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Oak Park Mall is actually one of the highest grossing malls in the entire nation. What do you think needs to be refurbished about it? I dont go there much because it is 35 minutes away from my home but if I lived closer, there is likely where I would shop. I think it is a nice mall.
The first thing I noticed after walking into the mall was the worn and cracked tile! That tile looks like something straight out of the 1980's! Also there are level changes throughout the mall that's rather strange to me! Why all the steps here and there? Why all the ramps here and there on a given level? Why not have the floor just flat, so as not to be creating trip hazards for the shoppers? I don't know...that just seemed like poor planning to me.
Also what's up with those carpet tiles here and there? For God's sake...if they are gonna use carpet here and there, they should at least make it attractive instead of using the cheapest carpet tiles they could find! I mean...where did they actually get those carpet tiles...at a freakin' Big Lots or something??!???!?!? Or perhaps they got a deal at the Goodwill store? Frankly it looks like they used remnants to decorate that mall! And "used" remnants at that!
Outside in the parking lot, they really need to create more landscaped islands to breakup the massive amount of blacktop and at least give it some semblance of attractiveness! Sealing the blacktop parking lot would also help!
To me...Oak Park mall just really seemed dated and poorly planned. I mean...what's up with having TWO Dillards? LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!! Why not just have one big one? It just seemed very poorly laid out and extremely poorly decorated and dated to me.
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I've never been to a city where the area with all the factory's is nice. Why does an area filled with factories needs to be nice? If you do any work, it will look like **** within a year due to the pollution anyway.
I'm sorry...but Fairfax is mostly industrial blight! Now...that area may still be active with industry, but it's still blight no matter how ya slice it! There is just no nice way to say this, so I'm just laying it out there very bluntly...it's a ****hole! LOL!
There is no reason why industry can't have some green space on their grounds, or a new coat of paint here and there, or privacy fencing around the many storage yards and so forth. How about putting in new sidewalks? For heavens sake...just because it's an industrial area, that doesn't mean it has to be blight! The trend these days is for industry to go green, and the only effort I saw towards that end was from the GM plant.
All I kept thinking as I watched the smokestacks billowing, was how much pollution they were pumping into the environment and how little greenery there was to help absorb / repair all that pollution. Other Rust belt cities have nothing over Fairfax! Fairfax is just as ugly as any Rust belt city I've ever seen! Frankly, the area needs a lot of cleaning up.
The hubs and I joked about him having to drive through the ****hole everyday to go to work! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
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Something to consider in your decision is that living in JoCo is more expensive. Property taxes are more than double and gas is even more expensive. People have also told me that groceries are more expensive as well but I dont know how true that is.
For example, taxes on my house in Clay County is $1550 a year. A house that is equivalent in size and value in Johnson County would be about $3,200.
To me, the taxes seemed very comparable no matter which side of the border ya live on. I didn't see much of a difference between the taxes on homes on either side. But I have heard that if the hubs works in Kansas and lives in Missouri that there is an additional earnings tax in Missouri we'd have to pay.
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Traffic is also worse in JoCo, especially during the day.
Yeah, we definitely noticed that! And there is a lot of highway construction going on in JoCo too.
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Where did you go in Clay County? A large portion of Clay County is right there connected to Platte County and really isnt much different. In fact, most people refer to Clay and Platte county as the same area.
It seemed out in the boons to me. I can't give you an exact location cause we tore up the fact sheet on the house already. I concede that I apparently missed a lot of Clay county that is closer to civilization. We really didn't spend much time there. Apparently we need to check it out more.
The first thing I noticed after walking into the mall was the worn and cracked tile! That tile looks like something straight out of the 1980's! Also there are level changes throughout the mall that's rather strange to me! Why all the steps here and there? Why all the ramps here and there on a given level? Why not have the floor just flat, so as not to be creating trip hazards for the shoppers? I don't know...that just seemed like poor planning to me.
Also what's up with those carpet tiles here and there? For God's sake...if they are gonna use carpet here and there, they should at least make it attractive instead of using the cheapest carpet tiles they could find! I mean...where did they actually get those carpet tiles...at a freakin' Big Lots or something??!???!?!? Or perhaps they got a deal at the Goodwill store? Frankly it looks like they used remnants to decorate that mall! And "used" remnants at that!
Outside in the parking lot, they really need to create more landscaped islands to breakup the massive amount of blacktop and at least give it some semblance of attractiveness! Sealing the blacktop parking lot would also help!
To me...Oak Park mall just really seemed dated and poorly planned. I mean...what's up with having TWO Dillards? LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!! Why not just have one big one? It just seemed very poorly laid out and extremely poorly decorated and dated to me..
I've never noticed those things. I go to malls to get things I need, not study the architecture. I could care less what the floor is made of as long as it is safe to walk on.
