Yet another New Urban-esque development proposed for the Northland. This one is a neighorbhood shopping area with offices and condos. Location is I-29 and NW 64th St. (a.k.a. MO 45 or Tom Watson Parkway) in KCMO. It's ground zero of the Platte County wealth area, near Tremont Manor, The National, and Riss Lake.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 236222.htm
http://www.tuileriesplaza.com/

I gotta admit I was skeptical that the FOCUS plan would be able to head off the usual suburban sprawl in the Northland, but now KC North has 4 projects with new urban components, plus a fifth in NKC. I count a total of nine such projects throughout the metro area. Not bad for one of the most sprawl-threatened metros in the country.

sounds like a good development and can really complement that area that is now underserved by retail, especially with the average income of the residents of that area.

Sounds like a neat little project. All I can say is that Boardwalk is hidous. I drove by that today and it's awefull. They should not be taking tenants away from Zonarosa. They should be going after Blockbuster Video and SuperCuts.

Hilarious but so true.

I live within less than a mile of this area. It is moving along at a speedy clip. I haven't seen the tenant list yet, but we are looking forward to it.

That whole area-I29/45/Cosby continues to be a traffic mess though.

It will be interesting to see how they fix that. There is only one way in and one way out of the current businesses there which makes a severe bottleneck.

Isn't this place supposed to be a neighborhood shopping center rather than a regional place like Zona or Boardwalk?

I think so. But I haven't seen the list of occupants yet.

The closest neighbors (Tremont) are really excited about it.

They seem to have the site work done and yet it is still really hilly, so I'm interested in seeing the finished product.

...took the 4WD truck on a tour of the site yesterday. Coming right along. Seems HUGE when you are driving around on it.

Seems bigger than Zona Rosa for sure. Zona seems CRAMMED into too small of a plot.

Nope-we didn't see that teeny No Tresspassing sign till we were leaving.

Huh, it's supposed to be just a local neighborhood center, not a big regional thing like Zona.

I agree with this 100 % . Maybe when you get down into it it doesn't seem so bad, but from the highway that thing looks CRAMPED.

That's the whole point... A dense, pedestrian-friendly center instead of the vast sprawling parking lots and big boxes.

There are no big boxes, but there is also no space. Total congestion.

come on over to that intersection say on any evening about 4 and stay till 10 or so.

Friday and Saturday evenings are even worse. Weekend days are terrible as well.

Many people STAY AWAY because of the nasty traffic snarls.

This mallis my impression of Zona Rosa.

But this one is on a much bigger parcel of land. Pedestrian friendly but a destination mall too because after all, you have to get there.

It is a dandy.

Nota, this is a problem everywhere, for example I-35/152, MO-291 and E. 39th. St. in Independence, and around SummitWoods in Lee's Summit.

Tax payers just are not willing to pay for buildng enough infrastructure BEFORE the development happens, so cities approve the development anyway and then count on the resulting traffic nightmares to shake loose more money to fix it retroactively.

My question is-WHY DO WE PUT UP WITH IT????

Why do we allow development without sufficient infrastructure? Why do cities continue to approve it?

And then they wonder why we won't vote them any more $$$-Because we can see that they don't use what they get properly.

We are on to their games. And I've lived here since 1998 and Barry/I29 has had NO improvements and in fact has gotten worse because they keep adding businesses.

We put up with it because most people want the shopping and employment near their homes. Until recently the biggest complaint from Northland residents was the need to drive south for good shopping, dining, and jobs. People wanted the amenities, but didn't want to pay for the infrastructure to support it. Now that they see the traffic consequences they are finally willing to shell out some money for better roads.

Why don't cities make the developers pay for infrastructure?

Because developers would look elsewhere.

I wish they would. The Northland has TOO MUCH willy nilly development.

Most cities treat developers as GODS. They should be treated as anyone else.

Has anyone seen the big electronics store they are putting in on Barry Road over a few blocks west of the Mall area? It is about 2 1/2 feet off the curb. Just hideous for that area. What were they thinking?

But it sure has helped the customer service over at Best Buy

This year the city did enact a fee on new developments to help pay for arterial roads. So hopefully this will help with things like North Brighton and such.