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Bannister Mall redevelopment is moving forward
The local battle over the future of the Bannister Mall site has been decided, and the next challenge for the project looms in Jefferson City.
Here’s the latest.
At some point in the next few months, the Missouri legislature will begin considering a tax-increment financing package for the Bannister Mall redevelopment.
Last week the city started the process by sending a request for a 23-year, $99 million TIF to Gregory Steinhoff, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The TIF would be in place from 2010 to 2032 —and could be around as long as 2042.
“As indicated by the budget … this project will not proceed without the state’s 23-year participation through State TIF,” City Manager Wayne Cauthen wrote in his letter.
The formal request for state funding is just one of several developments involving the project.
First, there’s a little thing like renaming the project, which occurred recently. The former Three Trails project is now simply The Trails.
That’s according to Owen Buckley, president of Lane4 Property Group.
“We just like The Trails better,” Buckley said earlier this week.
While there will be debate over the details, most people involved believe there’s already strong bipartisan support at the state level for the project.
“We feel good about it,” Buckley said. “We’ve gotten a very good reception from the state. They seem to be equally excited about the prospects.”
City Councilman John Sharp also thinks the project is back on track.
“The last stumbling block has been knocked out of the way,” Sharp said. “Now we’re putting the details together so we can start tearing down the old and building up the new.”
While the project has taken longer than expected to materialize, Buckley agrees with Sharp that things are finally falling into place.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Buckley said. “It’s just a cumbersome process. It’s a huge project. People need to understand that it’s going to take some time.”
Buckley expects the state will take at least 60 to 90 days before deciding on the TIF.
The bureaucratic hoops the project has had to jump through have not forced delays. Demolition should begin late this spring or early in the summer.
That’s also welcome news. The Kansas City Wizards want to play their first game in their new stadium by the spring of 2010.
“I think we’re on schedule to hit that,” Buckley said. “The Wizards really are the catalyst for the project. Probably the most important thing we’re doing is keeping the Wizards happy so they don’t get wandering eyes.”
Buckley’s company also has been busy contacting office users and retailers regarding the space that will become available when the project is completed.
“We’re having positive discussions with some of those people right now,” Buckley said.
Most of us wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Cerner Corp. is one of those companies.
Too often when the pie is cut in Jefferson City, this end of the state doesn’t get its fair slice. That perception will change when the state’s support for the blighted area is official.