Citadel Plaza: No citadel, no plaza; so far, just junk

February 3, 2012 by jimmycsays

Slowly, federal and city governments are taking steps to mop up the criminal and environmental detritus of a long-term, aborted attempt to develop the northwest corner of 63rd and Prospect.

On Thursday, as reported by The Star’s Mark Morris, developer William M. Threatt, 71, pleaded guilty to failing to properly remove and dispose of asbestos while overseeing the planned Citadel Plaza retail project in the early and mid 2000s.

Threatt and a co-defendant who pleaded guilty last October, Anthony Crompton, face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing date has not been set.

The damage that those two inflicted — along with the previous City Council, which stupidly voted in 2008 to provide $20.5 million to jump start the project — is clearly and pathetically visible.

A concentration of trash

The acreage essentially is a big, brown field, littered with tires, plastic bags, trash, discarded carpet, concrete chunks and asbestos-tainted building materials.

What was supposed to be there was an $80 million shopping center, including a grocery, retail stores, restaurants and homes.

The difference between success and failure in this instance has left the city with perhaps the biggest East Side abomination in city history.

Most, or perhaps all, of the money that the council approved in 2008, was not appropriated after it became clear that Crompton, Threatt and their Community Development Corp. of Kansas City could not deliver on the plans they laid out on paper.

Looking south, across 63rd Street, toward Research Medical Center

Looking south, toward a Valero station on 63rd Street

The firm had no experience with a major development, and the council gave it the green light primarily because it was under pressure from East Side leaders and community members to deliver a major project to a neighborhood that was ripe for development and that would give the 63rd and Prospect area a big boost.

The council, in short, voted on hope rather than track record. After the city pulled the plug on the Citadel project, however, Threatt and Crompton sued the city for failure to deliver on the $20.5 million. Two weeks ago, a $15 million court settlement was finalized.

Yes, that is $15 million in taxpayer funds.

Looking east, from the Citadel site, toward a BP station on the northeast corner of 63rd and Prospect

Looking north on Park, a block west of Prospect

As Morris reported in his story: “For its $15 million, the city received most of the real estate and the rights to take another crack at redeveloping it.”

He quoted city officials as saying none of the money would go to Threatt. Same goes for Crompton, I trust.

The whole mess reminds me of the proposed Sailors project east of the Plaza many years ago, when the council approved a multi-story office building that had Plaza area residents up in arms. Like Community Development Corp., the R.H. Sailors Co. had no experience with a development on the scale that it was proposing.

In that case, fortunately, citizens who were opposed to the project mounted a successful petition drive, and voters defeated it at the polls in 1986.

In this case, the city is giving up a lot of money, and it looks like it’s going to be a while before the brown, trashy field on the northwest corner of 63rd and Prospect will be converted into something respectable.

On a positive note, however,when I was out photographing the site yesterday, along came an official with the City Planning & Development Department. The official, Andy Bracker, was taking photos and familiarizing himself with the site, in preparation for a major clean-up. He said he would be tracking the progress closely.

An hour or so later, I sent him an e-mail, asking when the clean-up might begin and how much it might cost.

He wrote back, saying that the plan was “to clean up the site as soon as practicable,” and that he didn’t have any facts and figures on the job just yet.

Let’s all wish Andy the best of luck and hope that the current City Council makes some wise and careful decisions about what should happen next on the northwest corner of 63rd and Prospect.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Threatt, Mr. Crompton and 2008 City Council members

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

30 Responses

on February 3, 2012 at 7:23 am Smartman

The council, in short, voted on hope, rather than track record. Just like the USandA did with Dear Leader Comrade B. Hussein Obama. Same damn results.
on February 3, 2012 at 7:50 am jimmycsays

Now, Smartman, that wasn’t exactly the tone I had hoped the first comment would set for this situation — that is, the mess at 63rd and Prospect, not the national political situation — but I’m going to consider it an aberration. You must have fallen out of bed during the night and struck your head on your radio stand. It’s happened to me, so I understand. Take a couple of aspirin, go back to bed and send me a comment this afternoon.

