Kansas City Mayor Lucas: ‘Always excited about more interest in the Plaza area’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas spoke to the media Wednesday at City Hall as reports circulated about the possible saleof the Country Club Plaza to a Dallas-based firm.

Reports of the potential purchase were released Wednesday by multiple sources, including Flatland Kansas City and Dallas Morning News.

Representatives from HP Village Partners, a development group behind the potential purchase, did not respond to a request for information from KSHB 41 News.

The Plaza’s current ownership group, a joint venture between Tubman Centers and The Macerich Company, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Around noon Wednesday, the mayor said he could not confirm any finalized deal or identify possible partners.

“In terms of what we are looking at from a community and Kansas City perspective, we are always excited about more interest in the Plaza area,” Lucas said. “I consider the Plaza, in many ways, to be the crown jewel of our area. I think this is, on the whole, good news today.”

Lucas referenced the experience of the potential buyer in operating older retail centers with good luxury brands and doing so in a way that reinvigorates the area.

HP Village Partners operates Highland Park Village in Dallas. It bears a similar style as the Country Club Plaza, and is home to stores like Chanel, Dior, Hermes, Valentino, Cartier and others.

“All I will continue to say really is I have great respect for the group that has been rumored to be taking over,” Lucas said. “I look forward to working with them and everyone there.”

Despite its crown jewel reputation, city leaders have been open about trying to move the needle in development in and around the Plaza. Buildings were razed on the western edge of the shopping center several years ago to serve as home for a Nordstrom’s. But that development stagnated as retail companies navigated a changing environment and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future plans for the Plaza — regardless of ownership group — aren’t clear, but Lucas says the proposed buyer knows to operate and succeed in major markets.

“We can fill that giant dirt hole where the Nordstrom’s was going to be,” he said. “We can make sure everyone feels safe.”

Lucas continued, “We can make sure it’s something that is unmatched anywhere in the country, if not the world.”

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