Kansas City's Prairie Village Shops

KCK's PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS was the first post-war shopping center in the Sunflower State. 

Drawing from the J.C. Nichols Company

J.C. Nichols (1880-1950). A major real estate developer of the 20th century, he started work on his Country Club District in 1906. As planned, the District would contain several individual housing plats. One of the Kansas-side communities would be known as Prairie Village.

Photo from Wikipedia / Julian Felsenburgh

In 1941, Nichols bought four land parcels from the Porter family; these to be incorporated into Prairie Village. An obstacle presented itself in 1942, when Elizabeth Porter balked at selling her homestead (seen in the photo above). After 5 years of delicate negotiations, Nichols acquired the land. It was utilized for the construction of a shopping center.

Photo from the Johnson County Museum / City of Prairie Village, Kansas

A vintage snapshot shows some of the original Prairie Village tract houses. Each sold for the whopping sum of $6,000. By mid-1942, ninety-five had been built. After a 4-year -war induced- hiatus, construction resumed in 1946. An entire house was finished in one day. By 1949, over 1,000 had been completed. 

Photo from State Historical Society of Missouri / J.C. Nichols Company Scrapbook

PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS opened for business in mid-1948. One of eleven charter stores was John S. Watkins Drugs. 

Photo from The J.C. Nichols Company

A fledgling PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS is seen in this 1948 aerial view. 

Photo from The State Historical Society of Missouri / J.C. Nichols Company Scrapbook

A Pay-Less supermarket was a charter 1948 PRAIRIE VILLAGE tenant. This store was quickly outgrown. A new "Super Food Market" was built, which opened in September 1951.

Drawing from Pay-Less Stores, Incorporated

The first of four PRAIRIE VILLAGE site plans depicts the shopping center of early 1952. Building 1 (a.k.a. the Main Plaza) was completed in several stages, with the oldest sections shown in black. 

PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS TENANTS 1952:

OPENED MAY-JULY 1948:

PAY-LESS supermarket / CLYDE SMITH 5 & 10 / Calvert's Beauty Salon / Ed Cox Bakery / Hannah Cleaners / John S. Watkins Drugs / M.A. Stevenson Plumbing (basement) / M & H Book & Gift / Robinson Shoe Company / Skelly Oil Company / Ziegler's Plainfield Cab

OPENED NOVEMBER 1948:

Hensler & Bollard Village Washerette / Joe Maseda's Toon Shop / Johnson County National Bank & Trust Company / Marcia Thompson's Infant's & Children's Wear / Pete Potter & Martha Grother Dress Shop / Robert N. Miller Hardware 

OPENED MAY 1949:

Johnson County National Bank & Trust Company # 2 (outparcel) 

OPENED 1951:

PAY-LESS supermarket # 2 / Prairie Village City Hall (basement) / Standard Oil service station (outparcel)

A series of contemporary PRAIRIE VILLAGE exterior views begins with Building 1 and the storefront originally leased by John S. Watkins Drugs. At the time of this snapshot, the space was occupied by Fleet Fleet Sports.

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

Here, we see the southwest end of Building 1 and its Chico's dress shop.

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

Comprising the southeast end of Building 1, this structure housed the center's second Pay-Less supermarket. The first Prairie Village City Hall was in its basement. Over the years, grocery stores have operated here under the Pay-Less, Safeway, Food Barn and Hen House Market nameplates. 

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

"The Homesteaders," created by local artisan Anna Belle Campbell, was installed at PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS in 1952. It was relocated in 1991 and now stands northwest of the Mission Road and Tomahawk Road intersection.

Photo from The J.C. Nichols Company / John Brouck

PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS, circa-1958. In 1954, a section of Brush Creek was enclosed, with a new East Mall (Buildings 2 and 3) constructed over it. The open-air shopping concourse in Building 2 was dedicated in mid-1956. A (94,000 square foot) Jones Store, added to the south end, welcomed first shoppers in late 1958. 

The first of two PRAIRIE VILLAGE logo montages is composed of trademarks of stores that were in operation between the late 1940s and early 2000s.

In this contemporary snapshot, we see Building 2, which was the first mall-type shopping facility in Kansas. 

