• Home
  • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
  • Contact

JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« The germination of the Wells Fargo story: A 12-paragraph story by a Los Angeles Times reporter who bothered to follow up a tip
The day Bill Clarkson stood up in a big way for Jackson County taxpayers »

Look for QuikTrip to get its way with a big new store — and lots of pumps — at Westport Road and Mercier

September 22, 2016 by jimmycsays

Most of you have probably heard about QuikTrip’s plan to significantly increase its presence — i.e., new store — east of Roanoke Parkway on Westport Road. A Wednesday Kansas City Star story said the plan had “hit a roadblock” when the city Plan Commission voted 4-1 against it Tuesday.

The writer, City Hall reporter Lynn Horsley, made it clear, however, that the plan is by no means dead. The Plan Commission is merely an advisory body; the final decision will be made by the City Council. And that’s a whole other deal.

But a few facts first…QuikTrip wants to expand from about four fuel pumps to seven and build a new store of 5,773 square feet, compared with the existing 3,200-square-foot building. The most ambitious part of the plan, however, is that the grounds and building would “jump” over Mercier Street, which borders QuikTrip on the east and expand into the former Berbiglia store on the other side of Mercier. That would mean closing Mercier south of Westport Road.

The West Plaza Neighborhood Association adamantly opposes the plan, saying it might be fine in the suburbs but not in an urban neighborhood. And, indeed, Horsley’s story said the four commissioners who voted against the plan “agreed with many neighbors who said the expansion didn’t fit with their mixed-use residential neighborhood and could create many traffic and safety headaches.”

But from here on out, this will be a political decision. And that’s where the neighborhood — and perhaps logic — will “hit a roadblock.”

The plan’s first stop at the City Council level will be the council’s Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Committee. The committee consists of Scott Taylor, chairman, and Katheryn Shields, Heather Hall, Lee Barnes Jr. and Quinton Lucas.

taylor

Councilman Scott Taylor

I have no idea how any of them will vote on the QuikTrip plan, but Shields is the only one of the five who lives in Council District 4, where the QuikTrip is located. Also, Taylor, the committee chairman, who lives in south Kansas City, has a reputation as being pro-development. Last night, I checked out his campaign finance reports for the last three years, and he’s taken in tens of thousands of dollars from development lawyers and law firms, contractors, engineering companies, as well as labor and building-trades organizations.

Of particular note, since January 2014, the development law firm White Goss has contributed $6,775 to Taylor’s campaign committee…And White Goss is representing QuikTrip.

QuikTrip, for the record, has contributed $750 to Taylor. That’s not much, relative to White Goss’s contributions, but enough to get Taylor’s attention.

I covered City Hall from 1985 to 1995, and I saw up close how this works. Just like Donald Trump has said, if he makes a large contribution to someone, he expects something in return. At the city level, Scott Taylor has been “good for business,” and business has been good to him and expects him to continue to deliver.

…On the QuikTrip deal, here’s what I foresee: The company makes a couple of very modest concessions, perhaps reducing the footprint slightly or going down one fuel pump, and the P&Z Committee recommends approval of the deal. (QuikTrip will never compromise on jumping Mercier, though.)

When it goes to the full council, the vote could be close, but my guess is the plan ultimately gets at least the seven votes it needs to go forward.

Many years ago, a friend, now deceased, used to quote his uncle as saying, “You can’t beat the Yankees.” At City Hall, it’s almost impossible to beat the development crowd.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

20 Responses

  1. on September 22, 2016 at 9:50 am Whyyyy

    I can’t believe I got a breaking news alert about this from the Star. It’s one gas station. There’s been some real small town stuff coming from its mobile alerts lately.


    • on September 22, 2016 at 10:00 am jimmycsays

      If The Star was targeting Westport and Plaza area residents with that alert, it would be great, but it’s not appropriate, or wise, to send throughout the metro area…Where do you live?


