Kansas City things

[Phil Titola]

anyone willing to spend non-TIF money developing that dilapidated block should be welcomed with open arms
years from now this will be looked upon as the keystone moment of the "new westport" and i'm glad that the NIMBYs were told to stfu
the current QT is an embarrassment to the city

I don't disagree with you but it would be nice if QT didn't force the "WE NEED GEN 3 STORE EVERYWHERE" and worked with the city to take down the real eyesore on the corner. 

[star seed 7]

Qt is taking over the biggest eyesore tho.....

[star seed 7]

Or maybe slyin' Phil thinks that berbiglia building is landmark architecture

[The Big Train]

Send a big QT to MHK plz TIA

[mocat]

Seems pretty self explanatory

have you ever seen a gas station with the pumps across the street from the main building? 

[star seed 7]

Yes

[pissclams]

anyone willing to spend non-TIF money developing that dilapidated block should be welcomed with open arms
years from now this will be looked upon as the keystone moment of the "new westport" and i'm glad that the NIMBYs were told to stfu
the current QT is an embarrassment to the city

I don't disagree with you but it would be nice if QT didn't force the "WE NEED GEN 3 STORE EVERYWHERE" and worked with the city to take down the real eyesore on the corner. 

i don't really understand this post.
the current location outgrew its size 15 years ago.  the company is willing to improve the area in which it sits while expanding which, most importantly, will increase its revenue and the taxes it pays the city.  all on its own dime, the way it should be done.

i really don't give two shits what the renters living in the dumps behind it or their slumlords want. for the past 20 years since i've lived in the west plaza no one has spent a dime developing anything along westport road with the exception of the chicken nuggets joint.  that's no exaggeration.

and yeah when the fucktard bitch from the west plaza association stands in the way of this all in an effort to get her name in the paper, she can eff the eff right off.  qt shouldn't have even acknowledged the bitch. 

[Phil Titola]

anyone willing to spend non-TIF money developing that dilapidated block should be welcomed with open arms
years from now this will be looked upon as the keystone moment of the "new westport" and i'm glad that the NIMBYs were told to stfu
the current QT is an embarrassment to the city

I don't disagree with you but it would be nice if QT didn't force the "WE NEED GEN 3 STORE EVERYWHERE" and worked with the city to take down the real eyesore on the corner. 

i don't really understand this post.
the current location outgrew its size 15 years ago.  the company is willing to improve the area in which it sits while expanding which, most importantly, will increase its revenue and the taxes it pays the city.  all on its own dime, the way it should be done.

i really don't give two shits what the renters living in the dumps behind it or their slumlords want. for the past 20 years since i've lived in the west plaza no one has spent a dime developing anything along westport road with the exception of the chicken nuggets joint.  that's no exaggeration.

and yeah when the fucktard bitch from the west plaza association stands in the way of this all in an effort to get her name in the paper, she can eff the eff right off.  qt shouldn't have even acknowledged the bitch.

I respect your opinion as a neighborhood resident and totally get the frustration of that stretch of westport road stagnating at best...I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman.  We have neighborhood design plans created with residents input for a reason...and that's to guide development standards for the area.  Part of my point was it would be nice if they conformed to the neighborhood plan and worked with the city to get the land on the corner which is a much bigger eyesore and probably will never be renovated now.  Maybe that space wasn't big enough but change your design.  They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

It's not about giving a crap about what may be behind it right now (and I don't really either based on what I've seen from those places)...it's designing our city for decades in the future.  Making super blocks (vacating streets) is partly why westport traffic is a dumpster fire right now.  I would also say this huge QT isn't going to make that land behind it more desirable. 

The west plaza neighborhood association had reported 800 signatures against this initial plan....that's why the city was listening...it wasn't about one annoying loudmouth, I couldn't give a crap about a neighborhood president alone...we've seen more than our fair share of those in this city trying to NIMBY away everything.

[Phil Titola]

Lastly I'll add I've taken interest in this and the Westport privatization as I think giving away public assets to private business to do what they will is a very very bad decision.