If the appearance of where you shop is important, I would either go to Town Center Plaza or Zona Rosa. They were both built in the last few years and everything is new. Independence Center out in Independence is a newly remodeled indoor mall as big as Oak Park if you are looking for that.
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Originally Posted by sparksharp
I'm sorry...but Fairfax is mostly industrial blight! Now...that area may still be active with industry, but it's still blight no matter how ya slice it! There is just no nice way to say this, so I'm just laying it out there very bluntly...it's a ****hole! LOL!
There is no reason why industry can't have some green space on their grounds, or a new coat of paint here and there, or privacy fencing around the many storage yards and so forth. How about putting in new sidewalks? For heavens sake...just because it's an industrial area, that doesn't mean it has to be blight! The trend these days is for industry to go green, and the only effort I saw towards that end was from the GM plant.
All I kept thinking as I watched the smokestacks billowing, was how much pollution they were pumping into the environment and how little greenery there was to help absorb / repair all that pollution. Other Rust belt cities have nothing over Fairfax! Fairfax is just as ugly as any Rust belt city I've ever seen! Frankly, the area needs a lot of cleaning up.
The hubs and I joked about him having to drive through the ****hole everyday to go to work! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! .
Yeah, its a ****hole, it suppose to be.
Why spend money fixing up an area filled with nasty factories? That is a complete waste of taxpayer money. Industrial areas dont need sidewalks and green spaces. The money for those projects are best used in schools and residential areas. KCK isnt exactly loaded with money. KCK is the poorest, most blighted area in all of Kansas City. Every city has an area like that and KCK is ours.
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Originally Posted by sparksharp
It seemed out in the boons to me. I can't give you an exact location cause we tore up the fact sheet on the house already. I concede that I apparently missed a lot of Clay county that is closer to civilization. We really didn't spend much time there. Apparently we need to check it out more.
The only part that is out in the boons is if you go too far north and end up in the Nashua area or the towns north of Liberty. Other than that, they are right there connected to Platte County.
Why spend money fixing up an area filled with nasty factories? That is a complete waste of taxpayer money. Industrial areas dont need sidewalks and green spaces. The money for those projects are best used in schools and residential areas. KCK isnt exactly loaded with money. KCK is the poorest, most blighted area in all of Kansas City. Every city has an area like that and KCK is ours.
Ya know...the individual industries could make some sort of effort on their own dime to be more "green". It's the way of the future and it seems that industry ought to do what they can to be a "good neighbor". Of course...that's just my take on it...I won't have to drive through the ****hole on a daily basis, so I'll probably never, ever go to that part of town again when I move out there. But I did find myself feeling sorry for the hubs having to endure that area every single day! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!
The plant that the hubs works at now in Tennessee is surrounded by pastoral farm land and the plant is set back from the road with grassy hills in front of the plant to mask it from the road. GM actually won several awards for being ecologically minded when they built that plant. There are miles and miles of white fencing surrounding the plant and several antebellum mansions and rock slave walls on the property. There are also several ponds on the property with ducks and geese. The land that GM owns out in front of the plant is farmed on the half by local farmers growing corn. GM bought 2000 acres when they built this plant in Tennessee...that's a lot of land to be ecologically minded with, but it was a priority of construction to be a good neighbor and make the plant fit into the countryside. But alas...that plant is going idle. Lord...the hubs is soooooooo gonna miss that beautiful drive having to drive into the ****hole every day instead! LOLOLOL!
There is no lacking for shopping in any of those areas.
Shawnee has their downtown along Johnson Drive with all kinds of shops.
I am not sure how you missed shopping in Lenexa. That place is basically one large strip mall. If you blink your eyes, you will miss like 10 stores.
I saw some strip malls, but I didn't see any major dept. stores. We did stop in one Walmart in Lenexa to have a look around, which was very small and rather disappointing. A supercenter it wasn't! Just the bare essentials.
Again...perhaps I missed the really good shopping districts in those areas?
I saw some strip malls, but I didn't see any major dept. stores. We did stop in one Walmart in Lenexa to have a look around, which was very small and rather disappointing. A supercenter it wasn't! Just the bare essentials.
Again...perhaps I missed the really good shopping districts in those areas?
Yeah, probably.
As far as that little 1% earnings tax is concerned, that's only if you live within the city limits of Kansas City, Missouri. Doesn't include any of the Missouri suburbs. Still, I don't think it quite offsets the additional taxes found in Kansas. Taxes in Missouri are generally well below the national average.
Then there's the industrial park issue. You can't expect an old-as-dirt industrial region to have the same look of a newer, out-in-the-middle-of- nowhere pastoral factory. Is that the one in Spring Hill?
I agree that a little upkeep even in an industrial section wouldn't kill anybody. Whatever sidewalks they have should be removed. I imagine very few, if any, of the people who work in that area commute by walking.
