Kansas City Council OKs community improvement district for 18th & Vine
The Kansas City Council has approved the formation of a community improvement district in the 18th & Vine neighborhood, a measure sought as a way to help further develop the area.
Under the new district, project money for developments may be obtained by a loan or bond issuance to be repaid through a one-cent sales tax on retail goods sold in the area. Those funds are earmarked for spending on projects ranging from increased security to beautification efforts.
Co-sponsoring Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, 3rd District, said Thursday establishing the district is part of a development agreement with the city that is in the making right now. She also noted the city is paying nearly $150,000 to help with security in the district, saying she hopes the creation of the new tax could help the district pay for that on its own.
The measure passed without opposition.
The district’s boundaries cover the area south of 18th Street, north of the railroad tracks, West of Highland Avenue and east of The Paseo. Much of the property within the district is undeveloped and owned by the city.
The board of directors for the district will include City Manager Brian Platt and Kelvin Simmons, who owns land on Vine Street where he plans to develop apartments and retail.
In Kansas City, CIDs are credited with maintaining and improving areas like downtown, Westport and Waldo, where large districts were created to provide a common benefit to businesses and visitors. The money is typically focused toward landscaping, security, trash collection and marketing.
Area leaders and business owners have long looked at the creation of a CID as a way to build up the neighborhood, a historic place for jazz music and staple of the Black community. It is home to the American Jazz Museum, the historic Gem Theatre and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
In recent years, the neighborhood and the stretch of businesses in the Jazz District have sought more policing and other resources from the city. Money generated by the district could be used to hire off-duty police officers, a tactic other entertainment districts have employed as a way to help deter violent crime.
Last year, Robinson and other 18th & Vine committee members attempted to expedite an application for a CID program. But it was not approved in time for the following summer — a season that typically sees an uptick in violence across many American cities.
18th & Vine District community members have also advocated for reducing car traffic in the area, which often caters to large crowds on weekends, to make it more walkable — offering stronger parking instructions, placing barriers for vehicle entry, patrolling for litter and generally cleaning up the area.
On Wednesday, Simmons, the developer, told the committee that there’s a need in the district for a variety of tax incentives “so that the actual capital investment that would come in would be able to subsidize and bring the vision to fruition.”
“This just gives the entire district an opportunity to be so much more than what it has been,” Simmons said. “So this is significant and it jump-starts and it is a catalyst for what can also take place in the rest of the 18th & Vine area.”
