Developers hope new restaurant construction is step in revitalizing Country Club Plaza

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City postcards that include a picture of the Plaza will have to make an update to the skyline with the addition of a three-story, multi-restaurant building at 47th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Drake Development LLC has begun pushing around dirt at the future site of Cocina 47 and plans to start shoring up on the property before the end of September.

One of the aspects to set Cocina 47 apart from other area restaurants will be the height of the ceilings, which are all over 16 feet.

“We tried to tailor our building to meet all the needs of today’s modern diners, so it opens our pool up to really anyone in the country,” Drake president Matt Pennington said. “We have the first floor that is still available (to be rented) and quite frankly, at this point, we get to pick who goes in there and that’s pretty lucky in a world of retail and restaurants, but when you design it right, the location is right – we’re getting to have that opportunity.”

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Pennington also built the Jack Henry building next door to Cocina 47 in 2018, and he said believes the best is yet to come for the Plaza.

“We’ve been through the ups and downs, we’ve been through – we hope - the hardest part, and we’re finally seeing that light at the end of the tunnel,” Pennington said. “We’re lucky to be one of the first projects really kind of starting this rebirth on the Plaza.”

The difficult part Pennington mentioned was likely the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist building that used to stand at 47th and Pennsylvania. Some community pushed back against the initial plan.

The church was demolished last month.

Cocina 47 already has leased two of the restaurant spaces. Each floor will terrace back and offer a patio for customers to look out over the Plaza, which could be a memorable vantage point during the Plaza Christmas lighting ceremony.

“Best-case scenario, we’re delivering to tenants by the end of (2025) and hopefully (the tenants) are open here in 2026 before the World Cup,” Pennington said.

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