Ward Parkway Center management seeks CID to fund renovations

The managers of Ward Parkway Center, which experienced its heyday during the booming mall culture of the 1990s, are seeking Community Improvement District funding to help revitalize the facility.

RED Development LLC has filed a CID proposal with Kansas City, Mo., calling for a 1 percent sales tax to raise revenue for demolition and improvements. The mall’s owners have developed a renovation plan with a projected cost of just under $25 million. The plans call for the destruction of the old Dillard’s store on the southwest end of the facility that has been vacant for two years.

After years of declining tenant interest, the center has gotten a recent boost from the news Trader Joe’s would be opening a store at Ward Parkway later this year. The managers cite the opening of a Five Guys restaurant at the mall as a recent victory, as well.