Snobby Plaza Shoppers Appeased?

Whew, catastrophe averted!

A Kansas City business was almost free to build the building they wanted, where they wanted (shown at right), right here in KC, instead of moving elsewhere. But a ground swell of protests stopped them from tearing down a small part of the Country Club Plaza called the "Balcony building." Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the business in question, a successful law firm, quickly redesigned their new office building to include the local architecture on site.

The protests seemed like a gamble to me. I like the Plaza (especially the Apple store there) but I recognize the risk of Kansas City businesses choosing to relocate to another city rather than deal with local restrictions and taxes. Fortunately, the law firm stayed at the Plaza and probably made everyone happy-ish (see second pic). But the unintended consequence is that the Plaza will probably be made development-unfriendly by protecting it as an "historic landmark."

I hope that Kansas City isn't so nit-picky that we drive away businesses and the jobs they offer.