Your medical adviser — Jimmy C.
on February 3, 2012 at 8:34 am Rick Nichols

Jim – I get the picture. Literally. Good reporting from the field. Literally. That trash bag there at the end pretty much summed up the whole sad situation. I could even read what it said after THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU – “for your patronage.” When City Hall and the developers do business, patronage is often the operative word, and to hell with the concept of the greater good of the public at large. Of course, over on the Kansas side, we have the state itself now running a new casino next to the racetrack, hoping, of course, that many will patronize the facility in the hope of hitting the jackpot so the state coffers will begin to fill up having been greatly depleted by the Great Recession. In either case, it’s hope that’s being sold to the taxpayers, much like the shysters of yesteryear peddled their snake oil from St. Louis to San Francisco. .
- on February 3, 2012 at 9:23 am jimmycsays
  
  Thanks for the compliment, Rick. The Star, while it has reported the story well, has never, to the best of my knowledge, presented several photos showing how bad the situation is.
  
  …You are so right about the state-owned casino in KS. What a bend-over to people’s wildest, get-rich-quick fantasies. The Star, rightly and wisely, has steadfastly opposed casino gambling in Missouri and Kansas from the get-go, but it couldn’t overcome the power of the general public’s taste for lowlife, budget-busting entertainment and the casino folks’ siren call of “Come, be a winner!”
on February 3, 2012 at 8:51 am Smartman

Can’t help it Fitz. The irony in your words was too rich. To quote from The Celestine Prophecy, “there are no coincidences in life.”

The Citadel Plaza is only the most obvious failure of our development, or social engineering projects. Many parallels and tangents can be drawn to the Power and Light District.

Do you really think that if the project had come to fruition that it would have made a significant difference in that area, to that community? I don’t. Chances are that by now it would resemble a mini Bannister Mall. We can pump and dump all the money into the “community” , aka black part of town we want and it won’t matter. Until morals, manners, discipline and education become aspirational goals over grills, rims, bitches and Escalades you can kiss another two generations goodbye.

None of these projects ever get properly vetted in the way the CBO vets federal spending. Developers woo city hall and get all sorts of tax breaks and other benefits based on pie in the sky projections with no accountability when the defication meets the oscillation. The refrain is always if we properly vet them then we’ll never get anything approved and off the ground. Duh! We continually gamble and roll the dice with taxpayers money. The people that get to roll the dice at City Hall are no more qualified or informed then those that roll the dice at our local casinos.

Our system of governance in KCMO is like LBJ’s Great Society Program. We are destined to continually piss away tens of millions of dollars on hope that offers or delivers very little change.
on February 3, 2012 at 9:15 am jimmycsays

You know, an East Side project that looks like it’s doing pretty well is The Shops on Blue Parkway, just east of the Swope Parkway Health Center. I haven’t patronized it, but it appears to well maintained, and I’m sure it’s been a boon to the East Side. How could it not be? Certainly, 63rd and Prospect can support something like that.

A lot of East Side residents patronize the Price Chopper (where I do most of my shopping) on Brookside Plaza, south of 63rd Street. We on the “west side” certainly welcome their business and presence, but what a business opportunity a good grocery at 63rd and Prospect would seem to present. My goodness, there isn’t a good grocery for miles around (see Price Chopper in Brookside), and it would be very convenient for area residents without cars and limited means of transportation.

