By Mary Wilson
The
Grandview Board of Aldermen heard from developers of the shopping center
formerly known as Truman Corners at their work session on Tuesday, September
17. A change in the name of the
development from Truman’s Landing to Truman’s Marketplace occurred previously, and
last spring, a transfer agreement was completed naming RED Legacy as the developer
of the project.
According
to attorney Joe Lauber, serving as special counsel for tax increment and
economic development financing, the total project cost was originally $91.3 million.
That total overall cost has dropped to $83.4 million. The developer’s portion
of costs has dropped from $38.6 million down to $28.2 million. The third-party
portion went from $11.3 million up to $15.4 million.
“What’s
really going on there, is since the time of the TIF plan originally through to
this point, the major anchor store that was originally part of the development would
be acquired by the developer, and in turn be built by the
developer
and then leased or sold back to the major anchor store. In this case, the major
anchor store is going to take care of that part of the development on their
own, so you’ll see that shift from developer costs to third party costs.”
The
final component of that would be the public financing portion, which went from
$41.3 million down to $39.4 million. There was a project added to the
development plans, with a total of thirteen projects slated. The primary plan,
with the developer redeveloping the major anchor store area, included the
portion of the land that Milberger’s Pest Control sits on. Because the major
anchor store will be developing their own site, RED Legacy doesn’t need to
expand into that portion of the project right away, and created a project 13.
“At
this point in time, we’re not sure that it will even be necessary. We’re
putting that in a holding pattern. The projected completion date for that
portion of the project, “Project 13,” is 2020.”
The
bulk of the development, however, is slated to be finished by 2015. According
to Lauber, the public financing portion of the development is on the high side when
compared to other developments in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
“The
more critical a development is to a city, the more likely it is that the city
will participate more,” said Lauber. “Here we’ve got a situation where this is
a gateway project for the city. This is a priority for the city to get
redeveloped and to remediate the blight that’s out there.”
With
Sam’s Club leaving Grandview next month, the city and developers are aware of
the large sales tax hole that will be created. With this significant reduction
in revenues, plans need to be in place to compensate for the loss. The original
RED Legacy plan entailed the entire shopping center being demolished and
redeveloped from the ground up. The revised plan that developers presented to
the Board of Aldermen last week included a remodel, rather than a
brand
new facility, for the Price Chopper store currently located in the center, as
well as updates to other current tenants. Everything south of the current
grocery store will be demolished.
“We
really would appreciate the grocery store being bigger,” said Ward 2 Alderman
Leonard Jones. “That’s the downside. The same footprint is a tougher pill to
swallow.”
RED
Legacy Vice President of Development and Design Bart Lowen spoke to the board
regarding the developer’s changes to the original proposal, as well as their
plans to move forward to begin implementation of the design. According to
Lowen, the entire property, aside from one outer parcel, is under RED Legacy
contract.
“All
the things that we need to do in order to get the private side financing lined
up, which allows us to get the public side of financing, we’re getting close,”
said Lowen.
RED
Legacy was able to secure the commitmentnof the major anchor tenant store. This
store will be doing their own building, on the current Sam’s Club property.
“We
did everything in our power to keep Sam’s at the site,” said Dan Lowe, CCIM,
Managing Partner of RED Legacy. “It became clear early on that they weren’t
going to stay, but frankly, it becomes a bigger win for us. Overall, the things
that were causing the most tension in this project have become some of the
things that have turned out the best so far.”
The
newest site plan is primarily the same lineup of retailers as before. The only
major change is the fact that Price Chopper, along with a few other current
tenants, will be staying in their locations. Those that are staying will see
significant façade improvements, as well as interior design improvements, when
the project is complete.
Senior
Vice President of Leasing for RED Legacy Joanna Shawver has been responsible
for tenant agreements for the new development. According to Shawver, there are
only two spaces in the center that are not committed, which is fairly common
for a shopping center of this size. All other spaces are currently in active
negotiation with RED Legacy to open in the fall of 2014.
“By
active negotiation, I mean those talking about a letter of intent, an active
letter of intent, or are fully committed and going through the process of the
lease,” said Shawver. “Well over ninety-five percent of the spaces are spoken
for,
or we’re having serious conversations about them.”
Since
RED Legacy attended the International Shopping Centers Convention in May, this
project has taken off, according to Shawver. A lot of store names previously
discussed are coming to fruition.
“You’re
going to have a major pet store,” said Shawver. “You’re going to have a major
shoe store that’s not in the market. You’re going to have a variety of apparel
stores that are not presently in Grandview, South Kansas City,
are
not in Belton, and not in Raymore. You’re going to have an art supply store.”
Some
food establishments currently lined up include a deli, coffee shop, and Mexican
restaurant. RED Legacy is also working with full-service, sit-down restaurants,
such as a steakhouse, or Italian restaurant, for the pad sites.
“The
momentum that we started is really panning
out,” said Shawver. “We’re excited about the new tenants,
and
we’re thrilled to retain some tenants that are already here.”
The
commitment from a large discount retailer for the major anchor of the project,
according to Shawver, has greatly impacted the commitments from other smaller
retail stores who are known to surround themselves around that major anchor.
The major tweak to the initial RED proposal is the closing on the land. The
prior contract stated that RED Legacy had to close on the land in order to issue
the bonds. RED Legacy asked the board last week to allow that to happen
simultaneously.