Kansas, Missouri battle over companies

[macnw]

Doesn't Kansas need to feel the stinging pain of losing jobs once in a while? Just to let them no Missouri is not totally out of the game. Even if Missouri can bring new jobs to the area, what prevents Kansas from poaching them?

[aknowledgeableperson]

and bringing those companies downtown.

And if those companies don't want to go downtown, ignore them?

Very shortsighted.

[Zorobabel]

and bringing those companies downtown.

And if those companies don't want to go downtown, ignore them?

Very shortsighted.

If they don't want to go downtown, they don't have to. I was not referring to Freightquote.com (I am against poaching on both sides of the border, whether it goes to any downtown or not), but to kboish's rumor.

[KCPowercat]

No incentives not bringing jobs to the urban core. Yael echoes this

Bringing jobs to the MO side with these level of incentives does nothing positive for KC or MO. Idiotic.

[aknowledgeableperson]

It does provide positives for south KC. Or does that area not exist to you? If the incentives are the same it does not matter where the company goes.

[smh]

It does provide positives for south KC. Or does that area not exist to you? If the incentives are the same it does not matter where the company goes.

Not true. Bringing them downtown promotes goals of increased density and centralized development.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Only if those are your goals though. Doubt if those are the goals of most KCMO pols and economic development people.

[Highlander]

It does provide positives for south KC. Or does that area not exist to you? If the incentives are the same it does not matter where the company goes.

It doesn't provide south KC with anything. There's not a critical mass to support anything. That's why central city and nodal development matters and not much else.

[aknowledgeableperson]

It provides the area with close-by jobs, Provides nearby businesses with customers, going from Ward Parkway Center out to the 135th St area almost all of the businesses are on the MO side.

[brewcrew1000]

I've also heard rumors of the EDC getting close to landing a major tech firm DT....nothing to do with the border war, but just thought i'd stir the rumor pot.

Hopefully it's not this company, lol Curt Shilling gets a 75 million loan from Rhode Island and runs the company into the ground laying off all the works then he screws over the state by missing loan payments
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in ... 27485.html

[Highlander]

I've also heard rumors of the EDC getting close to landing a major tech firm DT....nothing to do with the border war, but just thought i'd stir the rumor pot.

Hopefully it's not this company, lol Curt Shilling gets a 75 million loan from Rhode Island and runs the company into the ground laying off all the works then he screws over the state by missing loan payments
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in ... 27485.html

Or this company... http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/24/36 ... ttoms.html

Good for the east bottoms though.

[KCPowercat]

Only if those are your goals though. Doubt if those are the goals of most KCMO pols and economic development people.

Those are the goals of KCMO, not only those on this site. To fund this suburb growth with huge tax breaks is wasted funds given their flexibility to "jump back" to the other side and no infrastructure built there (transportation, roads, etc). Building there only costs the city more to maintain. Eco Dev people are simply looking to add "jobs added" to their resume....

Same business coming from Denver, CO with that many jobs...probably a good use of incentives...company from 14 miles away....idiotic....and partly why we as the city of KCMO are in the mess we are now in.


All for JoCo spending this money to keep them though....eventually their residents will realize how stupid their leaders have been.

But feel free to provide hard projections as to why this would be a good endeavor for KCMO to entertain.

[macnw]

Company citing they need eight parking spaces per 1000 sq ft of office space.What a joke. Go back to your cornfield in JOCO. I'm glad they are not going downtown, that's all we need is another huge surface parking lot.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Those are the goals of KCMO,
...
But feel free to provide hard projections as to why this would be a good endeavor for KCMO to entertain.

Did those goals appear after Applebee's?

The projections will be provided when the incentives are approved, furnished by whomever does it. So go question it when it goes to council.

[GRID]

Economic border war continues - KansasCity Business Journal


This company is up to no good and KCMO needs to avoid it like the plague. KCMO and Missouri need to save their resources and use them to bring new jobs to the metro or to reward loyal local businesses by helping them grow or redevelop an area of the city that really needs it.

DO NOT offer this company tens of millions of dollars, free office buildings etc to move some call center from Kansas to KCMO. I understand you want to "be in the game" and "send another message". But it's just not worth it.

You won't be able to to compete anyway because Kansas will offer incentives to build in highly desirable office parks in affluent zip codes. KCMO, you can not and should not compete with that. When you start offering these types of incentives for Executive Hills East, the Plaza and Ward Parkway, you only cheapen the value of all the other leases in the area and make existing companies think twice about getting a piece of the action. Not to mention, it dilutes any ability for those incentives to work as they are intended (to redevelop areas or build in an urban environment where it's more expensive).

If this company wants to go the the Bannister Mall project or Downtown, then bend over for them just enough to break even (don't pull a Kansas 47 million for 350 employees deal no matter what). If they don't want to go downtown or to a redevelopment project, then offer some basic property tax abatements and if that's not enough, then tell them were to go (or stay). I'm sure many of those employees live in Missouri and already and pay income taxes. Why give that back to the company that will probably move again in five years anyway?

