Why Kansas City's Tax Deals For Development Are In Trouble (neighborhood, buy)

[PA650]

The recent failure of a proposal to convert an empty downtown warehouse into a showcase headquarters for BNIM architecture marked a milestone in Kansas City’s ongoing debate over the use of tax incentives.

Why Kansas City's Tax Deals For Development Are In Trouble | KCUR

I guess I should have expected Kemper III to be a co-founder of the libertarian Show-Me Institute. An organization that continues to attack the city for using incentives to stimulate development, but won't say a word about neighboring suburban locations that additionally use incentives for development, which the city then must compete with. An unfortunate vicious cycle.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by PA650

Why Kansas City's Tax Deals For Development Are In Trouble | KCUR

I guess I should have expected Kemper III to be a co-founder of the libertarian Show-Me Institute. An organization that continues to attack the city for using incentives to stimulate development, but won't say a word about neighboring suburban locations that additionally use incentives for development, which the city then must compete with. An unfortunate vicious cycle.

Yep. If these people have their way, they will kill development in KCMO. I guess having Funkhouser in office for four years didn't teach anybody anything? The suburbs around KC (especially the Kansas side) have no mercy and throw around incentives like they have zero accountability what so ever and I guess they really don't since nobody seems to care that you can get incentives of well over 60% to build in affluent suburban greenfields. Yet people complain about simple tif redevelopment projects in the urban core. KCMO can barely compete with KS as it is. Luckily, the city remains desirable, and developers and residents are choosing urban KCMO over Kansas even though it's more costly to build and live there.

Kemper is a moron. What has he done for KC? He donated land for Kemper and didn't do a thing with the area to make it a more viable neighborhood. The Kempers have all kinds of land tied up in the north part of downtown that is mostly parking lots. They have been against everything from transit to a downtown ballpark. The only thing he seems to care about is the American Royal, something most of KC doesn't give a rip about. KC needs new fresh business leaders to step up. Leaders that actually have a interest in bringing downtown KCMO back and helping it compete on a national and global scale.

Kemper can take his American Royal and go to Kansas where he will get STAR Bonds and all kinds of other incentives. Because we all now, incentive are okay, so long as they are used on the Kansas side. They can use them for projects on 135th, no questions asked. If the Mo side uses them for urban redevelopment, then it's corruption and abuse.

[PA650]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Yep. If these people have their way, they will kill development in KCMO. I guess having Funkhouser in office for four years didn't teach anybody anything? The suburbs around KC (especially the Kansas side) have no mercy and throw around incentives like they have zero accountability what so ever and I guess they really don't since nobody seems to care that you can get incentives of well over 60% to build in affluent suburban greenfields. Yet people complain about simple tif redevelopment projects in the urban core. KCMO can barely compete with KS as it is. Luckily, the city remains desirable, and developers and residents are choosing urban KCMO over Kansas even though it's more costly to build and live there.

Kemper is a moron. What has he done for KC? He donated land for Kemper and didn't do a thing with the area to make it a more viable neighborhood. The Kempers have all kinds of land tied up in the north part of downtown that is mostly parking lots. They have been against everything from transit to a downtown ballpark. The only thing he seems to care about is the American Royal, something most of KC doesn't give a rip about. KC needs new fresh business leaders to step up. Leaders that actually have a interest in bringing downtown KCMO back and helping it compete on a national and global scale.

Kemper can take his American Royal and go to Kansas where he will get STAR Bonds and all kinds of other incentives. Because we all now, incentive are okay, so long as they are used on the Kansas side. They can use them for projects on 135th, no questions asked. If the Mo side uses them for urban redevelopment, then it's corruption and abuse.

Good points all around. I find the whole thing a perverse situation of politics. Kemper, Brownback, and others have so much invested in neoliberalism as a sound thought process regarding economic development even though it only seems to work well for the wealthy in our society than the majority of people out there that have a diverse socio-economic status. The unfortunate side effect of all of this is that the skewed viewpoint of this think tank influenced a local resident to scuttle a new development project downtown that would have housed an architecture firm that has been a longtime supporter of urban KCMO. Also, they were planning to expand their workforce with the new building.

In essence, I felt this resident became a pawn of a local, wealthy figure to further an agenda that actually doesn't assist her or the majority of this city. I would think that we as a country have grown tired of the mandarins of society pontificating policies that only help themselves, but unfortunately many people still buy into it.