Parkade Plaza pizzazz

When Burnam Family Real Estate Holdings purchased Parkade Plaza in 2004, the property resembled a ghost town and likely would have been razed due to its deteriorating state.

Now the building, the first shopping mall in Columbia and located on Business Loop 70 East, boasts more than 80 percent occupancy of tenant space. It’s also in the final phase of a renovation project that will provide a prime, special-events location in the common areas of the plaza.

“I call it the ultimate recycling project,” says Burnam Family president Cris Burnam. “It had hit rock bottom.” Burnam also is president and CEO of Storage Mart.

Despite the risk and financial commitments, Burnam saw a lot of potential. “I thought it was a really underutilized asset.”

Unlike anything else

When Parkade Plaza opened in 1964, its owner and developer, then-Columbia mayor Herb Jeans, had created a structure unmatched in Boone County. Original tenants included anchor store J.C. Penney, Ben Franklin, Kroger and the Flaming Pit restaurant among dozens of others. The shopping mall never closed, but when Burnam purchased the building it only had a 40 percent occupancy rate and a definite need for aesthetic and structural renovations.

In 2005, work on the restoration began immediately. Re-roofing the building alone cost more than $1.5 million. Other updates included an overhaul of the outside of the building and critical updates to the interior, especially the heavily used common areas. Parkade Plaza General Manger Ben Gakinya called these areas “frumpy, threadbare and worn.” Seven years later, phase two of the project was completed in early May.

Kenyan-born Gakinya came to the United States in 2001 and recently received his citizenship. He has been the general manager since 2008. Burnam’s confidence in Gakinya’s abilities to successfully manage Parkade Plaza is apparent. “Ben calls all the shots,” Burnam says. “He does an outstanding job, and I have complete faith in his decisions.”

Parkade Plaza aims to be a unique and multipurpose community center. At 215,000 square feet, it is the second-largest, mix-used building in Boone County — only the Columbia Mall is bigger. Several major tenants occupy large amounts of space including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (50,000 square feet) and Moberly Area Community College’s Columbia Campus (40,000 square feet). H&R Block, Subway and Studio 209 are among the other business in the plaza. All commercial tenants all have outside entrances for their customers.

Although the aesthetics of the plaza—new paint, flooring and fixtures—are the most visible signs of the renovation, many of the “invisible” upgrades are to the building’s infrastructure. Gakinya says the renovation has led to a decrease in the plaza’s carbon footprint..

Space for special events

Burnam praises Gakinya’s use of Parkade Plaza as a destination for special events, “He has been the visionary of this entire process and especially with the special events component that will make Parkade Plaza unique from any building in Boone County,” he says.

In 2008, the Coalition Against Human Trafficking approached Gakinya about hosting an informational and fundraising event. Though the organization lacked the funds, Gakinya listened to the group and offered free space. To complete the circle, the coalition is now a paying tenant at Parkade. “We are always willing to listen,” Gakinya says. “That’s what we are about, creating partnerships.”

With this event, a vision was born for Gakinya to develop a special events space at Parkade. A number of events have been held at the plaza in the past three years: the winter Farmer’s Market, a Ronald McDonald House fund-raiser and the Missouri Beef Association’s annual competition. All have been initiated by word of mouth.

Gakinya has recently started advertising and marketing for what he thinks is the most flexible special events space in the area. “I see the Plaza as a great corporate endeavor by day with a Cinderella option by night,” Gakinya explains. “We offer all AV equipment, PA systems, movable walls, tables — the same as our competitors offer, if not more.”

The Columbia Farmer’s Market moved its winter market to Parkade Plaza this year. Caroline Todd, the director of the market, said both the customers and farmers voiced a lot of enthusiasm. “The customers love the parking and location,” she says. “The farmers love more space for their booths and the space between each booth for customer traffic flow. We will be there again next winter.”

Gakinya touts the flexibility of services as something that separates Parkade’s event space from other spaces in the area. For example, since the center has no vested interest in the food, people can order from anywhere or even make their own. In addition, there is plenty of free parking and an excellent flow for the event space.

“The sky is only limited by the customer’s vision and needs,” Gakinya says. “For that evening, the space is all for the customer with no restrictions.”