by Mary Wilson, mwilson@jcadvocate.com
With last month’s $8 million infrastructure ask of the City
of Grandview from PG, LLC, developers of Gateway Village, left on the table, an
agreement has been reached.
“We’ve talked at length about this being a partnership and I
think we’re at a point now where we can say that we do have a partnership and
we are working together to accomplish a phenomenal goal of building a
world-class soccer/mixed-use facility here in Grandview,” said Deron Cherry,
developer.
According to Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones, the city and
Gateway Village developers are coming to an understanding of potential costs or
risks that may be associated with a development of this magnitude. The $250-300
million project, upon completion, will bring in an estimated 1.8-2 million
visitors each year for the soccer facilities alone. Adding in the other
amenities such as retail, hotels,
restaurants and other mixed-use, Cherry said
the number of visitors will definitely be higher.
“From a city perspective, we have a much better
understanding of what the Gateway Village complex is going to look and feel
like based on the last six or eight months of negotiations with our partners,”
said Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones. “This is the very beginning of what is
happening in the Grandview and the surrounding metropolitan area that will have
a long-lasting legacy for many, many years to come.”
The developers have been exploring the financial
implications, and lenders are looking for the City of Grandview to have some
ownership and be involved in the project. The now $5.65 million contribution
from the City of Grandview will go toward the public infrastructure pieces of
the development. The City of Grandview will eventually own the public
infrastructure pieces, and the funds used for that part of the development will
be 100% reimbursable costs.
“The fact that the city is willing to invest in the project
makes it a lot better for all of our partners involved to know that the city is
in on this deal,” said Cherry. “I think it’s important for people to understand
that the investment from the city could be recouped down the road.”
The developer and the City of Grandview are working together
to seek public funding assistance from all local, state and federal resources,
including Missouri Department of Economic Development, Missouri Department of
Transportation, Jackson County and the federal government.
Residents of the City of Grandview will see other benefits
beyond having the development along the 150 Highway corridor. Part of the
agreement includes that any Grandview resident who wishes to participate in
recreational soccer, youth or adult, at Gateway Village, will be able to do so
at a 75% or more discounted rate.
“Gateway wants Grandview to be very strong participants in
the soccer program,” said Jones. “It’ll be right here in our city and they want
to draw from the youth here in Grandview to the point that they are willing to
discount that participation rate. That shows, to me, that the developer wants
to invest and be a very good partner with the City of Grandview.”
“We’ve always believed in giving back to the community,”
said Cherry. “It’s so important and we look forward to doing that.”
The city’s contribution will enhance the developer’s
opportunity to obtain private financing. PG, LLC anticipates closing on their
financing within six weeks, with construction on the first phase of soccer
fields to begin in mid to late summer. Depending on the site excavation and
other work on the property itself, the plan is still to have fields ready for
soccer by fall of this year.
“The focus at this point is to get this project started,”
said City Administrator Cemal Gungor. “We want to jumpstart this project and
start seeing some momentum.”
Retail, restaurant and other development that will occur in
Gateway Village will be announced at a later date as the developers continue to
receive letters of intent from potential business partners.
“I know it’s taken a long time, but we should be proud that
we can work together to see this thing happen,” said Cherry. “This is something
that is completely different and entirely new, and the developer has a lot of
skin in the game, as well as the City, now, to a certain degree. It truly is a
public-private partnership, and we’ve taken the necessary steps to make that
happen.”
Gungor stated that the 26,000 residents of Grandview remain
the city’s priority and that they will ensure that whatever contributions are
made to the development will be affordable and include a return on investment.
“The City of Grandview can be proud of a project of this
magnitude,” said Jones. “People will begin to see that they’ll have options
here that they may not have thought about before. It’s not just about the
soccer; this is for the entire metropolitan area and we can all benefit from
that.”
Where exactly will this be? Not sure what the 150 corridor is.
ReplyDeleteBeth, this development is off of 150 Highway, between Byars and Kelley roads in Grandview, MO.
ReplyDelete