Shoppers excited about changes coming to Country Club Plaza

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Shoppers at the Country Club Plaza are excited at the possibility of changes coming to the neighborhood.

“I’m really excited. I think it’s great for Kansas City. I think it’s a great for my neighborhood and the values of my house,” Jerry Riffel said.

“I’m curious to see what they’re going to do,” Sara Dulin said. “So, sure, some excitement. I know there’s a lot of skepticism also.”

Both said that there’s improvements to be made to the infrastructure.

“Gosh, if we could walk around a lot easier, that’s for sure,” Dulin said. “So, I don’t know if anything can be done about that, to make it a little easier for pedestrians to get around.”

She said that driving through the Plaza at night can be difficult when it’s crowded. “Yeah, I think particularly they need to invest in parking,” Riffel said. “They’re going to have to replace some, some of it is out of repair.”

When it comes to the stores that come to the shopping center, Riffel would like to see something large anchor the shopping scene.

“I’m going to be acceptable of making some compromises on what they want to do so we can get it, but I think they have to get a major department store, period.”

Meanwhile, Dulin has a different approach. “I ‘d rather see less chains, more local, of course,” she said.  “We have a lot of local artists. We have a lot a lot of local fashion designers that could definitely thrive and people would be excited to see here, I think.”

More information on the sale and future of the Country Club Plaza is expected Monday morning.

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