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

This building housed the aforementioned Jones Store for over 47 years.

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

Graphic from the Mercantile Stores Company, Incorporated

Over the years, the official name of the south Kansas City shopping hub has evolved. By the late 1960s, it was being promoted as the PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER. This moniker was still in use in 1979. By 1981, the original name -PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS- had been reinstated. 

Graphics from the J.C. Nichols Company 

All PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS structures were given an exterior face lift between June and October of 1989. As part of the renovation, a Clock Tower was added to the East Mall (Building 2).

Photo from https://sah-archipedia.org / SAH Archipedia / Society of Architectural Historians / David Sachs

Building 3 occupies a pad west of Building 2 and was built as part of the shopping center's 1950s expansion.

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

Several structures have been added in the periphery of PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS. This building, completed in September 1963, originally housed a relocated Johnson County National Bank & Trust Company. A northward addition was dedicated in May 1972.

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

By the time of a circa-2007 layout, The Jones Store has been replaced by Macy's. The retail complex encompasses approximately 393,500 leasable square feet. The two main buildings contain thirty-two stores and services, with ten more in outparcel storefronts.

PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS TENANTS 2007:

MACY'S / Adriene Mason, Limited massage / A Fairytale Ballet & The Princess Club / Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill / Bag & Baggage / bijin salon & spa / Blenders beverages (outparcel)  / Blue Moose Bar & Grill (outparcel) / Boulangerie Philippe French pastries / Bruce Smith Drugs / Café Provence / Chico's ladies' wear / Cold Stone Creamery / Creative Body Balance yoga & fitness / Curious Sofa antiques & collectibles / Einstein Brothers bagels (outparcel) / Euston Hardware / Fitness for Life / Hen House Market / M. Taylor jewelry & accessories / Mady & Me children's wear  / Missouri Bank & Trust (outparcel) / Minsky's Italian restaurant / Mr. Goodcents Subs & Pasta / Natural Wear, Incorporated apparel / Prairie Village Shoe Repair / R.S.V.P. In The Village / Rimann Liquors / Shell service station (outparcel) / Spangler's gifts & accessories / Starbucks Coffee (outparcel) / Stoney Broke Limited interiors / TCBY yogurt (outparcel) / The Better Cheddar cheese shop / Tiffany Town cards & gifts / Toon Shop, Incorporated musical instruments / Tower Dry Cleaners & Laundry / US Bank (outparcel) / Village Flower Company (outparcel) / Village Hairstyling Number 1 / Village Hairstyling Number 2 / Waid's restaurant (outparcel)  

A second PRARIE VILLAGE SHOPS logo montage is presented in living color. It features trademarks of stores in business during the 2010s.

The center's first Starbucks Coffee opened, in this freestanding building, in August 1998. Today, the space is leased by Einstein Brothers Bagels.

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

THE VILLAGE Macy's pulled up stakes in early 2020. 

Photo from Johnson County, Kansas

Above, we see the two most recent logos for the KCK shopping complex. During the 2010s, it was promoted as simply THE VILLAGE. By the year 2020, the official moniker had morphed into THE SHOPS OF PRAIRIE VILLAGE.

Graphic 1 from https://www.lane4group.com / Lane4 Property Group

Graphic 2 from https://www.firstwash.com / First Washington Realty

Our fourth -and final- VILLAGE plan illustrates the shopping hub of the year 2024. The newest structures have been built in the center's northeastern periphery. These consists of a 5,000 square foot -three-unit- store strip and offices for a UMB Bank branch. 

A 2020s birds-eye view of THE SHOPS OF PRAIRIE VILLAGE includes locations of the center's iconic Clock Tower and The Homesteaders statue. 

Photo from Google Earth

In October 2020, a renovation of the mall's abandoned Macy's building was officially announced. The 120,000 square foot structure would be reconfigured with retail tenants, leased office spaces and a relocated Hen House Market. Construction commenced in January 2025.

Drawing from the GRI Prairie Village, Limited Liability Company

PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS

Mission Lane and Tomahawk Road

Johnson County (Prairie Village), Kansas

Kansas City, Missouri's J.C. (Jessie Clyde) Nichols was one of the 20th century's most innovative real estate developers. His Country Club District, a housing plat implemented between 1906 and 1950, was the nation's largest planned community ever built by a single developer. The District's de facto downtown was its COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA; one of America's first suburban shopping centers. Its first businesses opened in March 1923. 