[pissclams]

anyone willing to spend non-TIF money developing that dilapidated block should be welcomed with open arms
years from now this will be looked upon as the keystone moment of the "new westport" and i'm glad that the NIMBYs were told to stfu
the current QT is an embarrassment to the city

I don't disagree with you but it would be nice if QT didn't force the "WE NEED GEN 3 STORE EVERYWHERE" and worked with the city to take down the real eyesore on the corner. 

i don't really understand this post.
the current location outgrew its size 15 years ago.  the company is willing to improve the area in which it sits while expanding which, most importantly, will increase its revenue and the taxes it pays the city.  all on its own dime, the way it should be done.

i really don't give two shits what the renters living in the dumps behind it or their slumlords want. for the past 20 years since i've lived in the west plaza no one has spent a dime developing anything along westport road with the exception of the chicken nuggets joint.  that's no exaggeration.

and yeah when the fucktard bitch from the west plaza association stands in the way of this all in an effort to get her name in the paper, she can eff the eff right off.  qt shouldn't have even acknowledged the bitch.

I respect your opinion as a neighborhood resident and totally get the frustration of that stretch of westport road stagnating at best...I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman.  We have neighborhood design plans created with residents input for a reason...and that's to guide development standards for the area.  Part of my point was it would be nice if they conformed to the neighborhood plan and worked with the city to get the land on the corner which is a much bigger eyesore and probably will never be renovated now.  Maybe that space wasn't big enough but change your design.  They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

It's not about giving a crap about what may be behind it right now (and I don't really either based on what I've seen from those places)...it's designing our city for decades in the future.  Making super blocks (vacating streets) is partly why westport traffic is a dumpster fire right now.  I would also say this huge QT isn't going to make that land behind it more desirable. 

The west plaza neighborhood association had reported 800 signatures against this initial plan....that's why the city was listening...it wasn't about one annoying loudmouth, I couldn't give a crap about a neighborhood president alone...we've seen more than our fair share of those in this city trying to NIMBY away everything.

you're missing the bigger point.  nothing has happened for decades.  there's no indication that anything will happen for decades.  zero development and the city knows nothing about developing anything outside of the downtown/crossroads area, they've left the rest of the city to ourselves.   the exact reason why you're seeing areas like westport recently making the moves that they have is because of that exact reason. forgive me for telling the city to shove their "neighborhood design plan" up their collective asses.

along comes QT with a Brinks truck loaded with development dollars and there's people getting in the way of it.  it's all so kcmo.


and westport traffic isn't a dumpster fire, it actually flows rather well with the exception of the idiotic westport road/43rd street engineering clusterfuck

[Phil Titola]

anyone willing to spend non-TIF money developing that dilapidated block should be welcomed with open arms
years from now this will be looked upon as the keystone moment of the "new westport" and i'm glad that the NIMBYs were told to stfu
the current QT is an embarrassment to the city

I don't disagree with you but it would be nice if QT didn't force the "WE NEED GEN 3 STORE EVERYWHERE" and worked with the city to take down the real eyesore on the corner. 

i don't really understand this post.
the current location outgrew its size 15 years ago.  the company is willing to improve the area in which it sits while expanding which, most importantly, will increase its revenue and the taxes it pays the city.  all on its own dime, the way it should be done.

i really don't give two shits what the renters living in the dumps behind it or their slumlords want. for the past 20 years since i've lived in the west plaza no one has spent a dime developing anything along westport road with the exception of the chicken nuggets joint.  that's no exaggeration.

and yeah when the fucktard bitch from the west plaza association stands in the way of this all in an effort to get her name in the paper, she can eff the eff right off.  qt shouldn't have even acknowledged the bitch.

