Shawnee Shopping Strip Mall Comeback???

A glorious day for abandoned property in the Golden Ghetto . . . A lot of you know a great deal about this development that was a bit controversial behind the scenes:

Developer plans $113M redevelopment of dormant Shawnee retail site - Kansas City Business Journal

The Shawnee City Council on Monday is expected to set a Nov. 13 public hearing to consider establishing a tax increment financing district to support the $113 million redevelopment of a long dormant retail corner in the city.

Comments

  1. Taxpayer subsidies for "development" of over-built retail,
    Which then fails and morphs into,
    Tax subsidies for "development" of over-built retail.
    The transaction land flippers, bond attorneys, renovation companies, and all the rest.
    Are these "new" ideas in the same location any more financially sustainable than the last go-round?
    Who cares.
    Repeat.

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  2. Shawnee shooting gallery is more like it.

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  3. I am of the opinion that the shopping center failed because it charged exorbitant rents.
    It's not "obsolete" per se.

    I had a client who was not smart, an ex-cop and his Thai wife.
    They put all their savings into Cafe Song, at Westbrooke Village
    and signed a ridiculous lease for $5000 a month!
    Gone, quickly.

    We don't need "underground parking" in Shawnee, that's crazy.

    And what is to keep the condos from becoming Section 8 apartments, further filling Shawanoe with more ESL kids?
    Once the barbarians get their money
    and it fails
    they sell to whomever, and it goes Section 8.
    The government subsidy never ends, it just changes hands.

    What is the relationship of the new developer to the greedy scoundrels who built it and mismanaged it.

    Also, ask Linda Leeper--just retired from running Shawnee Chamber.
    she and her husband had an indie coffee shop,(invested $60k to $90k, was supposed to be their retirement income)
    until the developer put a Starbucks 90 feet in front of them--right at the street.
    No protection in the lease about competitors.

    Dillons footprint was just too big to find a new tenant, at one point we had FIVE vacant big box stores in Shawnee.
    RETAIL HAS FAILED MISERABLY, PERIOD. BRICK AND MORTAR IS A DINOSAUR.
    No amount of subsidy will bring it back. Especially at the intersection of two COLLECTOR streets, which are not arterials.

    Amazon, babee.

    The location for any retail is bad there, just not a major arterial intersection.
    You can't save it with a stupid fountain
    or--LOL, an "amphitheatre"!
    What, is that to lure STAR bonds with something "unusual.

    And do the neighbors want LOUD MUSIC blaring, and strangers partying across the street and drinking outdoors etc. from their largest investments?
    Hell to the No.

    To my recall, there is zero "underground" parking anywhere in Joco--
    why would Shawnee pioneer that????

    This idea is even dumber than Tom V's five failed proposals for the Mission Mall, (which had condos on top of a Walmart!)
    Or--Lane4's preposterous failed plan for Metcalf South--which featured a n above ground swimming pool-sized "fountain"--
    which would have held the pennies of wishful thinking greedy developers including Stan Kronke, the man who owns 1% of all Walmart stock in the Universe, plus 5 sports teams.

    Fortunately, OP said no, and now it will be a Lowe's. Without tax subsidy.

    This idea is just as greedy and crazy as when Ed Eilert bailed out his real estate buddies, when King Louie was 2 weeks from condemnation, until the county bought it at twice the value, before pouring $32 million into it and called it an Arts and Heritage palace with one yoga studio, two warring museums and a two months every 24 months temporary election voting place.

    It's time for voters to tell elected officials, stay in your lane. Provide basic services, and stop bailing out real estate investors just because they send you checks for your re-election, and let you put up big ass campaign signs on their property.

    This real estate whoredom is just like Harvey Weinstein's movie empire. Folks who are getting rich off of immoral tax subsidies need to STOP IT!

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  4. Good commentary 5:52 PM

    I agree with you on it. The underground parking is ridiculous who thinks up this crap anyway?

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  5. Shit. Tracy just answered all my questions about why this seemingly ideal, awesome space failed. Been wondering for years in that " ... ... ... Meh ... ... ..." sort of way.

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