KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Business owners are excited about the impending sale of the Country Club Plaza. The Kansas City mayor said the sale is ready to happen.
Some store owners have been located on the Plaza for years, others are thinking about filling a vacant storefront with word of the sale.
Mayor Quinton Lucas calls it one of the most exciting things bound to happen in Kansas City this year.
In spite of being well beyond the Dallas based buyer’s original goal of closing the deal by the end of 2023, Lucas said it will happen soon.
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“It is imminent, it is impending and it’s exciting,” Lucas said.
“Everybody’s excited about this sale,” owner of Larissa’s Plaza Tailor Shop Michael Naumov said.
For more than 20 years, Naumov and his family have owned Larissa’s Plaza Tailor Shop. He said several vacant store fronts now plague the plaza.
“I don’t think I’ve seen this many empty stores, since Houston’s closed and Zacolo’s closed, and Chuy’s closed, “and a lot of restaurants closing and leaving,” he said.
He hopes the impending sale of the Plaza means new life and more foot traffic.
“We’re a small independent family-owned business. So, for us it’s a little easier,” Naumov said. “for more corporate bigger stores, restaurants it’s a lot hard, it definitely affects it.”
Lucas said the deal will be signed soon.
He went to Dallas in the spring to mee with the owners of Highland Park Village, the potential buyers. Lucas said people can expect the ownership group to bring back unique brands and local businesses, along with more office space and housing.
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“I think exciting for us to be able to say how can we look at a regeneration of retail opportunities, dining opportunities, or public safety, which the group, Highland Park Village in Dallas, has spent a lot of time working on, and I really think it really will be a public private partnership.”
He also believes public safety will be a priority.
“I think it really will be a public-private partnership, not just in funding and looking at any type of support that they may look at from the city of Kansas City, but also, in how we can do safety better, how through more private security, working closely with KCPD, to make sure everyone can feel safe when they’re on the Country Club Plaza,” Lucas said. “So I think this is one of the most exciting things that is bound to happen in Kansas city this year.”
Domhnall Molloy is a co-owner of the Summit Restaurant Group. They just opened a ninth restaurant in the Kansas City metro and own eateries like 3rd Street Social and Summit Grill.
He said they’ve looked at the plaza a few times, but never made the jump due to expensive hurdles that worked against them.
Molloy said he’s hopeful that could change with new ownership of the Plaza.
“Hopefully with the new ownership, maybe they’ve got a better deal, and they’re able to make rent more aligned with the market and hopefully we can get some more independent restaurants back on the Plaza,” Molloy said.
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“I definitely just want to see more businesses,” Naumov said, “less empty stores.”
He’s looking forward to a change in ownership of the Plaza.
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