Kansas City’s “crown jewel,” the Country Club Plaza, has new owners. Many of the people with a stake in the iconic shopping district say they’ve made a good first impression.
When HP Village Management recently completed its purchase of the Plaza, President Ray Washburne called it a “legacy investment.”
HP Village plans to spend more than $100 million upgrading the basic infrastructure of the Plaza, which Washburne said is currently “on tax rolls now for $170 million.”
The new owners bought the Plaza at a steep discount, reflecting in part a recent exodus of tenants. The previous owners – a joint venture of Taubman Centers and the Macerich Co. – paid $660 million for the Plaza in 2016. They defaulted on $295 million in debt secured by the property last year.
“We spent the last several months in an excruciating negotiating process with the seller,” Washburne said following the transaction.
Plans to upgrade the Plaza include improved security, updated lighting and landscaping, preserving the original Spanish-themed architecture and creating more pedestrian-friendly gathering spaces. They also will look for the “best of the best” local retail and restaurants.
Flatland asked Plaza tenants, commercial real estate experts and neighbors to share their reactions and hopes for the future. Here’s what they had to say:
- Matt Pennington, president of Drake Development, developers of the Jack Henry building at the north edge of the Plaza and the upcoming three-story restaurant building Cocina 47 (on the site of the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist): “I’m excited to have an actual live body on the Plaza (that will) breathe some life into it. It has been in a receivership-type manner for the last five years. People didn’t want to come and that affected my development. So it will be great to have someone to talk and collaborate with on how we can continue to make it better together.”
- Keith Bradley, partner in Made in KC Marketplace, which has expanded since opening on the Plaza in 2018: “We’re very optimistic and extremely excited about the ownership. Better days ahead for the Plaza. We’ve already seen some exciting changes. More security officers, fresh coats of paint on stairwells, better lighting in parking garages. Just the way they have communicated about their short- and long-term plans. Even the language, like ‘legacy’ and ‘long term.’ The lack of maintenance by the previous owners was concerning.”
- Emma Bringenberg, manager for family’s Razzleberry boutique: “Fix the rent so smaller businesses can open down here. A lot of shoppers come into our store and ask if there are more businesses like this. There’s not really. The rent is so high no one can stay. And there’s not a lot of foot traffic in the last couple of years.”
- Brandon Buckley, partner in LANE4 Property Group, a commercial real estate firm that has had offices on the Plaza for nearly two decades: “The Country Club Plaza is beautiful, well-located and provides the walkability for a live, work and play environment. They are perfect for the Plaza due to their long-term view, retail relationships, and attention to detail which all make for an exciting future. We hope that they can bring a quality mix of both local and national tenants to provide a shopping experience that is unique to Kansas City.”
- Michael Shields, former general manager of the Plaza under J.C. Nichols Co. for more than 25 years, said in a written statement: “My dream come true! After watching the Plaza ‘crash and burn’ over the recent past, I had almost given up hope for the future of ‘our Crown Jewel.’ (They) are too smart to get into ‘discount’ merchandising of any sorts on the Plaza. My unanswered question is what are they going to do about the ‘dead’ Seville Square building. It has 125,000 square feet on 5 levels and is a giant ‘white elephant.’ I think it should be torn down and replaced with something having more potential. First floor retail has always worked on the Plaza, and maybe they could add apartments or condos above that. Seville was ‘born dead’ and was a great waste of assets and effort by JCN.”
(The Seville Square building currently has Brio Italian Grille and Urban Outfitters. It also previously had Cinemark Palace at the Plaza and Noodles & Company.)
- Duke Tufty, CEO and senior minister at UnityTemple On The Plaza, next to the previously proposed Nordstrom site, has been working on the Plaza since 1986 and has “never seen it so in need of help as it is now. The last couple of years have been very difficult. People come to Unity Temple for 12 step meetings seven days a week. At noon, while the meeting is being held, thieves roll through the parking garage and steal catalytic converters, tires, and a couple of times the whole car that was locked up. Women walking to their car at night have had someone run by, grab their purse and run off. The big dirty, dusty empty lot to the south of Unity Temple is an eyesore. It actually looks like a war zone, and it borders our children’s playground. There have been many suggestions made in regards to beautifying it at a very moderate price. Till the soil, plant some grass seed, put in some flower beds, place some benches around the lot and have a circular walking trail.”
(The new owners have floated a plan to put an office building on the site with retail on the first floor.)
- Emily Bordner, owner of EB and Co., a women’s accessory boutique: “We’re really excited about the new ownership. I haven’t been to their mall in Dallas, but it sounds so dreamy and wonderful. There is more security around and we are excited that they are focusing on more local restaurants and businesses.”
- Dan McCall, owner of The Classic Cup Cafe: “It feels like it is positive. To address some issues I thought the Plaza has had for a while. With security, with the cameras, to make it feel like it is safe. Sometimes it is just the optics. It is one of the reasons we are closed at night, there’s not a lot of foot traffic necessarily.” As for the possibility of more floors being added above his restaurant, or a redevelopment of the entire Classic Cup block, he said, “The Plaza has to change to bring in more people.”
Flatland contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Follow her on X and Facebook at #JoyceKC, and Instagram and Threads at #joyceinkc.
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