      • on September 22, 2016 at 12:03 pm Whyyyy

        Out of state. And they couldn’t send a targeted alert, because I’ve never registered with the site. Between this, a story about high school football players quitting and an earlier alert about mushroom foraging, it makes me feel like I’m back in small-town Kansas.


  2. on September 22, 2016 at 1:58 pm Mike Rice

    This is a very tough call. As someone who often stops there to get a drink or fill up my car whenever I am on my way home from Downtown or Midtown, I don’t like the idea of closing off Mercier. It provides a quick way to get back through the Plaza and onto Ward Parkway. And I can’t imagine anyone who lives in those apartments on Mercier liking it. (Totally trivial matter but convicted murderer Scott Roeder was living in one of those apartments at the time he drove to Wichita and gunned down Dr. Tiller)

    With that said, the alternative to this expanded Quik Trip will likely be a boarded up building or a much less attractive store that comes in after a QT leaves – the one at 75th and Holmes comes to mind.

    Also, Quik Trip keeps their properties very well maintained. Manicured lawns. Well lit. Clean bathrooms. Clerks who look respectable and not like they just got out of jail or drug rehab. And when do you ever hear about a QT getting robbed? They are an excellent business model. I don’t know how being near a QT can diminish property values.

    The Quik Trip near 103rd and Wornall Road, which is close to my house, recently did one of these expansions. I’m not crazy about the layout as I like having all the soda fountains near the tea containers. But parking is much easier and there is almost always a gas pump available.

    I too as a former KC Star reporter who covered city government covered many convenience store construction and expansion controversies. And your assessment about how the approval process will likely go down is spot on accurate. I remember development lawyer James Bowers once asking me when I interviewed him “Who does NOT need a convenience store?” He’s right. And since that’s the case, I will certainly take a Quik Trip over a Fast Stop.


    • on September 22, 2016 at 4:59 pm jimmycsays

      There’s a lot of good information and reflection here, Mike.

      First, I had no idea Scott Roeder was living in the Westport area when he killed Dr. Tiller, although I do recall he was living in Kansas City.

      And you’re very right about what happens to corners that QuikTrip vacates. Beautiful example you cite at 75th and Holmes. That Fast Stop just looks like a place to be avoided. Another site I believe QuikTrip abandoned was Eastwood Trafficway, by I-435. (Tell me if I’m wrong.) That convenience store is another one that looks pretty creepy.

      Basically, QuikTrip has left the east side of town. That’s too bad in a way, but I can also see their reasoning from a business sense. A QuikTrip in Westport, on Wornall or State Line Road is going to do more business and be subjected to a lot less potential trouble than one on Troost or Prospect.

      Unfortunately, this situation just exacerbates the disparity between east and west. I wish QT would commit to building a big store somewhere on the east side — maybe near Bruce Watkins Drive — and work like hell to make it top notch.


    • on September 22, 2016 at 11:25 pm Slicey

      The QT at 103rd & Wornall was a remodel, not an expansion. That was already a massive lot situated on a road three times the size of the current Westport lot and right off the highway. The 103rd remodel was welcome.

      The proposed expansion in Westport/West Plaza is ridiculous. On either side of that QT are two tricky intersections. The last thing we need is more traffic in that area drawn by a shiny new QuikTrip. And closing a street will just make the traffic worse. Talk about a major rush hour headache. I hate the current QT, but making it bigger will only help me fill up my tank easier, but it will make everything else worse. We would LOVE a remodeled QT, but not a massive suburban sprawl that isn’t a good fit for our neighborhood.


  3. on September 22, 2016 at 2:53 pm 43rdplace

    We got a smaller QT in Southmoreland at 44th and Main. But it took 16 months to get there. And that was in 2000 – 2001 so it involved a different mayor and city council. Kate

    https://43rdplace.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/the-quiktrip-at-44th-and-main/


  4. on September 22, 2016 at 5:55 pm Mike Rice

    Yes, that Fast Stop at Eastwood Tfwy and 435 was once a QT.


  5. on September 22, 2016 at 11:12 pm Sharon Martin

    I hate politics! I hate this system! It really sucks that money rules! This decision should be based on merit, usefulness, need, community feedback, etc., not who gave who money!

