Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/739734
bly, the venerable Red Bridge Shopping Center. Red Bridge was built in 1959 by the J.C. Nichols Co. but has been ne- glected over the past decade, to the point that it became 40 percent empty, accord- ing to Buckley. "We bought it in Novem- ber 2015 and are completely renovating it while preserving its unique architec- ture," Buckley said. "We have already brought in three big tenants: Euston Hardware, Blue Bicycle Health & Fit- ness and Sofi — an Italian Restaurant." Lane4 is also redoing the North- Wood Shopping Center, near famed barbecue restaurant Joe's Kansas City. Lane4 has enticed some new eateries to the redevelopment, including Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken and 1889 Pizza Napoletana. Another new tenant is Sole Patch Men's Shop. Price Bros. Management Co. is yet another local company doing a lot of retail redevelopment, including the Nall Hills Shopping Center, in Prairie Vil- lage, Kan., whose new anchor is Sprouts Farmers Market. Price Bros. is also do- ing one of the rare new developments: BluHawk, in Overland Park. The retail of this large mixed-use project will be anchored by a Cosentino's market, the organic grocery concept of locally based Associated Wholesale Grocers, which dominates the Kansas City market with 30 stores. One part of the retail scene that may finally be getting a reboot is the Great Mall of the Great Plains, which was built as a massive shopping center in 1997. It failed to adapt to a changing market, though, and by 2008 the devel- opers were looking to offload it. Great Mall is being torn down, and the site is to be redeveloped. The Kansas City retail scene has been relatively stable over the past few years, with the overall vacancy rate at 9.8 percent in the second quarter, ver- sus 9.7 percent in the previous year's comparable quarter. On the plus side are rising rents. Morris reports that the average asking rent in Kansas City was $18.75 in the second quarter of last year, which rose to $20.44 in the second quarter of this year. In its own study of the market, Lane4 shows a more opti- mistic current vacancy rate of 9 percent and a more pessimistic average lease rate for this year of $13.02 — up from $12.90 last year. A number of higher- end locations attract rates in the $25 to $40 range, however, including Country Club Plaza, the Kansas City Power & Light District and Zona Rosa. The big story is that small 'A' spaces of 1,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet in 'A' locations on 'A' corners are becoming rare and expensive, says Buck- ley. "Two years ago we were seeing rents at $30 a square foot and up; now we are seeing $40 a square foot and up," he said. "If you are a 3,000-square-foot fast- casual restaurant and want to be on the corner of Main and Main, it is difficult to find a location." The better news is that a number of big concepts are expanding here. Ikea opened its first store in the metro area in Merriam, Kan., as did Scheels All Sports, which opened in Overland Park. Other big-box stores still expanding include Academy Sports & Outdoors (it has three stores) Sam's Club (oper- ating near the airport) and Costco (at highways 152 and 169). Taking up the smaller spaces at local shopping centers is a host of expanding eateries. Not to say that Kansas City folks are forsaking their all-American barbecue, but numer- ous pizza chains are popping up across the metro — Mod Pizza, Pizzeria Locale and Spin Pizza among them. S C T 54 S C T / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 S I T E S & C I T I E S In City small 'A' spaces of 1,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet are becoming rare and expensive