Old Mall, New Hopes

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A Columbia landmark, revitalized

With the Burnam family’s investment, Ben Gakinya manages Parkade Center’s revival

When Dean Sherrill first moved Midwest Rare Coins into the Parkade Center 13 years ago, the complex had long ceased to be the hotspot it once was as Columbia’s first shopping mall.
“There was a time when I first moved here when it was like a ghost mall,” Sherrill said.
His store is one of the longest-serving tenants at Parkade, which has changed hands twice since Sherrill arrived. After the Burnam family, owners of Storage Mart, bought the property in 2004, the historic shopping center’s revival began. “They’ve made a big difference,” Sherrill said.
Parkade Center opened in 1965, and at the time it was the largest shopping center in mid-Missouri: a 215,000-square-foot building on a 19-acre lot with an enormous parking area. Parkade housed big names such as JCPenney, Ben Franklin and Kroger Foods. Local art shows made for a lively atmosphere. Located on the Business Loop right next to a brand-new Interstate 70, it became a regional shopping destination.

Over the years, however, offices began replacing shops that had been lured away to newer retail centers. When Columbia Mall opened in 1985, Parkade never quite recovered. The U.S. Department of Agriculture replaced JCPenney as Parkade’s largest tenant. Plans to expand the center’s area by 30 percent and build a two-story parking garage to compete with the new mall didn’t materialize. All that remains from the heydays are enlarged black and white photographs on the walls depicting bustling crowds in 1960s and ’70s attire.
Forty percent of the space was vacant when the Burnam family purchased Parkade.
Weyen Burnam said the building was well constructed, but it needed a facelift to modernize its 1960s look. About $5 million worth of remodeling, a few coats of paint and local art to decorate the walls freshened the building’s appearance. The shopping center began filling up.
A restaurant moved in, and a coffee kiosk opened, and during a recession that stifled commercial activity, they kept coming: an auto parts store, a discount retailer and a children’s clothing store.

This spring, the vacancy rate will drop to 10 percent, and hundreds of college students will soon crowd the hallways. Last fall, Parkade signed its largest tenant in more than a decade: Moberly Area Community College. With MACC included, the Parkade Center now has 55 total tenants.
“It took a little bit of vision but mostly just hard work,” Burnam said. “The MACC sort of completes our transformation.”
The improvements under the Burnam ownership have not been lost on the tenants.
“Fresh coat of paint on everything, new carpet everywhere, efforts to make the place look nicer,” said Terry Stiles, owner of TLC Moving and a tenant since 2002. “The other owners weren’t going to do anything.”
Gloria Shim, owner of the Korean restaurant Kojaba, said the facilities and management have been wonderful.
“They take care of everything — parking, security,” she said. “When I call the manager, he comes right away. I even have his house number.”
Benjamin Gakinya became building manager in April 2008 and strived to create an environment where people want to shop and work. He got local artists to hang their work in the halls and arranged for more greenery to be placed near the entrances. Before the Christmas shopping season started, he spent 18 hours making and hanging decorations from the ceiling.

In December, Gakinya helped put together an art show at Parkade with the Columbia Art League, which brought back the old mall’s tradition. Now, he said the art league is set to hold one each year. On Jan. 17, the 80 or so vendors comprising the Missouri Wedding Connection will hold their annual Winter Wedding Gala at Parkade.
“They’re reviving a place that used to be the place,” Gakinya said.
Gakinya is always looking for new tenants, but he said keeping existing tenants happy is more important.
“Getting a new lease is great, but retaining tenants is even better because you don’t have to work as hard,” Gakinya said. “It’s all about relationships, and I’m good at relationships.”

Keeping tenants happy recently has been a bit more work than usual. Although the building is no longer the busy hub it was 40 years ago, the halls are far from empty. Stores such as Sherrill’s and Yancey Auto Parts have plenty of customers. There’s even a few mall walkers. And the daily construction to prepare the 37,000-square-foot space for MACC is a constant reminder that Parkade will soon be much busier.
Although many tenants are excited about the increased traffic the nearly 2,000 students will bring to Parkade, there’s also been — and will be more — “growing pains” because of the MACC lease, Gakinya said. “I think everyone’s just waiting to see.”
Julean Evans, co-owner of the children’s clothing store Harmony’s Treasure Box, said she expects the college to make business even better than it has been since her store opened in May.
“We are very enthusiastic about Moberly Area Community College coming in,” she said. “We cater to parents, and we understand a lot of parents go (to MACC).”
Apex Financial had to move so MACC could fit. Managing Partner Rick Henderson didn’t seem to mind.
“How can you stand in the way of something that’s going to give that much value to the area?” he asked.
Shim plans to expand her Korean restaurant’s menu to cater to the students. Sherrill thinks his sales of scrap gold might go up. Gakinya is looking for another restaurant to lease space.
“We think a sub shop would kill in this place,” he said.
But other tenants are more anxious about the effect of MACC’s move.
Boster Photo Kicks had to move to accommodate the college, and Operations Manager Teresa Potts said the new space is too small.
“We’re just on top of each other in here,” she said.
Stiles is worried about the parking situation. He’s already reserved parking spots for his employees and plans to defend them from students and shoppers.
“I think they’ll park in them, but I think I’ll tow ‘em,” he said.
On the first day back from the holiday break, a confused driver was already inquiring where his car was after Stiles had it towed.
And the noisy remodeling during the day has been disturbing tenants. (Gakinya said paying overtime for construction after hours would have been too expensive.)
Despite the hassle, everyone’s happy to see the old mall getting used.
“I’m glad to see it’s not an old abandoned shopping mall,” Potts said.
After MACC moves in, Burnam said there’s still work to be done: roof repairs, parking lot repaving, landscaping changes and lighting updates. But the major work is finished, he said. “It’s been a great adventure for us.”
And after all that, does the family plan to flip the property?
“Anybody that falls in love with their real estate is not a true real estate investor,” he said. “Everything’s for sale if the price is right.”
But Burnam said the family is not actively marketing it and expects to hold onto the center long-term. They’re comfortable with the tenants, and the investment has exceeded expectations, he said. “Hopefully it stays a part of the Burnam legacy in this town and returns to some of its former glory.”