KCK has tried to revive defunct mall for 17 years. What’s happening at Indian Springs?
For the better part of two decades, the site of the defunct Indian Springs Mall has taken up prime Kansas City, Kansas, real estate along State Avenue in midtown.
After years of fits and starts, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, last year identified the site as one of three publicly owned lots eyed for major reinvestment and envisioned as transformative for the city. Selection of a developer from a short-list of three — Christie Development, Oak Impact Group and Copaken Brooks — was supposed to come in April.
But four months have passed since that deadline, and the Unified Government has stayed largely silent on progress at Indian Springs. Residents eager for a renewal will apparently have to wait a little longer.
“We are still in active negotiations with a developer to determine if they will be awarded the project,” spokesperson Krystal McFeders said in an email. “As things are confirmed, the UG will inform the public of the developer and project timeline.”
The once-bustling Indian Springs shopping center, which opened in 1971, died a slow death as consumer interest began to fade in the late 1990s, like many indoor malls around the country. It lost its last anchor store, Montgomery Ward, in 2001.
The 50-acre property has been publicly owned since 2007. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, exercised its power of eminent domain to acquire it from its bankrupt owner for about $8 million. In all, roughly $16 million in public money has been spent there, including investment in the site and the teardown of the mall.
Earlier attempts at redevelopment included the 2014 hiring of Kansas City property firm Lane4 to act as a private broker with the aim of encouraging investment. The hope at the time was a mixed-use development that would combine retail, office space and multifamily housing.
In 2017, the property firm came back with a proposal to turn a portion of the space into a so-called flex-tech center with the promise of adding 350 jobs to the area. That proposal fell flat for lack of support.
And in 2019, another initiative to create “KC Foodie Park,” led by an affiliate of area Scavuzzo’s Food Service Company, went bust as elected officials balked at the idea of selling the land for $400. The four-phase project would have featured a new distribution building for Scavuzzo’s, new shops along State Avenue and a new corporate headquarters for Scavuzzo’s.
In the latest push, the Unified Government last year put up Indian Springs along with two other large publicly owned sites — one downtown, the other in Northeast KCK — to receive proposals from developers for revitalization.
Ideas for the site as of late have included a mix of retail and residential space that fits with a public transportation center at 47th and State. Public input has been gathered through community meetings and an online survey completed in February.
Opinions from residents who participated in the survey indicated a desire for mixed-use development in the area, public amenities like a pool or walking trails, outdoor dining and ground-floor retail.
Commissioner Andrew Davis, whose 8th District includes the Indian Springs site, acknowledged during a recent interview with The Star the longstanding desire to have a project come to fruition. He stressed being methodical and careful on revitalization of the area.
And he said the redevelopment needs to be “the right project, not just any project.”
“Obviously this hasn’t been the easiest road to get there,” Davis said. “But I do think that if our residents can continue to work with us, that we can get something that they’ll be excited about. But it’s going to take time.”
