Zona Rosa's New Owner Bought a Comeback Already in Progress

On Friday, Oct. 16, Zona Rosa held Adult Sips & Treats, a costume-friendly evening of trick-or-treating for grown-ups from 4 to 8 p.m. Thirteen shops signed on as stops. The list included Annie Austen, The Babe Standard, both Boutique Collective locations, Crafty Claw Creations, Fifth & Emery Frozen Yogurt and Chocolate, F45 Training, Herbs n' Harlem, Mochinut, Restore Hyper Wellness, The Petite Frame, Shop Len and Team Cocktail. None of the big anchors were on it.

That list is a good way to understand the center a Florida company paid $63.3 million for in September. The national chains on the lease roll helped make the deal. The smaller tenants and the event calendar are a big part of why the place felt busy when the new owner showed up, and the new CEO says those are what he wants to build on.

A summer of filling empty spaces

Months before any sale was announced, Zona Rosa was already refilling storefronts. Many of the new tenants moved into spaces left behind by retailers that had closed or moved on. The Platte County Landmark's July roundup listed most of them, and later coverage from KMBC and Fox4 filled in the opening dates.

The Boutique Collective is the story to follow here. Local entrepreneur Jennifer Reichert started The Blossom in May as a 3,763-square-foot shop with 15 Kansas City-area vendors, including several Northland brands. A month later, she opened a second location. According to the Landmark, The Willow came from the first shop's success and a need for more vendor space. It fills 5,660 square feet in the old Altar'd State spot and carries a completely different vendor mix, including specialty foods. A local owner opening a second store in the same center about a month after the first is a bet on Zona Rosa's foot traffic.

The chains fit a similar pattern. Urban Planet, a Canadian retailer aimed at shoppers ages 16 to 24, moved into the old Forever 21 space. The Landmark notes that Forever 21 is one of Urban Planet's affiliated brands in Canada, which makes the space a natural fit. Burlington took over the old Staples. These are value-focused stores going into spaces that were already built and ready.

The buyer walked into that momentum

CTO Realty Growth announced the purchase on Sept. 14. The publicly traded company specializes in open-air retail and mixed-use properties. Zona Rosa is its first purchase in the Kansas City market. Kansas City Magazine reported that the deal covers the full 768,000-square-foot, 64-acre center at about $82 per square foot.

When the deal closed, KCTV reported that Zona Rosa was 67% leased. Its anchors were Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Burlington and DSW. Burlington had been open for less than four weeks when it was counted as one of the five anchors. That's how recent the summer's leasing was when the property changed hands.

The 67% number sets the bar for everything CTO has said since. CEO John Albright told KMBC the goal is to reach 97% or 98% occupancy, according to Kansas City Magazine. Albright also told the magazine, "There's no plan to boot anybody out." The company says the property includes about 10 acres of land ready for new development and roughly 100,000 square feet of underused space. It calls Zona Rosa a "long-term, multi-phase revitalization opportunity."

The most telling comment came in Albright's interview with Fox4. He said the company is looking at fitness, hospitality, events, more shopping and more restaurants. Then he described what he wants to keep:

"We'll just try to even build upon that, that success of, you know, kind of the event coordinating and bringing in the community to really be a big part of the community and key fabric to the area."

In that same interview, Albright said the community "will start seeing results fairly quick" and that he hopes to have leasing announcements in the future. KCTV reported that CTO has hired JLL to lead leasing and brought in a hospitality broker to explore whether a hotel could work at Zona Rosa. For now, the hotel is something being explored, not a confirmed project. Kansas City Magazine reported in early October that a detailed renovation plan has not been made public.

Why the event spaces matter

The calendar Albright praised depends on physical spaces that only exist because of an earlier rebuild. Zona Rosa opened in 2004 with a goal of feeling like a small downtown, with streets, sidewalks and public gathering spots. Kansas City Magazine notes that the center struggled after the Great Recession. In 2018, a new ownership group brought in Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. A multimillion-dollar redevelopment followed. It tore out some retail space and created public areas that now host winter ice skating, summer concerts and kids' soccer games.

This year's leasing grew up around those spaces. The Willow sits next to Central Park, which the Landmark calls one of Zona Rosa's most popular attractions. The Petite Frame looks out over the Five Four pickleball courts. The smaller tenants that took part in Adult Sips & Treats are also the shops that count most on people walking from one store to the next.

KSHB spoke with Lindsey Fliehs, owner of Team Cocktail, who has run her business at Zona Rosa for just over a year. "Obviously foot traffic and people coming is the way that we make money, right?" she said. She has watched businesses leave and others arrive, and she told the station that what fills those storefronts matters. She also said she and her team "actually re-signed our lease knowing that this was going to happen." She called the sale "a great opportunity," and she renewed her lease knowing it was coming.

What's next on the Zona Rosa calendar

The next couple of months mix the leasing story with the event calendar:

1. MINISO, November. The lifestyle retailer, known for affordable home goods, beauty products and plush toys inspired by Japanese design and pop culture, is set to open at 7220 NW 86th Place next to Helzberg.
2. Holiday Lighting Ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 21, 3 to 6 p.m., North Park. Saint Luke's North Hospital presents this year's event, and Zona Rosa added an extra hour. Northland elementary school choirs start at 3 p.m. Local bands play holiday music on the main stage, and Kerrigan Arnold and Shane Konicki of KCTV5's My KC Live! will emcee. New this year are train rides, artificial snow, a snowball fight with 1,000 synthetic snowballs, and a giant holiday coloring wall. Santa arrives at 6 p.m. to switch on the lights and the Grand Christmas tree.
3. New leasing announcements, date not set. Albright told Fox4 he hopes to have announcements in the future, but no new tenants have been named. JLL's leasing team will market spaces from 1,500 to 50,000 square feet, plus pad sites.

Full details on the lighting ceremony are on Zona Rosa's event page.

New stores went into the old Forever 21, Staples and Altar'd State spaces before the sale was announced. The new owner's own target of 97% or 98% occupancy shows how much space is still open. The first group of new tenants will show whether CTO keeps leasing the way this summer went, with local shops and event-driven businesses next to the anchors, or goes in a different direction.

Crystal Hawkins grew up in the Northland and watches projects like this the way a builder would, paying attention to which spaces get rebuilt, which get re-leased and what that means for the streets around them. If you live near Barry Road and want to talk through how Zona Rosa's next phase could affect your home or your plans, Crystal Homes KC is happy to help. Schedule a Free Consultation.