In developing the Country Club District, J.C. Nichols ushered in several city planning innovations. Landscape architects were consulted to lay out broad, curving avenues. All streets were paved. Small sections of greenspace would often be decorated with statuary and fountains. On the negative side, all residential property was bound by discriminatory covenants. 

In all, the Country Club District encompassed 6,000 acres. Its subdivisions on the Missouri side of the state line included Brookside, Crestwood, Sunset Hills and Westwood. Kansas-side communities were Fairway, Mission Hills and Prairie Village. Platted in 1941, Prairie Village would eventually encompass 1,781 homes. The community was named after the historic Prairie School, a Johnson County landmark built in 1882. 

An auto-centric shopping complex was developed on 10 acres in the northern sector of the plat. PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS was designed by Nichols Company architect Edward W. Tanner. Its storefronts were decorated in the style of Colonial Williamsburg. Eleven inaugural tenants opened their doors between May and July 1948. These included John S. Watkins Drug, Ed Cox Bakery, and a (7,300 square foot) Pay-Less supermarket. Six additional stores welcomed first shoppers in November 1948. 

In 1950, the National Association of Home Builders recognized Prairie Village for being the "Best Complete Community Development in the United States." In February 1951, the locality was officially incorporated as a third-class city. Second-class city status was achieved in January 1953, with Prairie Village becoming a first-class city in 1956. In Kansas, a third-class city has a population of between 1,000 and 2,000 inhabitants. A second-class city has between 2,000 and 15,000, with a third-class city's population exceeding 15,000.

Getting back to PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS...the Pay-Less supermarket had re-opened in a larger store on September 20, 1951. Encompassing approximately 18,000 square feet, the building's completion established the footprint of Building 1. In June 1957, stores in the Pay-Less chain -including the PRAIRIE VILLAGE unit- were rebranded by Safeway Stores, Incorporated.

An expansion of the shopping hub, extending it southward over Brush Creek, was on the drawing board for several years. By the spring of 1955, construction was underway. When completed, the open-air East Mall addition would cover approximately 103,800 leasable square feet and house eleven stores beneath its awnings. 

Among the first operational tenants was a 2-level (30,000 square foot) The Palace ladies' wear emporium. This store was open for business by May 1956. Adjacent tenants included Smith Drugs, a George Muehlbach & Sons grocery,  Prairie Village Public Library and 2-level (14,000 square foot) T. G. & Y. 5 & 10. 

Plans for a bona fide anchor store were announced in February 1957. Kansas City, Missouri's The Jones Store chain would build a 2-level -with basement- facility; this added to the south end of the East Mall (a.k.a. Building 2). The (93,800 square foot) Jones Store was officially dedicated on October 30, 1958. With its completion, PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS covered 17.4 acres and encompassed approximately 354,300 leasable square feet. It was now the second-largest retail complex in the J.C. Nichols Company portfolio (this following Kansas City, Missouri's COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA).

Major buildings in the PRAIRIE VILLAGE complex remained unchanged during the 1960s. A rooftop parking deck at The Jones Store was rebuilt as a third retail level in the early 1970s. The store now encompassed around 120,000 square feet. 

Safeway's Kansas City supermarkets were sold in January 1988. The PRAIRIE VILLAGE unit was rebranded, as a Super Food Barn, in early 1989. It closed for good on March 25, 1994. The local Hen House Market chain assumed the store space, renovated it, and commenced operation on February 11, 1995.

Meanwhile, the exterior of PRAIRIE VILLAGE SHOPS had been given a face lift. As part of this renovation, components of the original Colonial Williamsburg motif were carried over and improved upon. Decorative towers were rebuilt, dormers, new awnings and signage installed, and a 53-foot-tall Clock Tower added to Building 2. The remodeling project got underway in June 1989, with the revitalized shopping center being dedicated on November 11th.

The J.C. Nichols Company merged with Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties in July 1998. Ownership of the complex would change on two more occasions. In May 2009, the Kansas City, Missouri-based Lane4 Property Group became its proprietor. Bethesda-based First Washington Realty took the helm in August 2014.

