When Country Club Plaza opened in the early part of the 20th century, it served the needs of well heeled Kansas City residents who enjoyed the good life... European styled buildings were tenanted with high end retail and food establishments. Important to success was the drive in convenience of cleverly designed parking structures for suburbanites who had the day to spend while their spouses worked in the Center City. Now CCP is in the midst of a repositioning led by the same ownership group that has had success with Highland Park Village in Dallas. Although the bones of the CCP development are sound (high quality architecture, incredible plazas and green spaces integrated into a tight(ish) urban grid), the demographics and with them, the behaviors of the current Kansas City market do not match what the district currently offers. Other areas of the city like Power and Light appeal to a younger demographic with urban housing formats and street oriented events. In affluent suburbs, high net worth couples have less interest in leisure shopping, and more in health and wellness and unique experiences.
My advise to the new owners is to 1) change the public realm, the streets are way too wide and auto oriented. Encourage walking and biking by narrowing the streets and allowing other modes to have a chance to take hold, 2) create terrace dining and other semi public spaces that are elevated above or adjacent to, the elegantly designed public spaces already there. 3) integrate as much housing as you can get away with, which will create a constituency that self polices and provides energy, use some of the extra retail parking already there for the residences you integrate into the urban grid 4) recognize that you are a content provider, and use some of those parks and plazas as event spaces that attract interest throughout the week, months, and year. 5) create a wellness community with health care, cultural and educational resources in the core; 6) bring a hotel to the property with a rooftop terrace and other meeting spaces that are seen as common ground for both business and community interaction. 7) take advantage of Brush Creek as an amenity that connects to CCP with services for runners, walkers, and cyclists. 8) keep some of the retail but curate its mix to include local artisanal tenants and food purveyors along with the luxury that is already there.
Retail Centers from this era must be preserved, while addressing the needs of today with other things to do and experience. Just rethinking the commercial mix won't cut it anymore.
