The Olathe City Council on Tuesday held a public hearing on whether to create a tax increment financing district to financially help the developers of the former Great Mall of the Great Plains site.
The council did not vote on creating the district, but two residents voiced concerns with the city providing such a large amount of public incentives for one project.
“We’re giving them lots of money,” said resident Adam Mickelson. “It’s a lot of give and no guaranteed return.” The developers and city business leaders have lauded the project as a way to add new entertainment and retail uses while filling a 100-acre vacuum left when the mall closed in 2015.
To make the project work, however, Woodbury has requested a number of incentives, including up to $69.5 million in state-approved STAR bonds, a community improvement district sales tax, industrial revenue bonds that help the developers avoid paying sales tax on construction materials and the tax increment financing, or TIF.
(Read more: KC Star Local News)