Country Club Plaza has a new owner after years of difficulties. This means | KCUR

Changes are coming to Country Club Plaza. After more than eight months, the sale to Dallas-based retail company HP Village Partners was completed on Friday. Under its previous owner, the shopping district had struggled with increasing vacancies and financial problems.

The Plaza has struggled in recent years under its previous owners, The Macerich Company and Taubman Centers, based in California and Michigan, respectively. The companies defaulted on the Plaza’s nearly $300 million loan in May.

The historic shopping district is privately owned but widely regarded as one of Kansas City’s most popular tourist destinations and an economic engine for the city. But as vacancies piled up, the mall lost tenants at about the same rate as it gained new ones.

Kate Marshall, founder and president of the Plaza Area Council, said the group is encouraged by the new shoppers. She said she is excited to see HP Village Partners bring in local food and retailers.

“We feel like they’re going to do really great things,” Marshall said. “Especially because they’re taking the right approach. They’re all about preserving, protecting and enhancing the things we all love about the Plaza. They have no intention of deviating in any way from the architectural charm that makes the Plaza so special and unique.”

HP Village Partners also owns Highland Park Village, a luxury shopping district in Dallas that is similar to the Plaza in age and architectural style.

The company is led by partners Ray Washburne and his wife Heather Hill Washburne, and Stephen and Elisa Summers.

Elisa Summers and Hill Washburne are descendants of HL Hunt, who made a fortune in the oil business and is the father of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt. Washburne is a well-known fundraiser for the Republican Party and served on former President Donald Trump’s intelligence advisory board.

Security in the Plaza has also been a concern. Recent shootings and thefts have worried retailers and shoppers alike, so much so that Jackson County District Attorney Jean Peters Baker launched an initiative to prosecute more cases of shoplifting and illegal gun possession in the shopping district. Most crimes reported to Kansas City Police are auto thefts.

HP Village Partners has been in discussions with city leaders and plaza shareholders during the months the district has been under contract, and Marshall said the new owners are aware that safety is a top priority.

“For some time now, not everyone feels safe coming into the Plaza,” Marshall said. “We know that perception can be more than reality. If people don’t feel safe coming into the Plaza, they won’t come into the Plaza. And that needs to be addressed. I know that’s at the top of the list for the new owners.”

Without a new buyer, some Plaza shareholders feared the district would follow the downward trend of other shopping centers nationwide, including the now-closed Indian Springs Shopping Center and the Metropolis’ Bannister Mall.

Marshall expects HP Village Partners to begin beautifying the area, including planting trees and improving signage. Details of the sale and the improvements and changes planned by the owners are expected to be announced Monday at a press conference with Mayor Quinton Lucas.