    This sounds like the city council is saying that the people (who live in the vicinity of this QT) don’t matter! What matters is who gave who money. Why isn’t this against the law? It seems close to bribery to me. I can’t believe it is so transparent and then allowed!

    Looking at previous comments, it seems unlikely that QT would abandon this location as it is quite profitable for them…they said it was making them a lot of money, or something like that.


    • on September 23, 2016 at 7:40 am jimmycsays

      It’s not a done deal…By raising hell and filling the City Council chamber for hearings, opponents can bring tremendous pressure and offset, to some extent, the power of money. The best way to offset the inherent advantages that the development crowd holds is with a show of sheer numbers — bringing in the equivalent of busloads of people. Then, the policy makers listen — many of them, anyway…Just as on Election Day, turnout is vital.


      • on September 23, 2016 at 1:05 pm Will Notb

        Back in the 70s, when the traffic patterns were different (read: much less), Mercier was indeed a quick shortcut to/from the Plaza. However since the city allowed QT to locate there, it’s just been a dangerous adjunct to QT itself, as well as a major traffic snarl; I have a hard time believing the apartment dwellers wouldn’t be happier without all the extraneous traffic tearing up and down Mercier…

        Speaking of the east side, I’ve a relative that still resides near Blue Ridge and 87th Street. QT killed their original site just east of Benjamin Stables Bannister Mall the new Cerner site on 87th to relocate just off the I-435 exchange to the west of Benjamin Stables Bannister Mall the new Cerner site…


  6. on September 23, 2016 at 2:02 pm jimmycsays

    So, they do, or will, have at least one east of Troost in Kansas City.


    • on September 23, 2016 at 4:32 pm Will Notb

      Yep – it’s been up and running a couple months, I think.

      In fact, and this is just my impression as I zipped into the first westward round-about, I think they built right atop where that fun filled Denny’s used to lurk…


      • on September 23, 2016 at 6:28 pm gayle

        Roundabout?! ARRGGHH!!!


      • on September 24, 2016 at 8:06 am Mike Rice

        That is one of the few QTs within close proximity to a predominantly black residential area. No way they are building that new store but for Cerner


      • on September 25, 2016 at 6:33 am Will Notb

        Agreed, Mike; the super-size QT there is overbuilt for the neighborhood. But it will certainly accommodate the Cerner folks when they top-off and grab coffee/stuff on their way in and out of work.


  7. on September 24, 2016 at 5:29 am Vernon Scoville

    Does anyone know how many cars actually use the Mercier Street in one day? Just a thought.


    • on September 24, 2016 at 8:33 am jimmycsays

      That’s a good question…I can’t recall ever taking it from QT back south to Roanoke Pkwy. But a friend who opposes the plan told me it’s a great way, if you’re going south, to track back to the parkway without having to pull out onto Westport Road, against traffic, and then go west to Roanoke.

      The same friend told me there will be a turnaround at the new north end of Mercier. I can see where the residents on Mercier might eventually see considerably less traffic, but I would think people would be pulling in there for a long time planning to cut through to Westport Road.

      Like you, Vernon, I’d like to know more about the Mercier element of the plan.


  8. on September 25, 2016 at 5:01 pm Mike Rice

    I was talking to my dad today about this Quik Trip issue, Fitz. And he noted that Quik Trip closed down its store at St. John and Belmont in the northeast but still has its location at Truman Road and Bennington. That is probably about as close to the inner city that Quik Trip is at. But he thinks that QT will keep that location because of its proximity to a KC fire station, the Bishop Sullivan Center and the Blue Valley Industrial District. He too remembers how they worked with the people in the Southmoreland area on the Main Street location.


    • on September 25, 2016 at 5:17 pm jimmycsays

      Good to get these updates, and glad to see QuikTrip hasn’t totally abandoned the more problematic areas.



Comments are closed.

  • Pages

    • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
    • Contact
  • Archives

    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 563 other subscribers

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Join 563 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: