A Tale of Two Cities
I make no bones about it: the driving source of news for this newspaper is the downtown sector. It’s the soul of our town, it’s the place we bring the out-of-towners when they come to visit, it’s Americana in a glass.
It’s also in near complete disarray.
I was reminded of this as Tony Borchers and Jim Allen updated the Board of Aldermen at their regular Tuesday meeting. The report should come as no surprise to anyone who spends time at the Parkville Commons or at The National Golf Club – it was stellar and looking ahead, optimistic.
The restaurants are doing well and with the exception of a store or two, are independently owned. People like shopping there and the property is well maintained and professionally managed – they get their permits and they do it right. Business is up as compared to last season and the development is 95 percent full. Phase II is garnering significant interest from would-be lessees. The National is rated one of the top 100 golf communities in America.
Now, I make it a point to never criticize somebody’s business in these pages. If you’ve noticed, we don’t have a food critic in The Luminary, for instance. Really the only time we would criticize a business is if they are harming the greater good or affecting our health in an adverse manner. Especially when it comes to the downtown independents, you really aren’t going to hear me tell someone what to do with their investments because, ya’ know, what the hell do I know?
But over the past few weeks, I was able to visit the South Street Seaport in New York and the Navy Pier in Chicago. Both are on the water, both have a historic theme, both cater to tourists and are clean and safe. Other cities have the same sort of thing – Memphis has Beale Street, Nashville has Printer’s Alley, Atlanta has the Underground, Baltimore has the Inner Harbor, Boston has Quincy Market. It’s always occurred to me that English Landing Centre should be our version of those type of developments.
And what do you find in those places? Quality retail, quality restaurants and family-oriented attractions. I’m not saying there needs to be a man on stilts and a juggling trick bear there every weekend, but amping up the entertainment value for the tourists – and that’s who uses our downtown the most – seems like a wise bet.
Could you imagine, for instance, an old fashioned merry-go-round in English Landing Centre? What parent wouldn’t want that photo-op, as the sun goes down along the Missouri River? Imagine if we could build a dock and offer a Steamboat ride or an old-fashioned passenger train to town. Instead, we’ve got a mud pit, painted over signs and businesses leaving for Lenexa and Platte City.
Platte City!
The letter to the bottom right brings up an interesting point, particularly in the case of English Landing’s primary landlord Tom Hutsler. Why is he running for alderman, particularly when there is so much work to be done marketing and maintaining his properties? We’ll invite him to make his case in these pages in the coming weeks, but the question, at least in my mind, will linger.
The best way to help one’s business is to work hard at one’s business – not run for office in an attempt to change the ballfield you’re playing on. Is it a vendetta? You don’t see Jim Allen or Tony Borchers running for alderman. You know why?
They’re too busy.