New owners raise hopes for Country Club Plaza

Kansas City’s crown jewel, the Country Club Plaza, has new owners. Many of the people who own shares 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 invest over $100 million to upgrade the Plaza’s basic infrastructure, which Washburne said is currently “valued at $170 million on the tax rolls.”

The new owners bought the Plaza at a deep discount, in part due to a recent exodus of tenants. The previous owners – a joint venture between Taubman Centers and the Macerich Co. – paid $660 million for the Plaza in 2016. Last year, they defaulted on the $295 million in debt secured by the property.

“We have spent the last few months in an agonizing negotiation process with the seller,” Washburne said after the transaction.

Plans to modernize the plaza include improved security, updated lighting and landscaping, preserving the original Spanish-style architecture and creating more pedestrian-friendly gathering areas. They will also seek out the “best of the best” local retailers 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, developer of the Jack Henry building on the northern edge of the plaza and the upcoming three-story Cocina 47 restaurant building (on the site of the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist): “I’m happy that there is a real, living body on the Plaza breathing life into it. For the last five years, the Plaza has been in a kind of receivership. People didn’t want to come and that affected my development. So it will be great to have someone I can talk to and collaborate with to work together to continue to improve it.”
• Keith Bradley, partner at Made in KC Marketplace, which has expanded since opening on the Plaza in 2018: “We are very optimistic and very happy with the ownership. Better days are ahead for the Plaza. We have already seen some exciting changes. More security, freshly painted 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 of the family’s Razzleberry boutique: “Set the rent so that smaller shops can open here. Many customers come to our store and ask if there are more shops like this. Actually, there aren’t. The rent is so high that no one can stay. And in recent years there hasn’t been much customer traffic.”
• Brandon Buckley, partner at 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 offers a walkable environment for live, work and play. They are a perfect fit for the Plaza because of their long-term perspective, retail relationships and attention to detail, all of which make for an exciting future. We hope they can bring a quality mix of local and national tenants to provide a shopping experience that is unique to Kansas City.”
• Michael Shields, former general manager of the Plaza under JC Nichols Co. for more than 25 years, said in a written statement: “My dream is coming true! After witnessing the Plaza ‘crash and burn’ in the recent past, I had almost given up hope for the future of ‘our crown jewel.’ (They) are too smart to get into ‘discount’ sales of any kind at the Plaza. My unanswered question is what they will do with the ‘dead’ Seville Square building. It has 125,000 square feet on 5 floors and is a huge ‘white elephant.’ I think it should be torn down and replaced with something with more potential. Ground floor retail has always worked at the Plaza and maybe they could add apartments or condos above. Seville was ‘stillborn’ and was a huge waste of JCN’s assets and efforts.”

(The Seville Square building currently houses Brio Italian Grille and Urban Outfitters. It previously housed Cinemark Palace at the Plaza and Noodles & Company.)

• Duke Tufty, CEO and senior pastor of UnityTemple On The Plaza, next to the previously proposed Nordstrom locationhas worked at the Plaza since 1986 and has “never seen it in such need of help as it is now. The last few years have been very difficult. People come to Unity Temple seven days a week for 12-step meetings. At noon while the meeting is in progress, thieves roll through the parking garage and steal catalytic converters, tires, and a few times the entire car, which was locked. Women walking to their cars at night have been run over by someone who grabbed their purse and ran off. The large, dirty, dusty, empty lot south of Unity Temple is an eyesore. It actually looks like a war zone and borders our children’s playground. Many suggestions have been made to beautify it at a very moderate cost. Dig up the ground, sow grass seed, plant flower beds, put a few benches around the lot, and create a circular walking trail.”

(The new owners have submitted plans to build an office building on the site with ground-floor retail space.)

• Emily Bordner, owner of EB and Co., a women’s accessories boutique: “We are really excited about the new ownership. I haven’t been to their mall in Dallas yet, but it sounds so dreamy and wonderful. There is more security and we are excited that they are focusing more on local restaurants and shops.”
• Dan McCall, owner of The Classic Cup Café: “It feels positive. To address some issues that I think the Plaza has had for some time. With the security, with the cameras, to make it feel safe. Sometimes it’s just the optics. That’s one of the reasons we’re closed at night, there’s not necessarily a lot of foot traffic.” On the possibility of adding more floors above his restaurant or redesigning the entire Classic Cup block, he said, “The Plaza needs to change to attract more people.”

Flatland contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for the Kansas City Star for nearly 40 years. Follow her on X and Facebook at #JoyceKC and on Instagram and Threads at #joyceinkc.