Moving Forward or Sideways?

Update: A reader brought to my attention the fact that the Neptune, the Plaza building that Highwoods wants to replace is only a few decades old. Read carefully. My concern is for the whole Plaza, the whole economic ecosystem. Stewardship means concern for the sappling as much as for the aging oak.

One of the few things done by our new City Council last week was to reverse the previous Mayor's veto of the proposed Highwoods project on the Plaza. (Outgoing councils tend not to leave business hanging over the break. That's why Thursday's meeting was mainly introductions of new ordinances.)  I have to admit, I'm completely conflicted about this project.  There's no way to have my cake and eat it too.  I'm inclined to applaud any project that happens without help from city hall.  My problem is with the proposed project itself.

First, a little history.  The debate has had me thinking about the historic buildings we've lost since World War II and the reasons we lost them.

• Second Board of Trade Building--Demolished for a parking lot.
• Emmery Bird Thayer Department Store Building--Demolished for a parking lot.
• Main Street Shopping District, 8th Street to 12th Street--Some were demolished for parking, some to realign Main and Delaware in a more auto friendly alignment. Still others were demolished in the name of redevelopment.  (These first three bullets were all supposed to keep downtown relevant in a suburbanizing age. We decry them in part because we know what their planners didn't: the long term results.)
• 12th and Vine--Demolished for urban renewal. The intersection doesn't even exist any more.  We had to put up a plaque marking where it WAS so that out-of-towners can find it.
• 18th and Vine--Neglected for decades, before a plastic makeover. 
• Quality Hill's 19th century Homes--Demolished for urban renewal.
• Southern half of Coats House Hotel--A fire that arguably resulted from neglect.
• Original Home of Disney Studios--It stands, but it's gutted and neglected.
• Playmore Ballroom (One of our three important jazz era ballrooms)--Unknown reasons.

Aside from the obvious that we keep destroying our own history, notice that about half of these were done in the name of improvement.  I'll come back to this point later.

The Plaza has operated continuously and vibrantly since J.C. Nichols established it in 1922.  However kitschy some may find its deliberate imitation of Seville, Spain, it has one quality that takes decades to duplicate.  Unlike the glib urbanist developments at Zona Rosa and the Power and Light District, the Plaza is the product of many minds over many decades.  This gives it a texture and richness that is unique in the metro and perhaps for hundred of miles in any direction.  To my mind it ameliorates the kitsch.  Time and more minds could enhance this effect if it is properly cared for.  More to the point, it has suffered no period of neglect, nor have its "improvements" been destructive ones.  But that could change.  Which brings me back to Highwoods.

Consider: the Highwoods portfolio, a collection of commercial and industrial properties in ten cities, contains only one other retail location--an unremarkable mixed use building nestled between two highways in Winston-Salem North Carolina. Aside from the odd skyscraper here and there they don't have many urban properties either. None of their other properties are landmarks.  None are residential.  In short, Highwoods doesn't own anything even remotely like the Country Club Plaza.

We may talk about maintaining the plaza, and I have no doubt that is the intention on all sides.   My list of destroyed areas, particularly those done with the intent of helping the city, is a warning to the proponents of the project, particularly Highwoods.  I would like to ask their decision makers, is the proposed office building an attempt at maintaining the Plaza or is it a corporate attempt to put our square peg into your round hole?  Are you moving forward, or sideways to something that will ultimately destroy the very thing that makes the Plaza real estate valuable?  Are you, Highwoods willing to learn how to properly manage the Plaza or are you going to treat it like the forgettable and disposable buildings in the rest of your holdings?  I don't want to find that twenty years from now the Plaza has been replaced with nondescript highrises and a plaque that says, "Here WAS the world's first shopping district designed with cars in mind."  So I'm asking you, Highwoods, tread carefully.

Do I want more business and jobs in Kansas City? Yes. Do I want to get that business without giving away the tax base? Yes. So please understand, Highwoods, you have something unique and worth maintaining.