By DAVID MARTIN
David Cordish, president of the company that operates the Power & Light District, is furious that the Sprint Center lacks an anchor tenant and is pleading with city officials for more police.
Cordish sent an e-mail to Mayor Mark Funkhouser yesterday demanding that the city put on a "show of force" after a shooting in a Power & Light parking garage over the weekend. "VISIBLE POLICE PRESENCE IS THE SINGLE MOST POWERFUL WAY TO REASSURE PEOPLE AS TO THE SAFETY OF AN AREA," Cordish writes in the e-mail, using capital letters for emphasis. "IN ADDITION, THE POLICE SHOULD MAKE IT CLEAR TO ALL GANGS THAT THE DOWNTOWN IS AN AREA OF 'ZERO TOLERANCE.'”
Cordish goes on to complain that the city-owned garages have lacked adequate security since they opened. Cordish tells the mayor that his company pleaded to manage the garages when the Cordish Co. and the city negotiated the development agreement. (Kay Barnes was mayor at the time.)
In a separate e-mail sent yesterday to Funkhouser and City Manager Wayne Cauthen, Cordish aired a list of grievances. Cordish blamed the city for the company's inability to complete leasing the Power & Light District.
His complaints include:
Light rail. Cordish says that "every singe expert" who has looked at light-rail construction in retail areas finds that tenants go out of business.
Festival-liquor permits. The Cordish Co. opposes the city's support of areas like Westport seeking a change in the state law that would allow visitors, at special times, to purchase and carry drinks in common areas.
Parking revenue. The Cordish Co. asked the city to charge vehicles entering the Power & Light garage in off-hours $2. Cordish says the city is "illegally" withholding the money, hampering crucial marketing efforts.
Boutique hotel. The Cordish Co. wants to build a boutique hotel, but the city has not shown a willingness to provide tax-increment financing (TIF).
Apartments. The Cordisch Co. wants TIF assistance to install apartment units above the recently renovated Midland theater. Cordish says residents as well as tourists are necessary for the district's success. "Does the City seriously think our supermarket can generate sales without people living in the District?" Cordish asks.
Cordish concludes by warning that the city needs to address all five points if Power & Light District sales projections (and, by extension, city bond payments) are to be met. "It is a no-brainer package," Cordish writes. "We strenuously urge immediate action on the package FOR THE CITY’S GOOD."
In June, Cordish sent Funkhouser an e-mail complaining about the lack of events at the neighboring Sprint Center. Cordish called the arena "a disaster" on account of its lack of an NBA or NHL franchise. "The words gross negligence and pitiful come to mind," he wrote.
Cordish's harsh words about the arena were accompanied by feelings of self-pity. "The district is performing despite the never ending attacks be city officials," he wrote. Earlier that month, the City Council grilled a Cordish official about the Power & Light District dress code, which raised complaints of racism. (Long white T-shirts and baggy clothing are banned.)
"Instead of laying awake at night thinking of was to harass the District, which is working spectacularly, (and this is BEFORE any of our anchors are open) does it occur to the Mayor, Council and City Manager to focus on the project that YOU run, are responsible for, and isn’t performing, the Arena," Cordish wrote.
The mayor, who was city auditor when the arena vote passed, seemed to take Cordish's ferocity in stride. His reply:
"David
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Mark"
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F the P&L District where you can witness the type of corporate greed that has us in so much trouble right now first hand. At the very least, it took many of the a-hole drunks/kids out of the Plaza and gave them a new place to go and annoy everyone. Most times I'll just support my local bar/restaurant/business. None of which can be seen at the P&L......
I like Funk's short answer - reminds me of Calvin Coolidge. One doesn't have to be windy and verbose to get a message across.
go to this website and see where Cordish was in their leasing efforts just three years ago
http://www.downtownkc.org/cont...
Cordish lied to KC in what they could do. To blame the lack of retail tenants on a lack of downtown residents is ludicrous.
Years ago those who worked downtown shopped downtown, some even returning on the weekends, usually by bus.
We had Macy's, Jones, Kresge's, Wolff Brothers, Kline's, Harzfeld's, Rotschild's, Baker's Shoes, Lerners, good restaurants, an for awhile even a Playboy Club.
I worked downtown in the mid-70s, and I loved getting out at lunch and doing some shopping. And sometimes I would shop after work (many stores were open until 6 or 7).
Adding residential will not make it more attractive for retail to locate in the District. Perhaps Mr. Cordish should look just across the Missouri River and see that there are plenty of shoppers right there if his rental rates were not so high.
There are also plenty of folks in the inner city and in Raytown who would love to have some higher end shopping close to home, if only there wasn't so much focus on the part of Cordish to "keep out the unsavory elements."
Cordish has dug their own hole. Even Town Center Leawood struggled at first, and Jacobson's went bye-bye. There has been more turnover than one would expect.
The economy has been a mess for a long time. Developers like Cordish prey on the unsuspecting, counting on real estate illiteracy. The Power & Light District is just one example. Knowledge is power, and it has been misused and abused in this case.
I wonder about the person who was shot in the parking garage. Had they been drinking heavily? Were they weaving or swerving as they walked to their vehicle? Did that person go into the parking garage alone? Are bartenders cutting patrons off when they have had too much, or are they operating as most do, irresponsibly serving noticeably intoxicated persons?
The story as presented by the Star was so incomplete and requires further investigation.
As for Cordish, perhaps one Saturday a month they should buck up and rent a trolley an bring folks downtown from other locations throughout the city. You know, a park-and-ride event. Makes sense to me. Sort of like the way that Town and Country Estates in Prairie Village was originally marketed - horse drawn carriages. What a novel idea - creative marketing.
Cordish, put your money where your mouth is. If you aren't smart enough to come up with your own solutions, you have hired the wrong marketing folks. This isn't brain surgery.
Everyone, quite your whining and join us over at http://forum.kcrag.com/index.p...
to discuss this.
David Cordish is truly a pathetic human being.
Did he not realize that Kay Barnes was nothing more than a PR person who would promise anything? Can you imagine Funk's surprise when he got this man's raging letter about not enough police protection and blahblahblah.
His district - he is trying to keep out blacks, teens, anyone he wouldn't want to have in his own neighborhood back east.
The Power & Light District will be lucky to make it through the first term of tenants' leases. What, five years? The city should never have made so many concessions, including this special liquor permit. I don't think this yutz paid for the sidewalk but I promise he charges his tenants. Anyone checked yet?
The powers that be in Kansas City, Kansas, should take a long hard look at getting in bed with this absentee landlord. He doesn't have his own money in these projects.
Wow, even I get better responses in my congressman�s form-response letters than Funk provided.
Poor Cordish people�I mean, come on, guys, David Cordish is probably a CEO and will get some of that phat Wall Street welfare loot, but it is not enough. He REALLY does have a Dixie-Chick-like entitlement that goes beyond using capital letters; he DESERVES his loot!
Funk shoulda at least pointed out that P&L is already an area of �ZERO TOLERANCE� and referenced the dress code�maybe that would have appeased David at least a little.
what a bunch of whiners. screw cordish and the big fat lies they rode into town on. they bring in second rate bars and restaurants, but charge first rate prices and they expect more handouts. hubris is the word for that.
btw, who would want to live anywhere near that place. apartments at the midland? are they nuts? they constantly blast music in their "living room" at decibel levels so high that you can hear the music 5 blocks away and they do it at all hours. these guys might of found a patsy when they came here, but hopefully we make them work for their money instead of them bilking us again and again.
someone needs to remind them that we gave them hundreds of millions of dollars. GAVE.
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