In September 2010, The Prairie Village City Council established the first of six Community Improvement Districts. A 1% sales tax was levied, which would be collected for 22 years. Accumulated funds would be used to reimburse the owner(s) of the renamed SHOPS OF PRAIRIE VILLAGE for various property upgrades.

As part of CID-related renovations, improvements were made to the Mission Lane thoroughfare. Moreover, a new (6,200 square foot) retail building was constructed, with Chipotle Mexican Grill, Etiquette Boutique and a relocated Starbucks Coffee leasing space. Storefronts in existing buildings were also retenanted. New businesses included Pinot's Palette, Beltone Hearing Aid Service and a new US Post Office.

The Jones Store, a charter Mercantile Stores division, was bounced between a couple of retail holding companies between 1998 and 2005, eventually ending up as a Federated Department Stores operative. THE SHOPS OF PRAIRIE VILLAGE store was rebranded by Macy's on February 1, 2006. It was shuttered in March 2020. 

Sources:

The Kansas City Star

The Kansas City Times

The Shawnee Mission Post

https://ims.jocogov.org / Johnson County, Kansas

https://www.globest.com

https://kcyesterday.com

https://jocohistory.wordpress.com

https://artsandculture.google.com

Katie Keckeisen, Johnson County (Kansas) Museum

https://www.jcprd.com / Johnson County Museum, Johnson County, Kansas / "Final Historic Resources Survey Report"

https://growingourhome.wordpress.com 

https://sah-archipedia.org / Society of Architectural Historians

https://shawneemissionpost.com

https://www.groceteria.ca / Groceteria

https://www.supermarketnews.com

https://www.henhouse.com

http://www.prairievillageshops.com (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

https://shopsofprairievillage.com (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

https://shopsofprairievillage.com

https://theclio.com 

https://prairiepta.org

https://www.pvkansas.com

https://smeharbinger.net

https://www.lane4group.com / Lane4 Property Group

https://www.firstwash.com / First Washington Realty

Kansas City's Antioch Center  

The Show Me State's first shopping mall opened for business in August 1956. The sign above stood at a western parking lot entrance and enticed mid-century shoppers into the complex.
Graphic from the Charles F. Curry Real Estate Company 

An aerial view of ANTIOCH CENTER, from the late 1950s. As was the case with most early American malls, the structure was completed in phases over the course of several years. The initial stage of ANTIOCH CENTER was anchored by a W.T. Grant variety store, which is seen in the foreground.
Photo from http://antiochcrossing.com

Our first ANTIOCH CENTER site plan, from late 1958, shows the 3 million dollar mall's first expansion in medium gray. The original 246,000 square foot structure now encompasses approximately 271,000. There are fifty stores and services under its roof, with free parking for 1,500 autos.

ANTIOCH CENTER TENANTS 1958:

W.T. GRANT (with Bradford Room restaurant) / KROGER supermarket / THRIFTWAY FOOD MART / T G & Y 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / Antioch Electric Center home appliances / Antioch Laundromat / Antioch Lanes bowling alley / Antioch Prescription Center / Antioch Record Shop / Bill Potter Men's & Boy's Wear / Charles F. Curry Real Estate / Collins Cafeteria / Cook Paint & Varnish Company / Crown Drug (with luncheonette) / Dunn's Shoes / Eisen House of Fabrics / French Rug Company / Fidelity Finance Company / Gladstone Television Sales & Service / Goodyear Service Store (outparcel) / Harold's Barber Shop / House of Flowers & Gifts / Jenkins Music / Joe Falk Toys, Hobbies & Sporting Goods / Jolene's Artists & Iron Shop / Knox Jewelry & Sporting Goods / Mars Cleaners / Mary Lou Wade Dance Studio / Mayberry's Gift & Card Shop / Midland Hardware Company / Mrs. Steven's Fine Candies / Mode O'Day Frock Shop / Olan Mills Portait Studio / Perkey Shoe Repair Service / Robinette's Dress Shop / Ronnie's Fashion Beauty Salon / Sacony Mobil Oil service station (outparcel) / Slater's Pastry Shop / Stella's Fashion Shop / Tot Togs /  The Travel House Camera & Travel Agency / Thom McAn Shoes / US Post Office / Velvet Freeze Ice Cream

