steve and the kc star agree?!?! well ... sort of ...

The Star’s lead editorial today was on the rise (and fall … and semi-finished demolition) of the primary shopping area out where I live. The site formerly known as Bannister Mall.

(Note: from this point forward, all pulled quotes and paragraphs from The Star’s editorial will appear in italics. I have cited the Star’s article in the prior paragraph. I hate plagiarism in all forms, hence my “note” right here to distinguish my thoughts from The Star’s editorial board. Thanks.)

It’s actually a really good read. I encourage anyone clicking to this posting to read The Star’s editorial. For once, someone “gets it”. Kudos to the Star for figuring out why this area is currently a “failure”. (More on that in a minute or three).

What disappointed me though, is that while the Star correctly identified the problem, they botched the solution.

Go ahead, read away on the link above, or click here. I can wait 5 minutes.

(Or 20 minutes ... if you want to read Labelscar's take on the downfall of Bannister Mall, and the reader reactions to it ...)

So, here’s my take on the editorial.

First, a little background. I moved to District 6 a little over 42 months ago. I moved here for a few reasons. Location – closer to the spots I hang out at in the summer and the fall. (I’m a hermit in the winter – you have a better chance of getting a grizzley bear out of his cave in January, than you do of getting me to go out on a Saturday night. Its too cold). Cost – it is definitely a lower cost of living here than it was where I moved from in western Shawnee. Living situation – moving in with one of my best friends after my former roommate Gregg was getting married.

I never anticipated spending more than a year, maybe two, out here. I figured I’d ride out the new situation for a while, then move back to Johnson County at some point.

Only, something strange happened. I grew to like it out here. Is this the “safest” part of town? Hell no, as witnessed by the fact that the convenience store down the street from me has had two separate shootings in the last four days, resulting in one death so far. Is this the “nicest” part of town? No, but there are some areas, especially off of Red Bridge, that I would have no issues with calling home for the next 30 years. Is it “desirable” as a place to live? Arguable. I think its safe enough, and I’d be fine having my kids attend the Hickman Mills schools early on, then sending them to O’Hara for high school. But, conversely, I walk by a couple seedy hotels every day when I exercise, and it’s tough at times to count the number of cars with the JO licence plates on them. Now, I’m no surgeon, I defer to Damien for that designation … but JO plates in a seedy hotel parking lot that are there one minute, and gone the next? I’m guessing the men driving those automobiles aren’t visiting for 45-60 minutes at a time just to check out the hotel lobby.

But, having said that, it’s a comfortable place to live. Its got a great location, less than a mile to three major freeways that take you in any direction you need to go. Its affordable. And up until the last couple years, you didn’t have to drive far for anything you needed.

The Star noted that fact in its opening couple paragraphs … :

A brief history of the Bannister Mall shopping area:

In 1980, the mall at the northeast corner of Bannister Road and Interstate 435 opened with anchors J.C. Penney, Macy’s, The Jones Store and Sears. It grew to more than 150 stores and 1.1 million square feet of retail space. Benjamin Plaza stores were built nearby, featuring Wal-Mart’s Hypermart USA.

Fear of crime spread and some white flight occurred in the 1990s. Newer shopping centers opened in Lee’s Summit and Johnson County, draining customers. Dozens of mall shops closed. A proposal to build Bass Pro Shops at the mall died in 2002. The last anchor — Sears — shuttered in 2006. Bannister Mall closed in 2007 and was demolished in early 2009. A plan to build Wizards stadium there died in late 2009.

… but then sadly failed to expand on the (legitimate) reasons sited in the story for why the area is currently a failure. They accurately note that a proposed redevelopment in 2002, with Bass Pro Shops moving into the former north side of the mall (where Penney’s and Jones Store had already abandoned) never occurred. Why did it not occur? Greedy suburban development. More on this in a minute.

They accurately note that the plan to build a Wizards stadium, with supporting youth soccer facilities (and the ability to use the new stadium as a de-facto outdoor concert site, like they do with Pizza Hut Park in Plano), also failed. Why you ask, did the plan fall through? Greedy suburban development. More on that in a minute.

They accurately note later in the article that the Wal-Mart left in early 2007. They fail to note, but hint at, other big box retailers, dining establishments, and other retail outlets that bolted in 2007 and 2008, such as Best Buy, Petsmart, Blockbuster, Darryl’s, Bennigan’s, NTB, Red Lobster, Tropical Palms, Circuit City, IHOP, Denny’s. Even the adult entertainment establishment, Golddiggers, closed down. When a freaking strip club can’t make it in a rapidly-deteriorating part of town, you know things are bad. So why did most of these places leave? Greedy suburban development.

Which, to the Star’s credit, is exactly what they blamed for the downfall of this area:

The Bannister Mall example is a small piece of a much larger problem for this area.

It helps reveal the price of “progress” when it comes to building newer shops elsewhere. Often left behind are aging hulks of buildings, along with ugly abandoned parking lots, all of which are blights on neighborhoods.

Sadly, the Bannister Mall case is not unique. Others include Kansas City north of the river (Antioch Mall); Raytown (Wal-Mart and Hy-Vee left locations on Highway 350 for elsewhere in the city); and Mission (where the now-bulldozed Mission Center still awaits redevelopment) …

And then, the editorial hits at the real issue at hand:

The wasteland formerly known as Bannister Mall should trigger an important public discussion: How can we avoid overbuilding commercial and residential areas? How can this region move toward more sustainable growth and away from expensive, continued sprawl?

The Star, unfortunately, only offers up hopeful “office development” for the area. Sorry guys, but that ship sailed when Cerner bolted with the Wizards for Wyandotte County. To attract office development, you’ve got to give businesses a reason to locate here. And right now, there is no reason to locate here.

There are no restaurants to take clients and employees to, outside of fast food joints. (Unless you count Tom’s BBQ, which is a highly underrated joint on 93rd and Blue Ridge. It gets the Steve Seal of Approval. Other than that, there ain’t a joint within 5 miles of the apartment I would sit down and dine in. Because they’re all fast food joints).

There is no shopping for employees and clients, save for a ghetto K-Mart that still has wooden boards plastered all over the front of its building, where a “drive into the store wall and rob the place at night” attempt took place nearly a year ago, and a Burlington Coat Factory next to where the Wal-Mart used to be. There’s nowhere for clients to stay – the closest reputable hotels are ten miles north, south, or west, depending on what you’re looking for. Add it up – no dining, no retail, no place to stay. Why would any business want to locate their office here right now?

(The answer: they wouldn’t.)

Which is why I think the City of Kansas City needs to take five somewhat simple, yet completely proactive steps to (1) stop the deterioration of the area, and (2) begin the rebuild.

To be fair, (1) is going to be harder than (2). For starters, the perception that this is a crime-ridden area has to be overcome. You don’t do that overnight. You don’t do that by word of mouth. You do that by actions. Which is why my first four steps are devoted to halting the blight and the flight. And step one would be:

1. Build a new Police Headquarters for South Kansas City adjacent to where the new Fire Headquarters just went up at 93rd and Hillcrest.

The area is being used for nothing. Hell, they tore out the stoplight at 93rd, so few people use that intersection anymore. (OK, I use it every day, at least twice a day, but unless you live off 93rd like I do, you have no reason to be there).

I realize this is going to require a public safety tax to finance. To which my answer is, so? If the citizens of District 6 aren’t willing to tax themselves 1/8 of 1 cent over 10 years to build a new public safety complex, then we deserve whatever happens to us. Contrary to what Republicans and crack conservatives would have you believe, not all taxes are evil. Not all taxes are bad. Sometimes, they’re good, like in this case. Turn the entire corner there, from Bannister to 93rd, from Hillcrest to Marion, into a new Police and Fire Headquarters for the Southland. The Fire Headquarters is already there, having been built less than a year ago. Now, do the logical thing and add a police presence to the area.

I am aware that simply building a police building isn’t going to encourage folks to come back. But it might encourage the remaining businesses, of which we still have a few, to stay. But in case they needed added motivation …

2. Draft a bill, then pass it, in the City Council that offers tax incentives for businesses to redevelop where they exist, and most importantly,

3. Draft a bill, then pass it, in the City Council that places tax penalties on businesses for bailing for suburban development.

(2) is important … but (3) is more important.

Why do you think Wal-Mart left for a site 11 miles away? Tax breaks. Why do you think Bass Pro Shops didn’t build here, but instead built 15 miles away in Independence? Tax breaks. Why do you think the Wizards bolted across the state line, taking the Cerner office project with them? Tax breaks.

Nothing KCMO does can discourage other local municipalities from offering up insane tax incentives to draw businesses into their community. But KCMO can discourage businesses from leaving via heavy fines and penalties for bolting. And spare me the “is this Constitutional” crap. Anyone reading this ever heard of the Big XII Conference? Why do you think Colorado is sticking it out through 2012? Because they don’t want to pay the $20 million penalty for leaving the conference without a two years notice. Why do you think Nebraska is sticking it out through at least 2011? Because they are willing to pay a penalty, but not the full $20 something million, to leave early.

Businesses build clauses like this into rental agreements all the time. Why can’t the city build this into their agreement with giving a business a license to operate?

The Penney’s that was at Bannister is now 7 miles southeast. In Lee’s Summit. Ditto the Macy’s, the Petsmart, and every decent sit-down restaurant that bolted in the last four years. I’m not saying they wouldn’t have left for Summit Fair and Summit Woods, even with my (2) and (3) proposals in place. But – if CWB had financial motivation to upgrade Bannister Mall, and those business had financial penalties encouraging them to stay, would they at least have contemplated remaining where they were at?

At the end of the day, this is still America, no matter how much Barack Obama tries to destroy it. We are still a capitalistic society, for better or for worse. And businesses are free to come and go as they please. But I don’t see anything wrong with offering them “strong encouragement” to stay where they’re at.

Because its not just the Bannister Mall immediate area that’s seen a flight for the suburbs by business. Drive anywhere within a 5-6 mile radius of where the Mall used to stand. Abandoned strip malls, abandoned big box retailers, everywhere you look. All leaving for a better deal in the suburbs. Its high damned time the “leadership” of KCMO steps up and tries to halt the flight.

4. Our city councilmen need to fight for every penny of infrastructure improvements they can. John Sharp and Cathy Jolly are good, decent reps for us on the Council. They don’t embarrass themselves or their district (which is more than you can say for most of the rest of the council). But you will never convince me they are fighting for this district as hard as Deb Hermann is for the Northland. Or Sharon Sanders Brooks is for downtown and the Northeast. You see redevelopment, an investment in infrastructure, every day in those areas. Jan Marcason has seen incredible redevelopment south of the Plaza in her district. Where’s ours? What the hell are Councilpersons Sharp and Jolly doing, other than drawing a public salary?

In the last five years, this area has gone to the sh*tter. Businesses fleeing. Roads crumbling. Infrastructure deteriorating. Case in point – last May, we had a water main break outside the complex I live at, causing a loss of water. For four days! How the f*ck does it take four days to repair a water main break! It took nearly three days to get the power back up after the July storms knocked it out the weekend after the Fourth.

But – but! – when the “white flight” folks had issues getting through the Triangle because a portion of the bridge collapsed on 470, it took less than a month to fix. The city shut down the 87th Street access to 435, to allow for a seamless, non-stop U-turn for folks heading from one suburb (Lee’s Summit) to another (Overland Park). Its outrageous. Its absolutely outrageous, that a freaking bridge with multiple other options to avoid the debacle receives priority, while meanwhile, Bannister has been one lane in each direction east of the Watkins for over a year, because the rebuild project is stalled due to a lack of funds. The rebuild of Red Bridge itself is taking longer than it should. The simple rebuild of drainage and curbage on Blue Ridge between 107th and Red Bridge is dragging into its 6th month of a 3 month project.

And of course, the demolition of Bannister Mall and surrounding areas was halted due to a lack of ideas about what to replace it with. Here’s a thought – once a viable idea is brought up, its going to cost MORE to demolish it later than it will to demolish it now! Things always cost more over time! Why not finish the job you started now, and save the city (or private development) thousands of dollars a year or two from now, when a decent proposal gets off the ground to redevelopment the site?

So to Councilpersons Sharp and Jolly, I simply ask, what the f*ck are you doing for us, your constituates? People who don’t pay the earnings tax, don’t live in the city, they have priority when it comes to road projects over those of us who are sticking this out in hopes of something better coming along? Where are your priorities, councilpersons? With the Northland? With Midtown? With the suburbs that are slowly yet surely sucking the life out of your district? Because that’s the only logical conclusion one can draw based on your actions (and inactions) over the past few years when it comes to the health and vitality of the district and the people you represent.

But all of this so far, is simply designed to stop the bleeding. At some point, it will stop. At some point, redevelopment will begin. It always does. Witness the comeback of the area between the Plaza and Brookside. Witness the comeback of the Northeast Corridor. Even where I used to live in college for a while, out in Cityview in south Fort Worth, that area literally took a landfill, and turned it into one of the main shopping areas of the south side of the city. In a landfill! If they can do that, we can achieve anything. Which brings me to …

5. Tax increment financing for minority-owned businesses in District 6.

This one, I fear, is controversial. But let’s face it – I’m a huge minority out here. There aren’t many white folks that live in my area. In the 8 apartment buildings (32 units) and 8 townhouses that make up my section of the world, you can count on 3 fingers the number of white folks that live there. And two of them are our building super and his girlfriend. (I’m the other one).

So while some white folks may howl, and b*tch and moan, about “discrimination” in that I would offer TIF to minority business owners and noone else … I simply ask, where are you now? Why aren’t you investing in this community now? Why do you need a break to invest in this part of the city’s future?

Most of the business still left in this area, are already minority-owned. There’s a few chain stores left – we still have the Price Chopper, we still have the CVS and the Walgreens. But most everything else in strip malls all around south KC, is minority owned businesses. Its high damned time we cut them a break, gave them an incentive not just to stick around, but to possibly expand, remodel, renovate the area.

This is already occurring, by the way, in the strip mall at 63rd and Blue Ridge. There’s not much left there – a Price Chopper, a Rent a Center, a Dollar General, a couple payday loan joints. Everything else has fled. Its not a pleasant site … at least until a few months ago.

When Price Chopper itself (thanks to some tax breaks from Raytown) literally threw millions of dollars into a complete overhaul of the site. They gutted, renovated, and expanded the interior of the Price Chopper this summer, to bring it up to par with a Hen House, or the HyVee on Gregory and 350 that just opened. Its as nice a grocery store as you could ever hope to step foot into. This summer, they’ve been renovating the exterior of every unit in the strip mall. New signage, new painting, new pavement, new stripping of said new pavement. When they’re done in a couple weeks, it will look good, look sharp, look … inviting. Which is the point.

If I was looking to open, say, a small business. For sh*ts and giggles, let’s say I wanted to open a sports memorabilia business. I wouldn’t need much room, just a small pad site in a strip mall. Where would I invest – in a newly renovated site at 63rd and Blue Ridge, or a deteriorating site at 87th and Blue Ridge? The site at 87th still (somehow) has more businesses open … but for how much longer? In the last 18 months, the site at 87th has lost its bowling alley, lost the Gordman’s. The Bank of America is closing by the end of the year supposedly. Why would I invest in a KCMO strip mall with little going for it, when I can move 3 miles down the same street, into a strip mall with not just the major retailer throwing money into its investment, but the city willing to work with me as well?

(The answer: I wouldn’t. I’d open on 63rd in Raytown).

And that’s the problem that KCMO and District 6 face right now. The backlash against TIF due to Power and Light is staggering. The lack of investment in infrastructure south of the Plaza is a disgrace. (Unless of course, the “white flight” suburban folks have to spend an extra 2 minutes in traffic. Then of course, we move heaven and earth to rebuild a 250 ft section of road). There’s no incentive for minority entrepreneurs to invest in their community. There’s no incentive (or penalty) for existing national retailers to stick around.

And when you throw all those things together … what incentive is there to keep those of us with the financial capabilities of getting out, from leaving? Other than a desire to see things through, to improve on where we live?

This area is not as bad as the media and other citizens make it out to be. As I continually point out to people who ask “why would you want to live there”, Ali Kemp wasn’t abducted from south KC. She was abducted from a pool in Leawood. Kelsey Smith wasn’t abducted from south KC. She was abducted from Oak Park Mall. Where is the outcry of crime and rampant insecurity in those areas? Its all in your perception.

To change perception, sometimes you have to accept the perception, and work with it. Which is why I want to expand the Fire headquarters to include a Police unit. You have to give businesses a reason to stick around, which is why I’d offer tax breaks for redevelopment. But if they still want to leave, make them pay a price for doing so, via tax penalties for breaking a lease. You’ve got to spruce up the area, to make it attractive for investors, which is why Councilpersons Sharp and Jolly need to be pestoring the acting City Manager 24/7/365 for more funding for infrastructure south of 75th Street.

And most of all, you’ve got to give the residents of the area a reason to invest in their community. Which is why TIF financing for minority business owners should be City Hall’s Priority One. Cordish was coming to Power and Light whether they got TIF or not. Why waste millions (approaching billions) on a company already on board with the project, when you could shift just a small percentage of that to a small business owner just trying to survive? Or just trying to get started?

Small business, community owned business, is what drives this nation’s economy. Despite all the Wal-Marts, despite all the Targets, the Best Buys, the Conglomos that arise, without small, community driven business, your community dies. The reason District Six still has a pulse, is said small, community oriented businesses. For District Six to rise again, we have to focus on them, we have to support them, back them (via tax breaks, incentives, and our shopping dollars). And ensure their survival.

Because once the small local businesses start folding up shop, its over. Contrary to what the Star would have you believe this morning, we’ve not yet reached that point in South KC. When I can still get my hair cut at Corner Cuts, I can still get my bottles of shiraz and vodka at Barnyard Liquors or Shamrock Liquors, I can still get a burnt end sandwich and fries at Tom’s, I can still grocery shop at Price Chopper, so long as these local businesses stay open for business, it’s not over. That’s what we need to focus on to revive the Bannister area – more local business. Because if the local is thriving, the national will eventually show up to try to take them over …