Don't do it. This is destroying metro KC's corporate tax base, subsidizing sprawl, spreading blight and creating so much resentment among area leaders that KC is never going to recover from this nonsense and become a productive regional metropolitan area. If you do this, it will only give Kansas an excuse to go after more KCMO companies and KCMO has more than call centers to choose from.

Let Kansas continue to be the bad guys and get to work on bringing companies to downtown or other areas of the city that really need incentives.

[KC-wildcat]

It does provide positives for south KC. Or does that area not exist to you?

south KC does not exist to me. 100% serious. I want to see the urban core thrive, but haven't ever and won't ever give two shits about other parts of KC.

[KCPowercat]

Those are the goals of KCMO,
...
But feel free to provide hard projections as to why this would be a good endeavor for KCMO to entertain.

Did those goals appear after Applebee's?

No. Why keep making the same mistake?

[Pork Chop]

Economic border war continues - KansasCity Business Journal


This company is up to no good and KCMO needs to avoid it like the plague. KCMO and Missouri need to save their resources and use them to bring new jobs to the metro or to reward loyal local businesses by helping them grow or redevelop an area of the city that really needs it.

DO NOT offer this company tens of millions of dollars, free office buildings etc to move some call center from Kansas to KCMO. I understand you want to "be in the game" and "send another message". But it's just not worth it.

You won't be able to to compete anyway because Kansas will offer incentives to build in highly desirable office parks in affluent zip codes. KCMO, you can not and should not compete with that. When you start offering these types of incentives for Executive Hills East, the Plaza and Ward Parkway, you only cheapen the value of all the other leases in the area and make existing companies think twice about getting a piece of the action. Not to mention, it dilutes any ability for those incentives to work as they are intended (to redevelop areas or build in an urban environment where it's more expensive).

If this company wants to go the the Bannister Mall project or Downtown, then bend over for them just enough to break even (don't pull a Kansas 47 million for 350 employees deal no matter what). If they don't want to go downtown or to a redevelopment project, then offer some basic property tax abatements and if that's not enough, then tell them were to go (or stay). I'm sure many of those employees live in Missouri and already and pay income taxes. Why give that back to the company that will probably move again in five years anyway?

Don't do it. This is destroying metro KC's corporate tax base, subsidizing sprawl, spreading blight and creating so much resentment among area leaders that KC is never going to recover from this nonsense and become a productive regional metropolitan area. If you do this, it will only give Kansas an excuse to go after more KCMO companies and KCMO has more than call centers to choose from.

Let Kansas continue to be the bad guys and get to work on bringing companies to downtown or other areas of the city that really need incentives.

Good post Grid

[aknowledgeableperson]

When you start offering these types of incentives for Executive Hills East, the Plaza and Ward Parkway, AND DOWNTOWN you only cheapen the value of all the other leases in the area and make existing companies think twice about getting a piece of the action.

Anyway, that area has been in the city for over 50 years now. It is as much a part of the urban core in that there is a population decline. It is one of those pockets of undeveloped land that has been bypassed for whatever reason. Development there helps the city to compete with those suburban Kansas office park areas that many employers desire.

Is this what incentives were meant to do? No, but we left behind that meaning or intent a long time ago and unless there is some national law passed or a court decision handed down we will never go back to that sole purpose.

[Highlander]

When you start offering these types of incentives for Executive Hills East, the Plaza and Ward Parkway, AND DOWNTOWN you only cheapen the value of all the other leases in the area and make existing companies think twice about getting a piece of the action.

Anyway, that area has been in the city for over 50 years now. It is as much a part of the urban core in that there is a population decline. It is one of those pockets of undeveloped land that has been bypassed for whatever reason. Development there helps the city to compete with those suburban Kansas office park areas that many employers desire.

Is this what incentives were meant to do? No, but we left behind that meaning or intent a long time ago and unless there is some national law passed or a court decision handed down we will never go back to that sole purpose.

I've got no problems with KC trying to boost the business centers along Ward Parkway and even along I-435. I think it's absurd to get into the game spending millions to attract a business to move a few miles along an interstate though. The only net impact would be the earnings tax and what's the break even point on that going to be after incentives. My company moved miles in Houston from one suburban spot to another very distant spot and absolutely nobody moved with it. People are more willing to make the commute than to undertake the disruption and expense of moving from one suburb to another, particularly when it's only a few miles down an interstate.

Without any real critical mass in the KC I-435 area you just won't see restaurants and other services follow, there's simply not enough people employed in those areas even with the size of Freightquote (which isn't much more than a low paying call center anyway). Most people will make the drive to College Blvd if they are working at I-435 and State Line if they want to have lunch out. If Freightquote wanted to move without incentives or at least minor incentives, fine. A big handout would be ridiculous.