The Missouri and Kansas division of R.H. Macy & Company anchored the second phase of ANTIOCH CENTER, which was built in 1962 and '63. The 70,000 square foot Macy's Antioch store was the chain's fifth branch.
Drawing from R.H. Macy & Company

President Shops men's wear was added to the mall as part of the early '60s expansion. In this rendering, we see the mall's unique arched canopies that gave the complex a very Space Age look.
Drawing from the Charles F. Curry Real Estate Company

The Antioch North addition (in dark gray) was completed in 1963. It expanded the gross leasable area of the complex to approximately 481,600 square feet. The store directory listed ninety retail and office tenants. Newly-expanded parking facilities now accommodate 3,000 autos.

The shopping hub was extended northward in 1965-'66, with two store blocks (in dark gray) built. These housed new Duff & Repp home furnishings and Kline's stores. Sears was completed in 1973. ANTIOCH CENTER now spanned approximately 700,000 leasable square feet and contained 113 stores and offices within its -still- open-air canopies.

 

A strip-type shopping venue was developed on a site northwest of the mall. The first phase of the ANTIOCH CENTER ANNEX was dedicated in March 1967. The single-screen, Commonwealth Theatres Antioch Theatre opened at this time. A second stage of stores (in light gray) debuted in July 1972.

The open courts and concourses at ANTIOCH CENTER were enclosed and climate-controlled between September 1978 and October 1979. During the renovation, the mall store count increased from 114 to 123. As a facet of the roofing renovation, the logo seen above was introduced.

Graphic from the Charles F. Curry Real Estate Company

Showbiz Pizza Place opened their very first location at ANTIOCH CENTER in early 1980. The combination restaurant, video arcade and animatronic entertainment venue was renamed Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza in 1992.
Graphic from www.showbizpizza.com

ANTIOCH CENTER was enclosed and climate-controlled in 1978-'79. An exterior face lift was done in 1993. By this time, a Payless Cashways home improvement center had been installed in the south end of the complex. Macy's had morphed into a Dillard's in 1986 and Burlington Coat Factory in 1993.

Sears operated at ANTIOCH CENTER for over 43 years.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"

One of the mall entrances rebuilt as part of the 1993 exterior face lift.
Photo from Wikipedia / "CloversMallRat"

The mall's interior was rebuilt during the late '70s enclosure. In this image, we see the old Center Mall section and one of the entrances of the Burlington Coat Factory anchor store.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"

The 8-bay Antioch Eatery was installed as part of the enclosure renovation. Some of its latter-day vendors were Pizza Hut Express, Orange Julius and Chinese Gourmet Express.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Prange Way"

By the dawn of the 21st century, ANTIOCH CENTER had been bested by other retail venues in its trade area...especially the METRO NORTH MALL. A redevelopment was announced in late 2004. This project was delayed several times and was eventually abandoned. A second initiative got underway in 2010, with demolition of the virtually vacant mall beginning in late 2011.
Graphic from http://antiochcrossing.com

A power center, known as ANTIOCH CROSSING, opened for business in late 2014. Structures remaining from ANTIOCH CENTER are surrounded in blue.
Original drawing from http://antiochcrossing.com

ANTIOCH CENTER

NE Antioch Road and NE Vivion Road / US 69
Kansas City, Missouri

Construction on Missouri's first mall-type shopping center commenced on June 28, 1954. The complex, being developed by Kansas City's Charles F. Curry Real Estate Company, was built on a 41.5-acre parcel, located 6 miles northeast of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The site, in an area known as Kansas City, North, had been annexed into the City of Fountains in January 1950.

Open-air in format, ANTIOCH CENTER was designed by KC's Kivett & Myers firm. The first of four construction phases, the Antioch South section encompassed three store blocks and 246,000 leasable square feet. It was anchored by a 2-level (40,000 square foot) W.T. Grant variety store (the 600th in the chain).

