Topeka asked to OK additional sales tax for Wanamaker retail properties

A development company is asking Topeka elected officials to authorize it to levy a sales tax upon customers, in addition to the sales taxes they already pay, to help finance a proposed $31.4 million project to redevelop property that includes the site of a former K mart at 1740 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Topeka’s governing body plans Tuesday to consider setting an April 9 public hearing at which it would consider establishing a community improvement district, which would levy an additional 1 percent sales tax at the retail properties owned by Fort Wayne, Ind.-based EIG Wanamaker, LLC, at the southeast corner of S.W. 17th and Wanamaker Road. “The project will reposition an aging shopping center to be competitive in an increasingly challenging retail environment by utilizing the most effective and efficient incentive tool for the rejuvenation of outmoded retail property,” said a document in the agenda packet. “The project will fill a vacant K mart space with multiple new tenants.”

A chart in the agenda packet indicated the proposed 1 percent sales tax was expected to bring in revenue from various businesses on the properties involved, including a Pizza Hut, a Hobby Lobby, an AutoZone, a Slumberland and a Bed, Bath & Beyond.