A Kansas City agency on Friday abated property taxes on two Crossroads Arts District properties.
But the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority's members continued to struggle with the appropriate level of incentives as the district evolves. This debate continues discussions from prior meetings.
"We're changing the rules," PIEA board member Ron Borst said. "I don't know what the rules are."
PIEA Chairman Lester Siegel said the agency is reducing abatements' duration in the Crossroads to follow the direction of Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the City Council. Their edict: give more to pioneers.
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This logic didn't sway board member Charlie Erickson, who said he thought the PIEA ought to stick to what had been its standard abatement, which eliminated property taxes on improvements for 10 years and halved them for an additional 15 years.
Erickson disputed PIEA Executive Director Al Figuly's proposal to pare an abatement on a proposed renovation of a vacant building at 1520 Grand Blvd. to seven years.
"The City Council declared that property blighted," Erickson said. "(Developer Jason Swords) based financing on getting 25 years of abatement. Nothing has changed from when he started."
ARTerra Opening Spurs Call for Continued Downtown Incentives
City Manager Troy Schulte used the grand opening of the $40.7 million ARTerra apartment tower in the Crossroads Wednesday to urge continued public support for downtown revitalization, saying it also helps the overall city.
“All 475,000 people in Kansas City benefit from a strong downtown,” he told the audience gathered in the lobby of the luxury residential project.
“If you don’t have a downtown working, you’ll have a hard time investing in neighborhoods.”
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