I agree that the Independence Center mall is your best bet for indoor shopping. It's a really nice mall, but you're not going to see much greenery in the parking lot.
Sorry.
Most of the traditional malls have either been demolished or are mostly empty. Oak Park is in some serious need of repairs and updating (yet still thrives), and the Great Mall of the Great Plains in the not-so-great Olathe is just plain sad, as is that thing on Metcalf.
Metro North and Antioch Center are the other two depressing examples that I can think of, and they're both "supposed" to have some sort of renovation. Crown Center is mostly touristy and specialized, but it's also the only one I can stand to go to on any regular basis.
Oh yeah, that Ward Parkway whatever they call it, is something of a Frankenstein shopping experience. Part indoors, part outdoor strip mall, and there's even a Target on one end. I like to go there to eat at McAllister's Deli.
One thing I actually do like about Johnson County, is the orderliness with which they do things. For the most part, the development began in the northeast and spread out from there, filling in most of the empty spaces. It's overly sprawled, to be sure, but orderly.
It will be interesting, even for myself, to see if I practice what I preach now that I work over there. Live in the same state you work in. So far, I haven't seen any good reason to sell the house in Independence and rush over to Kansas. I mean, paying an extra 30k for a lesser house in a not-any-better kept neighborhood doesn't really appeal to me right now. The commute will surely get old, though. Roeland Park impresses the socks off of me, I must admit, and I would almost make that trade. It could be my second favorite suburb behind North Kansas City. Could be.
Personally, if I were just moving to the area, and worked in Kansas, I'd live in Kansas just to save a little confusion at tax time. I did just that with Missouri, and Missouri has been very good to me.
I can't say I've ever given malls, here or anywhere, much thought. I go out of necessity, but I'm by no means a connoisseur of retail experiences...I'm in, I'm out, it's purely utilitarian.
As far as that little 1% earnings tax is concerned, that's only if you live within the city limits of Kansas City, Missouri. Doesn't include any of the Missouri suburbs.
I didn't know that! Thank you for sharing that tidbit!
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Then there's the industrial park issue. You can't expect an old-as-dirt industrial region to have the same look of a newer, out-in-the-middle-of- nowhere pastoral factory. Is that the one in Spring Hill?
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! You're absolutely correct about the "out in the middle of nowhere" comment! Yes...it's the plant in Spring Hill that I was speaking of. It was a culture shock for me when I moved here from Cincinnati 20 years ago! It seemed as if I was in some sort of time warp and had been transported back in time! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
But hey...the bitter comes with the sweet though. Nothing is ever all good or all bad. The experience was interesting!
I know that comparing the two plants is not fair...it is what it is. The plant the hubs worked at in Cincinnati was land locked and ugly as all get out too! So it's not like I'm picking on Fairfax, I just made an observation of contrasts.
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I agree that a little upkeep even in an industrial section wouldn't kill anybody.
My point exactly! Fairfax is never gonna be any sort of park-like region, but some effort from the industries in the area would go a long way towards cleaning the district up a tad. It's also just being a good neighbor to the people in the nearby communities and Kansas and Missouri folks in general. Not to mention that a clean up may lift the spirits of those who have to work there every day.
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Most of the traditional malls have either been demolished or are mostly empty.
Yeah, the trend is definitely towards open air shopping areas...lifestyle centers and so forth. It's actually my preference to shop in such a place as opposed to an enclosed mall. But...if a mall still exists, at least it could be attractive! Hey...what can I say?...I'm all about the aesthetics of an area!
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One thing I actually do like about Johnson County, is the orderliness with which they do things. For the most part, the development began in the northeast and spread out from there, filling in most of the empty spaces. It's overly sprawled, to be sure, but orderly.
To me, it seemed like a well planned city with a high emphasis on beautification and cleanliness! People seemed very friendly and happy, and that's usually a clue that they enjoy their surroundings and life in general.
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Personally, if I were just moving to the area, and worked in Kansas, I'd live in Kansas just to save a little confusion at tax time. I did just that with Missouri, and Missouri has been very good to me.
Sounds like good advice!
Last edited by sparksharp; 09-09-2009 at 12:22 AM..
I have lived in KC my whole life and I live about 7-8 minutes from Fairfax. I have literally only been there twice in my whole life. My point is, the only people that drive down there is the people that work there. The two times I went down there is for the illegal, late night motorcycle racing that goes on down there.
Indoor malls used to be a huge thing in KC. We have 6 or 7 that thrived for a long time. In the last 10 years, they have died off. The two we have in the Northland are all but dead and are due to renovation if the owners and city governments could actually come to an agreement on what needs to be done.
If you prefer outdoor shopping, I would stick with the Country Club Plaza, Zona Rosa, and Town Center Plaza. Those three areas will have just about everything you will need.
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