At four times the size of Highland Park Village, there’s nothing small about the idea of turning around and tuning up Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.

As of Friday morning, Ray Washburne, president of HP Village Management, planned to have power washers cleaning the grounds of the shopping and office center built more than 100 years ago.

An affiliate of HP Village Management officially closed on the Kansas City property with 970,000 square feet of commercial space spread across 15 blocks on June 28.

Country Club Plaza’s notoriety in the real estate community is that it was one of the first planned suburban shopping centers to accommodate shoppers arriving by car.

In the Midwest, it has served as a destination for out-of-town and out-of-state shoppers, much like Highland Park Village has, through the years, according to Washburne.

The opportunity to purchase the aging property was first brought to Washburne when he was speaking at an Urban Land Institute conference last May. Someone from investment manager Nuveen, coincidentally the lender on Highland Park Village, asked him if he’d be interested in another big project.

More than $100 million was spent on the updates to Highland Park Village. Washburne said that much more than $100 million will be spent on the Missouri complex, with Nuveen remaining involved.

Given Country Club Plaza’s size, it’s been envisaged into separate districts with a contemporary fashion district, a food and beverage district, and a luxury and designer district.

It’s similar to the retail balance that’s been struck between Dallas’ Knox Street, with which an affiliate of HP Village Management has also been involved, and Highland Park Village, Washburne said.

Currently, there are Tiffany & Co. and Coach stores at Country Club Plaza, but Washburne said there have been conversations with a lot of luxury retailers.

“They’ve seen what we’ve done [with Highland Park Village], and that’s very important,” he said. “There’s a trust factor with the tenants as there is a trust factor that they come in and they’re going to be in with someone who’s taking a long-term approach. We’re not going to put lipstick on it, paint a few storefronts, put a couple tenants in and sell it.”

Washburne said the first priority is security.

“We spend four times as much on security in the Village than they do, and they’re four times the size we are,” said Washburne.

Kansas City, like the Dallas area, has been tapped as a site for FIFA World Cup games in 2026, including a quarterfinal.

It’s a milestone that makes improvements at Country Club Plaza all-the-more critical without forgoing a sense of place.

“The pixie dust on this stuff is really creating an authenticity and uniqueness to the center. What we did at the Village is lead with a food and beverage scene that’s local. Second, you also have to have a number of local retailers,” said Washburne.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Multiple Kansas City architects have been engaged to help with an updated master plan for the Edward Delk-design buildings. Baroque revival and Moorish revival styles were utilized to mimic the architecture of one of Kansas City’s sister cities, Seville, Spain.

Leasing efforts are being led by Stephen Summers, whose family co-owns HP Village Management.

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The Dallas Mavericks have made their first move of free agency and it’s not the name some expected. While the Mavs have discussions with Klay Thompson and Derrick Jones Jr., they’ve decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a 3&D wing.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Mavericks are signing New Orleans Pelicans’ forward Naji Marshall to a 3-year, $27 million deal. It was reported that Marshall could become a target for Dallas if they couldn’t come to agreements with Jones Jr., who remains a free agent. Marshall will fit into part of Dallas’ mid-level exception.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Free Agent Target Plans To Sign With Orlando Magic

Marshall, a 26-year-old from Xavier, has spent all four years of his career with New Orleans. He averaged 7.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG as part of a deep Pelicans team and shot a career-high 38.7% from 3-point range. He has good size at 6’7″ and 220 pounds and offers defensive versatility.

Depending on the structure of his deal, Dallas will still have around $4 million left in their midlevel exception. It’s not certain if Derrick Jones Jr., who Nico Harrison called their priority 1A and 1B this offseason, would be willing to take a 1+1 deal worth the remaining of the exception to return. They’re also still working out a possible sign-and-trade to acquire Klay Thompson. If that falls through, they could work out a sign-and-trade for Marshall if they needed to.

Welcome to Dallas Naji Marshall. He should have an easier opportunity than ever to get his shot off getting open looks from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Signings cannot become official until July 6th.

READ MORE: Warriors’ Klay Thompson To Meet With Dallas Mavericks Among Other Teams In Free Agency

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