Stores began opening in June 1956, with an official dedication being held on August 23rd. Among forty-one charter stores and services were Crown Drug, Harold's Barber Shop, Joe Falk Toys Hobbies & Sporting Goods, a (19,600 square foot) Thriftway supermarket, (21,800 square foot) Kroger supermarket and (17,000 square foot) TG&Y 5 & 10. The final Antioch South store space was leased in July 1957.

By 1958, ANTIOCH CENTER was being expanded. A 25,000 square foot section was built on the north side of the center, which housed a new Joe Falk Toys location and Antioch Electric Center home appliance store. By the spring of 1962, a second mall expansion was underway.

The Antioch North section, consisting of four store blocks, would be anchored by a 2-level (70,000 square foot) Macy's Kansas City. Stores in the newly-built area included President Shops men's wear, Casual Aire ladies' wear, Zale's Jewelers, a Forum Cafeteria and (16,000 square foot) Adler's junior department store.

Macy's Antioch opened its doors on March 1, 1963. Inline store dedications were being held as late as April 1964. With the Antioch North section now fully-leased, ANTIOCH CENTER encompassed approximately 481,600 leasable square feet and contained eighty-five stores and services.

Commercial competition came quickly. BLUE RIDGE CENTER {11 miles southeast, in Kansas City and Independence, Missouri} opened in 1958. It was joined by METRO NORTH MALL {4.3 miles northwest, also in Kansas City, Missouri} in 1977. Finally, there was MISSION CENTER, a 1989 rebuild of a 1950s strip center {12.4 miles southwest, in Mission, Kansas}.

ANTIOCH CENTER was expanded father in the mid-1960s, with two large store blocks being built north of Macy's. One of these was leased as a 1-level (34,000 square foot) Duff & Repp home furnishings and 2-level (34,000 square foot) Kline's. These stores held grand openings in May 1966 and October 1967, respectively.

At the same time, a strip-type complex was being developed on a site northwest of the mall. The ANTIOCH CENTER ANNEX was anchored by the Commonwealth Theatres Antioch Theatre, which was officially dedicated on March 30, 1967. The strip complex was expanded in 1972, when a south building was constructed. Inline stores in the ANNEX included Radio Shack, Pizza Hut, Imperial Sales Company men's wear, Foam City, Antioch Music, Pier One Imports and Don Roper's Fine Arts Limited.

The final expansion at ANTIOCH CENTER added a 1-level (101,000 square foot) Sears to the north end of the complex. The store, which had been built on top of a covered parking deck, made its debut on November 1, 1973. The shopping hub now housed around 700,000 leasable square feet and contained ninety-four stores and services. 

As a competitive measure against the newly-completed METRO NORTH MALL, ANTIOCH CENTER was fully enclosed. The project was announced in May 1978, with construction commencing in September. The renovation, designed by Ramos Group Architects, was carried out in two phases. During the first, courts and concourse were roofed in with new ceilings and skylights. Carpeting, ceramic tile flooring and seating areas were also installed. Phase Two added interior landscaping and a North Mall geyser fountain, which doubled as a stage.

A grand opening for Phase One was held on November 24, 1978. Phase Two was officially dedicated during a celebration that commenced on October 11, 1979. The ANTIOCH CENTER store count had increased from 114 to 123. New tenants included J. Riggings, Casual Corner, So-Fro Fabrics, Musicland and Jean Nicole.   

The Antioch Eatery food court was built in existing South Mall space. The 8-bay facility featured vendors such as Topsy's Sidewalk Cafe, V's Pasta and Dixon's Chili Parlor. Show Biz Pizza Place opened their very first store, adjacent to the Antioch Eatery, on March 3, 1980. The chain merged with rival company Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in 1984. All restaurants were put under the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza banner in 1992.

Meanwhile. anchor store rebrandings got underway at ANTIOCH CENTER on March 3, 1986. The mall's Macy's Kansas City was rebannered by Dillard's. This store was shuttered on January 31, 1992. It was remodeled and re-opened, as a Burlington Coat Factory, on September 12, 1992. 

The exterior of the mall was renovated in 1993. Mid-Century Modern-style arches were removed. Surfaces were covered in a "stucco-like" material, with new awnings and signage installed. A marketing shift to a "value-oriented shopping center" was also instituted. This plan worked for a time. However, before long, vacancies were piling up. ANTIOCH CENTER entered a downward spiral that it would never escape from.