I respect your opinion as a neighborhood resident and totally get the frustration of that stretch of westport road stagnating at best...I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman.  We have neighborhood design plans created with residents input for a reason...and that's to guide development standards for the area.  Part of my point was it would be nice if they conformed to the neighborhood plan and worked with the city to get the land on the corner which is a much bigger eyesore and probably will never be renovated now.  Maybe that space wasn't big enough but change your design.  They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

It's not about giving a crap about what may be behind it right now (and I don't really either based on what I've seen from those places)...it's designing our city for decades in the future.  Making super blocks (vacating streets) is partly why westport traffic is a dumpster fire right now.  I would also say this huge QT isn't going to make that land behind it more desirable. 

The west plaza neighborhood association had reported 800 signatures against this initial plan....that's why the city was listening...it wasn't about one annoying loudmouth, I couldn't give a crap about a neighborhood president alone...we've seen more than our fair share of those in this city trying to NIMBY away everything.

you're missing the bigger point.  nothing has happened for decades.  there's no indication that anything will happen for decades.  zero development and the city knows nothing about developing anything outside of the downtown/crossroads area, they've left the rest of the city to ourselves.   the exact reason why you're seeing areas like westport recently making the moves that they have is because of that exact reason. forgive me for telling the city to shove their "neighborhood design plan" up their collective asses.

No I totally understand your point here.  Other Westport "moves" (developments) announced lately outside of this one fit the neighborhood plan exactly.  I totally support all of them.

along comes QT with a Brinks truck loaded with development dollars and there's people getting in the way of it.  it's all so kcmo.

A gas station isn't a brinks truck of dollars.  One could argue it's a poor land use given the direction of gas cars in this country.

and westport traffic isn't a dumpster fire, it actually flows rather well with the exception of the idiotic westport road/43rd street engineering clusterfuck

Super blocks have driven cars to Westport Rd when roads NW/SE of it have been blocked off not to mention cross streets which feed into the cause of the engineering clusterfuck.

[Belvis Noland]

I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman  . . .They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

I mean, it's a gas station for crying out loud.  Every QT I've been in (Gen3) is identical.  Googled the downtown Atlanta store and it's not even a gas station.  It's a prototype gasless C-Store, basically a small grocery store.   

[star seed 7]

I think Phil has a vision of Westport that it's just like downtown, completely disregarding that residential neighborhoods don't want every street to be a major thoroughfare, and that's why traffic is pushed to roads like 43rd and 39th

[Phil Titola]

I think Phil has a vision of Westport that it's just like downtown, completely disregarding that residential neighborhoods don't want every street to be a major thoroughfare, and that's why traffic is pushed to roads like 43rd and 39th

Not at all. Road plan is definitely part of neighborhood development plan.

[Phil Titola]

I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman  . . .They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

I mean, it's a gas station for crying out loud.  Every QT I've been in (Gen3) is identical.  Googled the downtown Atlanta store and it's not even a gas station.  It's a prototype gasless C-Store, basically a small grocery store.

No I totally get they want to out the same store in every place. It's easy and low cost of design. The role of the city and neighborhood isn't to just accept that. Want to do business with us....work with us....design something that fits within the context of the location.

[star seed 7]

Which is exactly what they did

[pissclams]

development downtown couldn't be anymore cookie cutter if they tried
the new hyatt, oh la la! 

[Phil Titola]

Which is exactly what they did

Agreed but QT gave very little. Still got the city to give them a city asset and didn't compromise their store design or location on the site ....both against the neighborhood plan... really my only concerns going forward with other developments.

I love me some QT and sure it will be nicer for me to use. 

[Phil Titola]

development downtown couldn't be anymore cookie cutter if they tried
the new hyatt, oh la la!

ChodeLoews is gross...but it fits established master planning and doesn't give roads to developers. Guess I'll count my blessings.

[Belvis Noland]

I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman  . . .They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

I mean, it's a gas station for crying out loud.  Every QT I've been in (Gen3) is identical.  Googled the downtown Atlanta store and it's not even a gas station.  It's a prototype gasless C-Store, basically a small grocery store.

No I totally get they want to out the same store in every place. It's easy and low cost of design. The role of the city and neighborhood isn't to just accept that. Want to do business with us....work with us....design something that fits within the context of the location.

what's your design idea to make it better?  smaller, less parking, less pumps?  maybe turn it into a mixed-use coffee shop/community workshop garden? 

