KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ordinance 260565, which was proposed during the June 30 Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee meeting and passed out of Kansas City City Council on July 2 has allowed City Manager Mario Vasquez to enter into negotiations with the Kansas City (KC) Current for a $1.4 billion expansion of CPKC Stadium and the Berkley Riverfront District.
On Thursday, Sept. 10, Kansas City City Council approved a development agreement for Kansas City City Manager Mario Vasquez to establish between the City of Kansas City and the KC Current, which is to include no more than $185 million in public financing, according to the council docket.
Inspiration for this proposal, Palmer Square Real Estate Partner and Co-Master Developer of Current Landing Mukul Sharma and KC Current President Raven Jemison detailed in a presentation during the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee meeting on June 30, included to increase growth in the Berkley Riverfront area — from expanding CPKC Stadium spectator capacity from 11,500 to 18,000 seats and various digital enhancements for increased patron enjoyment.
Sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas, this ordinance does not permit work to commence, but rather, has allowed Vasquez to begin conversations with KC Current stakeholders and developers on what a stadium renovation and surrounding area improvements would look like.
Sharma emphasized the impact this funding would have on the Current Landing’s ability to not only make improvements to CPKC Stadium but to continue the development of the Berkley Riverfront area.
“We think of investment in our community not just as buildings building in the riverfront but our involvement across the entire spectrum of players, staff, the investment in the team and partnership with KCPS and other local organizations in Kansas City, Mo., and of course the extraordinary investment that we are making in the riverfront,” Sharma said in a presentation on June 30.
With this funding, Sharma shared that it would allow an increase in audience attendance at KC Current games, infrastructure buildouts — including 35 acres at Berkley Riverfront, which has not yet been developed — and create parking solutions for the area in the form of a parking garage.
Funding
To financially support this proposal, the developers have suggested to create a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district — or to take generated revenue from the Riverfront to reinvest back into this project — which Sharma and Jemison explained contributes to its goal to create no additional costs for the City of Kansas City and its tax payers.
Along with a TIF District, the development team also proposed backstop bonds — which serve as a financial agreement to guarantee a secondary funding source if the initial funding, in this case a TIF District, is not sufficient. Of which, in this case, includes a $235 million allocation of special obligation bonds from the City of Kansas City.
“The only reason for having the City involved in any type of bond issuance is to lower the cost of capital, lower the interest expense, the interest burden so that we can do more for this project,” Sharma said in a presentation on June 30. “We would bear the risk for our projections, for our performance, for our development of Current Landing, everything in the Riverfront and we would be the ones on the hook for the bonds.”
As all legs of this proposal are required to return to City Council for review and approval, Sharma stated during the June 30 Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee meeting that the development plans to follow all City of Kansas City policies — including ensuring these approved projects meet prevailing wage requirements.
Although this ordinance was approved during the July 2 City Council Legislative Session, various City Council members voiced their concerns with a project such as this at the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee meeting.
Hesitations
Of reservations for this proposal came from 4th District At-Large Councilman Crispin Rea who shared commentary from his Fourth District constituents in Berkley Riverfront’s neighboring Columbus Park. Rea shared that residents of Columbus Park have expressed frustrations with the influx of traffic and parking occupancy, with minor neighborhood infrastructure improvement support.
To bring attention toward these concerns, Rea proposed to include an amendment into section 13 of this ordinance for Vasquez to complete a traffic and infrastructure plan with the Columbus Park Neighborhood Association in efforts to improve traffic safety as well as infrastructure within the neighborhood.
However, additional concerns came from the proposal itself and led to questions as to whether or not now is the correct time to finance this particular project.
“I think we need to better evaluate,” 6th District Councilman Johnathan Duncan said on June 30. “What are our priority goals? What you all have done in this area is tremendous, it’s commendable. We’re not funding policy goals; now the things that we provided investment in, now we’re going to provide a TIF District and we’re not actually going to collect those revenues, and so we’re not actually collecting revenues. It does have an impact on our tax payers because we are looking at how we’re going to cut programs in the future because we are redirecting tax revenue. We need to ask the question, is this a need or is this a want for the residents of Kansas City?”
A focal point of Duncan’s concerns included the long term financial impact this project would have on the City of Kansas City — particularly as to what the backstop bonds would mean for the City’s financial status as well as its credit rating as the City has currently committed to finance projects such as the Downtown Royals Stadium, the Country Club Plaza master redevelopment and the Kansas City Downtown Airport – Wheeler Field (MKC) reconstruction, among others.
“Why do we need to do this now with public investment?” Duncan inquired on June 30. “And why here when we’ve already provided a lot of public investment in this area; I think there’s a lot of other areas that could use some public investment.”
Other councilmembers including 5th District At-large Councilman Darrell Curls and 3rd District At-Large Councilwoman Melissa Patterson-Hazely agreed with Duncan, while Patterson-Hazely additionally mentioned that the council could do a better job of encouraging development and working with developers for what they want to see in each individual council district.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
