile off I35 and about one mall off US 69 both major controlled access highways for JOCO.
It seems to have worked well since 1975.
Being near an interstate does not always mean a success.  One can look at The Great Mall, Bannister, Blue Ridge, and Indian Springs to see that.
I was in TX last Christmas season and shopped at several of the malls in the DFW area.  Many on the freeways had massive backups that went onto the interstate lanes.  Even smaller malls like Golden Triangle Mall in Denton were a mess.  I would rather leave the interstates/expressways to moving traffic instead of becoming commercial corridors. 

[kard]

Why is this mall not on I-35?  How does it pull in through traffic?  When you drive around most large metros, the biggest malls are always along a major freeway.  Oak Park is hidden away.  If that mall were at 95th and 35, I think it would be even larger than it already is.

Do you mean that it's not visible from a major freeway?  It's less than a mile from the triangle surrounding it.

[GRID]

Went to Oak Park mall for the first time in years.  Is it just me or is the area around the mall looking a bit blightened?  I think the mall itelf is still strong, but the general area has seen much better days.

[NOLA]

I was at Oak Park last Sunday.  I had two thoughts: 1.  This is a really nice mall -- I wish it was closer to my house; and 2.  The area surrounding it is case study in suburban blight (i.e., what happens when people continue move farther and farther out, treating their existing surroundings as entirely disposable.)

[ChandraNH]

Glad to hear that a LUSH is coming to the area.  I've never seen or tried the Zum bars that were referenced, but LUSH has a cult following around the world (people go so far as ordering from the UK stores when they have new product that hasn't been released in the US - the same for ordering from Japan).  It's not just soap with LUSH, it's the bath bombs, the shower jellies, the bubble bars, the store, the store parties, the discounts right after Christmas, the LUSH times newsletter. 

When I started using LUSH my husband was slightly aghast (bath bombs are 4-9 bucks each, bubble bars are the same price, the shampoo I use, in bar form, is 6, my husband's shampoo (comes in a tub is 24 for 16 ounces and they make a shampoo with stout in it) as a single bath could cost anywhere from 4-20, but once I introduced him to Sonic Death Monkey shower wash, he was hooked (smells like lime, chocolate and coffee).

I'm excited as I couldn't understand why they had two stores in St. Louis and none down KCMO way.  This place will be overrun.

[KCLover]

Went to Oak Park mall for the first time in years.  Is it just me or is the area around the mall looking a bit blightened?  I think the mall itelf is still strong, but the general area has seen much better days.

It is. They haven't kept it up like it should have been. The roads and parking lot areas around the mall are bad for JoCo. Some buildings on Quivera there abandoned. Used to be a nice area, with nice stores around there, now its all cheaper stuff or discount type stores.... strange how that works. Demographics changed.

This goes for any area of town, especially JoCo stuff. I noticed there are parts of the retail at 119th & I-35 blighted. There are a ton of stores out of business along Mur-Len there, some buildings large. A lot of abandoned stores in strip malls along there too. Alot of vacant areas in the new Olathe Pointe area there too that were never filled. There are just too many huge retail cluster areas around here, cant support them all.