I tell you, Smartman, it would be BIG!
on February 3, 2012 at 9:54 am Smartman

The racial divide will keep anything important from happening at 63rd and Prospect. Black customers will come into Brookside to shop at Price Chopper and Sunfresh or eat at Blue Grotto or Jalapeno’s. ANYTHING at 63rd and Prospect will not get the same racial reciprocity. Whatever goes in there will have to rely almost exclusively on black dollars to succeed. Tough road to hoe, or maybe “ho” is the more appropriate word since City Hall will be involved.
on February 3, 2012 at 10:11 am Laura Hockaday

Great job, Jim!! Like Rick said.
Great reporting. Your photos tell it all.
Your story should have been in The Star.
Cheers for you,
Laura
on February 3, 2012 at 10:36 am jimmycsays

Thanks, Laura. If I had it to do all over again, I think I would major in journalism (instead of Engligh) and take some photography classes….No, wait, what am I talking about? I’d go into health care!
on February 3, 2012 at 2:35 pm chuck

Excellent coverage of this issue. The pictures are very helpful to folks who have not been in that area.

But…

Sorry Fitz, smartman is right.

With every paragraph, every sentence, every syllable, every letter, implication and intent, smartman is right.

It is what it is.
on February 3, 2012 at 6:42 pm Knowledge Is Power

Race has absolutely nothing to do with the failure of the development project. What happened to the boards, commissions, City Council and other government agencies that were obligated to do their due diligence in respect of the public good? Can you ignorant racists not find any other facts or depth of analysis to explain this debacle? Do you not have decades of history to reference the atrocious political escapades of our white forefathers at tax payers expense? I know the problem…just as a recent study published in Psychological Science explained… racists tend to have lower than average IQ’s. See for yourselves…if you can figure out how to access the study.
on February 3, 2012 at 8:05 pm jimmycsays

I tried to find the actual study, but I don’t believe you can access it, unless you subscribe to Psychological Science. Here’s an article about the study…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095549/Right-wingers-intelligent-left-wingers-says-controversial-study–conservative-politics-lead-people-racist.html
on February 3, 2012 at 9:02 pm Smartman

I had a proper IQ test 4 months ago. I scored 158. Damn near GENIUS. I’ll blame whitey when whitey is the problem, Chico when Chico is the problem and Putin when Putin is the problem.

Citadel Plaza was a “black thing”. Sending money to the East Side is like sending weed to the East Side. It all goes up in smoke.

Psychological Science = Oxymoron, with the emphasis on the last five letters.
on February 3, 2012 at 10:29 pm chuck

Here is the original article, I believe that is mentioned.

http://news.yahoo.com/low-iq-conservative-beliefs-linked-prejudice-180403506.html

Here is one of many different views with respect to that same article.

http://cofcc.org/2012/01/yahoo-com-anti-conservative-hate-piece-backfires/

My IQ, is in no way within shouting distance, or maybe, more appropriately shooting distance of smartman’s.

IQ is a non sequitur in this discussion.

The unambiguated evidence of destruction, that follows the social engineering initiatives over the last 50 years requires no great intellect to discern, only the courage to open one’s eyes, and see the lie of diversity and multiculturalism and the degenerative effects of same on this once thriving country, now supine and exsanguinating into a PC gutter, in a PC street, in a big PC city, that is now where you live.

After 50 years of forced failure and disgrace, we Americans find our values, ethos and hertofore culture is fungible, traded in for a New World order and a 5th column of stupidity, violence and our own disgraceful aquiescence.

We are smooth, down there where it counts, like Ken Dolls.

Law enforcement, politicians and the zeitgeist denies moral agency to certain favored groups and law breakers. Hate crimes defined by popularity and not facts, are comme il faut, as the uninjured glance away and think of something more pleasant.

A low level civil war is now in effect. Only one side knows this war is being fought. Only one side takes up arms. Only one side bleeds its perceived enemies. Only one side fights.

I respect and fear the side that inflicts violence. I respect and fear the side that is winning this war. I respect and fear those who have the loudest voice.

