Long-dormant KCK mall site could see new life with River Market-inspired development
Local developers on Thursday pitched a massive revitalization of the razed site once home to Indian Springs Mall in Kansas City, Kansas, offering a fresh glimmer of hope in a part of Midtown that has been dormant for decades.
Envisioned is a village-like development complete with nearly 1,500 apartments, 280,000 square feet of retail, a 168-room hotel, a convention center, a grocery store and a greenhouse, among other amenities, all run on the site's own 30-acre solar grid.
Dubbed Midtown Station, the mixed-use project would span over 90 acres of land off State Avenue and Interstate 635. It is billed as a dense, walkable community, easily accessible by public transit and catered toward those seeking a home where shopping and restaurants are right next door.
"For years, I've been saying this is the crown jewel," Erik Murray, a Wyandotte County native whose firm Eastside Innovation Kansas, LLC is leading the effort, said of the Indian Springs site.
He added that the concept takes into account the needs of the neighborhood, one ranking "in the bottom percentile across every socioeconomic metric."
"Our team was thoughtful in solving for that. Health, wellness, community, housing, utility cost — all of the things that compose a sustainable and vibrant community, we really want to deliver in this project."
The concept comes after years of planning and failed attempts to bring such large-scale investment to the site and surrounding area.
The once-bustling Indian Springs shopping center opened in 1971. It slowly died as consumer interest began to fade in the late 1990s – like many indoor malls around the country – and the last anchor store left in 2001.
In 2007, the Unified Government used eminent domain to acquire the mall from its bankrupt owner for about $8.4 million. Other investments, including a teardown of the site, were made over the years as the Unified Government hired brokers and weighed mixed-use projects that fell flat.
Scavuzzo's Food Service Company led the latest attempt, proposing a KC Foodie Park to include a distribution warehouse, new State Avenue retail shops, entertainment and an office building. In 2019, elected city and county leaders balked at what they described as a giveaway price for the city-owned land to the company but came to a development agreement that ultimately went nowhere.
In 2022, the Unified Government kickstarted a new competitive bidding process in search of private investors to build on the Indian Springs site, along with other swaths of land downtown and in Quindaro.
There were bumps along that road.
Last year, Murray sued the Unified Government, saying his company had unfairly been cut out of the bidding process. Some within the Unified Government had raised concerns at the time over nepotism, as Murray is the son of Mayor Tyrone Garner's economic development adviser, the Kansas City Business Journal previously reported .
Murray voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit last year after the Unified Government agreed to reopen the bidding window.
Three project proposals for Indian Springs, including Murray's, ultimately made it to the eyes of a Unified Government selection committee, which included local city and county staffers. Two were later deemed lacking in the desired scope for the project.
An earlier version of Murray's project also did not fully meet every requirement the Unified Government wanted, said County Administrator David Johnston.
But Johnston enthusiastically praised the Midtown Station concept as the type of "catalytic" development government leaders have been waiting for.
"Our review committee was astonished with his second proposal," Johnston said Thursday, saying the major revitalization carries the potential to pique the interest of investors and spur added development not seen in Midtown in years.
Much work lies ahead before shovels can hit the ground. Johnston said a next step would be the formation of a development agreement for commissioners to consider, and the Unified Government will move forward with negotiations with a goal to have a deal drafted sometime early next year.
Commissioners expressed excitement — with a caveat of cautious optimism — in response to Thursday night's presentation.
Commissioner Andrew Davis, whose 8th District includes the former mall site, recalled hearing from neighbors during a town hall around the time the last deal fell off the table.
"Our community really wanted a place to eat, play and gather, and I think this proposal exceeds that, quite frankly," Davis said.
"I was not here when Indian Springs was up and thriving. But while this is not a mall, it is a place that people can go to. It is a place where people can create new memories. It is a place that we can be proud of, and is not just kind of a concrete jungle."
Responding to the walkable design, inspired by the River Market area of Kansas City, Missouri, Commissioner Christian Ramirez, 3rd District, said the idea Eastside Innovation is proposing resembles development projects often seen across the river.
"We're seen as a red-headed stepchild in the metro," Ramirez said. "We deserve what Johnson County has. We deserve what Missouri has. This project will help get us there."
Commissioner Gayle Townsend, 1st District, which borders Indian Springs, said she has been excited before about past proposals and knows how difficult the area has been to market.
"I hope it is successful," she said. "But I know when we get into the deeper dive in economic development that there will be asks."
