Kansas City's urban core undergoes an economic rebirth

Tax increment financing and transportation development districts are being widely used primarily in retail projects to help offset high infrastructure and parking costs. A TIF involves the reallocation of certain real estate taxes and sales taxes generated at the project to pay for eligible costs (i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSt. Louis daily record
Main Author Snyder, John L
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published St. Louis, Mo BridgeTower Media Holding Company 02.06.2006
Subjects
Costs
Economic development
Incentives
Infrastructure
Redevelopment
Site planning
Zoning ordinances
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Summary:Tax increment financing and transportation development districts are being widely used primarily in retail projects to help offset high infrastructure and parking costs. A TIF involves the reallocation of certain real estate taxes and sales taxes generated at the project to pay for eligible costs (including utilities, parking and infrastructure). A TDD involves the implementation of an additional sales tax (between .5-1 percent) for goods and services purchased at the project and may be used for similar eligible costs. Because parking is so valuable (and scarce) in the urban core, many developments involve structured parking, which drives up the cost. All of these variables are taken into consideration when putting together an economic incentive package to make the project economically feasible. Lastly, with the increased competition between Kansas, Missouri and other jurisdictions to attract businesses to the region, aggressive economic incentive packages are being offered to lure businesses to Kansas City. These incentives increase the complexity of the transaction. Companies want to locate downtown (such as H&R Block and HOK); people want to live downtown (in places such as the WallStreet Tower and One Park Place); and retailers want to operate where a large number of people live and work (as evidenced by the recent success of the Power & Light District). How long will the current development boom in the urban core last? The current momentum for downtown redevelopment is in place, a myriad of economic incentives are being offered in the urban core and developers, land planners and municipalities are learning to think more creatively when dealing with complex sites. All indications are that the boom will continue for many years to come.