They are not me.
on February 4, 2012 at 8:34 am jimmycsays

All sides have had their say….Now let’s move on.
on February 4, 2012 at 8:40 am John Schofield

When you were taking the photos, I hope you went to the little weed and tree patch just to the east, and saw Daniel Boone’s son’s grave. It’s still marked as of 10 years ago. More irony?
on February 4, 2012 at 9:40 am jimmycsays

I didn’t know about that, John; I’ll have to go back and check it out. That’s pretty strange.
on February 4, 2012 at 12:08 pm John Schofield

There is a little “copse” of trees on the north side of 63rd east of the station. I believe there is a side street going north. We got out and walked in and found several graves. As I remember one is Morgan Boone, (or maybe Daniel Morgan Boone).
I guess when Kentucky came after his daddy’s remains, they didn’t go any farther west than Marthasville and Defiance.
- on February 4, 2012 at 1:10 pm jimmycsays
  
  I’ll go back and look for it, John.
on February 4, 2012 at 12:48 pm Smartman

GENIUS Chuck!
on February 4, 2012 at 3:44 pm Rick Nichols

Thanks for the report on the grave, John. I’ll have to drop by there sometime and take a look. Anyway, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I’m certainly not an ignorant racist as others and myself were referred to earlier. In fact, I’m getting ready to do an upbeat story about a long-established black church in Olathe. And I will add for that individual’s benefit this fact – one of those “ignorant racists” he/she has a problem with went to great lengths to include and promote black society in the columns of the Star a generation or two ago.
on February 4, 2012 at 3:49 pm jimmycsays

Rick — “Knowledge is Power” was not talking about you when he or she referred to ignorant racists. After you have read a number of comments on any particular blog, it gets easier to sort out the jousting.
on February 5, 2012 at 11:33 pm Say No to the Star

Failed development schemes do not know race. Corruption does not know race. Citadel plaza probably went along for as long as it did because it was a bad idea and because people were incompetent. Maybe it went along for as long as it did because people are afraid to tell powerful ministers no for fear of being labeled racists.
Bad deals fail anywhere. Look at west edge. A complete failure that is being bailed out by the city without even a foul cry.
on February 6, 2012 at 8:23 am Rick Nichols

Agreed. There have been some bad developments on both sides of Troost, and due diligence is sorely needed at City Hall regardless of the location since taxpayers are almost always on the hook for something. But don’t expect some media entity other than The Star to be hard at work on the case, calling the misdeeds of city officials and developers alike to the attention of the public.
Who you gonna call to shed some serious light on the situation – the peddler? Say “Yes” to The Star unless you expect the NY Times to open a Kansas City bureau sometime in the near future.
on February 6, 2012 at 9:13 am jimmycsays

Rick — The New York Times does have a “bureau” of sorts here: A.G. Sulzberger, son of Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman and publisher, has been The Times’ correspondent assigned to Kansas City for about a year and a half. He sometimes writes about Kansas City developments but uses the post as a springboard to the Midwest…You’re right, though, The Star is area residents’ best and only hope to serve adequately as the watchdog over the public’s interests.
on February 6, 2012 at 1:37 pm Say No to the Star

God help us if you think the Star is our only hope.
on February 6, 2012 at 1:46 pm jimmycsays

I just looked out, and I believe the sky is falling. Take cover!
on February 6, 2012 at 4:08 pm Rick Nichols

Actually, Jim, I had heard someone mention the name Sulzberger at the table the other day in connection with Kansas City, so I was curious as to what all he was writing about from his pleasant perch here on the plains. Now I know. Of course, it’s doubtful that he will be spending all his time sniffing around down at City Hall, and I really can’t see him hanging around 63rd and Prospect for any length of time. So who other than The Star is going to keep an eye on the doings of the city fathers (and mothers), not to mention the developers? Any suggestions, Say No to the Star?
on February 6, 2012 at 8:37 pm Say No to the Star

Not out to save the world. has the star ever prevented anything? They are complicit in a lot of the graft and corruption. They’d much rather send a reporter to a crime scene than prevent the crime.
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