[Phil Titola]

I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman  . . .They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

I mean, it's a gas station for crying out loud.  Every QT I've been in (Gen3) is identical.  Googled the downtown Atlanta store and it's not even a gas station.  It's a prototype gasless C-Store, basically a small grocery store.

No I totally get they want to out the same store in every place. It's easy and low cost of design. The role of the city and neighborhood isn't to just accept that. Want to do business with us....work with us....design something that fits within the context of the location.

what's your design idea to make it better?  smaller, less parking, less pumps?  maybe turn it into a mixed-use coffee shop/community workshop garden?

Artisanal man bun purveyor

[Belvis Noland]

No I totally get they want to out the same store in every place. It's easy and low cost of design.

also, QT is an interesting case-study in how store design impacts sales.  The Gen3 QT store design isn't motivated simpy by cost and ease - there's a pretty sophisticated logic underlying the design.  The attached article kind of touches on it.  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/quiktrips-investment-in-retail-employees-pays-off

In 2010, its by-store profit was almost double that of the top quartile of competitors. . . . QuikTrip systematically makes operating decisions that are good for employees, customers, and profits, she says. One principle is simplicity. Instead of customizing stores according to market, QuikTrip uses the same store layout everywhere, along with limited product variety.  The reduced complexity that results from these decisions leads to higher employee productivity and fewer errors," says Ton. This standardization of stores and products also provides flexibility: QuikTrip can easily transfer employees and managers from one store to another."
 
although the article doesn't discuss it, there have been other case studies detailing the ingress/egress, layout of coffee dispensers, bathrooms, etc. and how it all integrates for a better customer experience.  Long story short, with retailers like QT, their store design is their brand and their competitive advantage. 

[Phil Titola]

I still think we as a city should still not just bend over at take whatever BS same design they put in the middle of nowhere at 175th & Lackman  . . .They changed their design in downtown Atlanta.

I mean, it's a gas station for crying out loud.  Every QT I've been in (Gen3) is identical.  Googled the downtown Atlanta store and it's not even a gas station.  It's a prototype gasless C-Store, basically a small grocery store.

No I totally get they want to out the same store in every place. It's easy and low cost of design. The role of the city and neighborhood isn't to just accept that. Want to do business with us....work with us....design something that fits within the context of the location.

what's your design idea to make it better?  smaller, less parking, less pumps?  maybe turn it into a mixed-use coffee shop/community workshop garden?

Building to front corner of the lot which could be enlarged some and be big win for pedestrians. Keep same number of pumps they have now (pumps aren't what drive their business according to their own testimony. More parking spaces. Don't let a fuax public street dissect the lot by using city leverage to take down that POS land owner in the corner who is letting that property rot.

[Phil Titola]

No I totally get they want to out the same store in every place. It's easy and low cost of design.

also, QT is an interesting case-study in how store design impacts sales.  The Gen3 QT store design isn't motivated simpy by cost and ease - there's a pretty sophisticated logic underlying the design.  The attached article kind of touches on it.  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/quiktrips-investment-in-retail-employees-pays-off

In 2010, its by-store profit was almost double that of the top quartile of competitors. . . . QuikTrip systematically makes operating decisions that are good for employees, customers, and profits, she says. One principle is simplicity. Instead of customizing stores according to market, QuikTrip uses the same store layout everywhere, along with limited product variety.  The reduced complexity that results from these decisions leads to higher employee productivity and fewer errors," says Ton. This standardization of stores and products also provides flexibility: QuikTrip can easily transfer employees and managers from one store to another."
 
although the article doesn't discuss it, there have been other case studies detailing the ingress/egress, layout of coffee dispensers, bathrooms, etc. and how it all integrates for a better customer experience.  Long story short, with retailers like QT, their store design is their brand and their competitive advantage.

That's great for QT and it's shareholders.

[pissclams]

the city would be lucky to rid itself of that street,  along with the slums that line it it's yet another engineering clusterfuck as it intersects with roanoke