New Plaza manager says to wait patiently on development plan but expect security boost soon

The new general manager of the Country Club Plaza says that he knows people are “itching” for information about future tenants and developments in the high-profile shopping district, but he said for now his team is working hard behind the scenes and will make announcements when the time is right.

A firm with ties to descendants of famed Texas oil businessman H.L. Hunt — father of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt — took over the 15-block Plaza about nine months ago with plans for major upgrades, and Kansas Citians have been eagerly anticipating what could come next. Despite the hype, the developers have yet to submit any formal plans to the city, its planning commission or any local agencies that grant subsidies.

Scott Keller, the new manager who previously managed Park Place Village in Leawood, told a large gathering of neighborhood residents on Wednesday that the current situation is similar to a duck on the water, “where it looks like it’s just floating there, but it’s kicking really hard underneath, and that’s what’s going on.”

He said work on the Plaza so far has included new paint, new lighting in parking garages to help with security, new cameras with enhanced software, marketing refreshes, landscaping improvements and infrastructure upgrades and repairs.

A new spring stroll event will debut in April. And after a months-long review of existing security protocols, Keller said an updated security strategy will roll out starting May 12.

A new private security firm will join the Plaza that will include armed officers with detainment powers. Keller said they will bring a more visual security presence and will be more able to help with challenges.

Keller said there would be no “groundbreaking announcements” about new tenants or construction at the gathering.

“But we know the importance of this to Kansas City. We want to do this right the first time, and we would rather take our time and get it right, and to just start plugging tenants into specific places to then turn around a few months later and go, ‘Oh, that doesn’t fit our plan. Now how do we back that up?’” Keller said. “So in due time, I am asking for patience and flexibility with all of you.”

The developers will share a plan with the city by the end of this year, Keller said.

“But for the interim, there’s not a lot of announcements to that,” Keller said. “I can’t provide a lot of details to that, because it kind of messes with the flow of the process when we’re not quite ready.”

He said the team is far enough along in creating a master plan that teams are starting to work on leasing “to open the floodgates” and that he recently attended an hour-long retail leasing meeting that left attendees walking out “with smiles from ear to ear.”

“Momentum is building. Things are happening behind the scenes,” Keller said. “There will come a time soon where we’re going to start being able to release some names and dates, and it’s going to be, hopefully, a trickle after that, and it’s just going to keep going.”

When asked by a resident to respond to a recent Star article that raised lingering questions about plans for the Plaza after ownership switched nine months ago, Keller said he understands the sentiment of the article and that everybody is “itching” for announcements about development and leasing.

Good things are coming, he said, and the team is comfortable that a plan will go to the city this year. He anticipates that some further improvements will be in place ahead of the World Cup in summer 2026.