Toronto-based Eastbourne Investments acquired the struggling center in November 2002. A 72 million dollar redevelopment was announced in October 2004. This was to convert the moribund mall into a 470,000 square foot, office-retail-entertainment facility and be funded, in part, by millions of dollars in tax abatements.

The project faced delay after delay. An original demolition date of March 2009 came and went. The structure continued to deteriorate, with The Great Recession blamed for the lack of progress toward its renewal. By mid-2010, there were three stores in operation out of a total of ninety-four spaces.

Eastbourne Investments turned the property over to M & I Bank and walked away from the project in July 2010. In September, KC-based MBS Management came on board. They would oversee redevelopment of the retail hub.

A final redevelopment and Tax Increment Financing plan was approved in November 2011. By December, preliminary demolition was underway. Full-scale work commenced in January. Sears, Burlington Coat Factory and a block of stores in between were left standing. 200,000 square feet of mall space was knocked down.
 

Sears Auto Center, Bank of America, Walgreen Drug and the Goodyear Service Center had also been left standing. These were worked into an open-air strip complex known as ANTIOCH CROSSING. Ground was broken in the summer of 2013, with the first new tenant, a (41,100 square foot) WalMart Neighborhood Market, holding its grand opening on November 5, 2014. ANTIOCH CROSSING faced its first hurdle on July 30, 2017, when Sears shuttered their 43-year-old store.

Sources:

The Kansas City Star
http://www.antiochcentermall.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

http://sungazette.com
http://www.kansascity.bizjournals.com

http://antiochcrossing.com
"Antioch Center" and "Chuck E. Cheese's" articles on Wikipedia

Kansas City's Blue Ridge Center 

Greater Kansas City, Missouri's second mall-type shopping venue spanned approximately 525,000 leasable square feet and contained thirty-two tenants. This rendering -from 1958- includes a second anchor department store that was added to the mall 4 years later. 

Drawing from Blue Ridge Shopping Center, Incorporated

The Show Me State's first shopping mall was Kansas City's ANTIOCH CENTER, which was dedicated in August 1956. The second mall in KCMO straddled the corporate lines of Kansas City and Independence, Missouri. 

Graphic from Blue Ridge Shopping Center, Incorporated

BLUE RIDGE CENTER TENANTS 1958:

MONTGOMERY WARD (with Snack Bar and freestanding Auto Center) / J.C. PENNEY / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / J.J. NEWBERRY (with luncheonette) / SAFEWAY supermarket / Acme Quality Paints / B & G Hosiery Shops / Blue Ridge Bank / Blue Ridge Bowl / Bond Clothes / Cable's Record & Hi-Fi / Crenshaw's Camera Shop / Crown Drug (with luncheonette) / Davis Fabric Shop / Evans Shoe Repair / Fred Harvey Cafeteria / Fred Harvey Drive-In / Glen's Barber Shop / Harzfeld's / Holiday Shoes / Household Finance Corporation / House of Remembrance / Jacqlyn's Cleaners & Launderers / Joe Falk Toys, Hobbies & Sporting Goods / Kansas City Laundry Service Company / Kinney Shoes / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / National Shirt Shops / Old Woman In A Shoe Nursery / Ronnie's Fashion Beauty Salon / Standard Oil Service Station (outparcel) / Steve's Shoes / Thom McAn Shoes / Velvet Freze Ice Cream / Western Auto / Wolferman's grocery / Zale's Jewelers

Montgomery Ward, the only full-line anchor in the original complex, made its debut in the fall of 1958. It was one of the Chicago-based chain's first shopping center-format stores.
Photo from Montgomery Ward & Company Annual Report 1959

The southwest corner of the mall, circa-1958. The Blue Ridge Bowl (bowling alley) was located beneath the Safeway supermarket and was accessed from the mall's Lower -or Community Concourse- Level.
Photo from http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com

More vintage MALL artwork. Note the "Shop 'til 9 pm" reference. With most retail still situated downtown -and these stores closing at around 6 pm- it was still a new concept to be able to shop out in the suburbs till 9 in the evening.
Graphic from http://www.blueridgecrossing.com