A new Turner Vista TIF district was approved Thursday for the southwest corner of State Avenue and College Parkway, over the objections of some of the current residents.
Supporters and opponents of the project turned out at the Thursday meeting to voice their opinions at a public hearing.
According to Jon Stephens, the UG’s economic development director, the developer plans to build 280 upscale market-rate apartment units with amenities and parking at the 38.6-acre site. Currently at the site are townhomes, originally called Redwood Gardens.
Most of the townhomes are rented to residents, according to Stephens.
The townhomes are not far from the new Amazon warehouse development at Riverview and the Turner Diagonal. They also are not far from Kansas City Kansas Community College’s main campus.
A study was done last year that determined the current property was blighted, according to Stephens.
Developers for the project are Steve Wood of Wood Development Group and Conrad Miller Jr. of the Miller law firm.
Stephens said 98 percent of the properties were committed or under contract for the project.
Miller said they have been working on the project for a year and a half. He said they have contacted nearly everyone in the district, and there was a strong level of support. About 235 of 250 parcels are actually committed or under contract, he said.
Appearing in support of the project, Sheryl Becker said she had owned property in the area with her husband for 40 years.
“We feel like it would be a benefit to the area,” she said.
One person who has lived there 15 years said she was in favor of it, and the neighborhood needed a lot of improvements.
A resident who lived there since 1966 opposed the project, saying he wanted to know why it was blighted. “It’s just that I like it there,” he said.
Another resident said he wanted his money up front from the developer; he didn’t want to wait for it.
One woman stated that she and her husband had moved there 20 or so years ago for their retirement home and now have to find somewhere else to live, so she is opposed to it.
According to Stephens, the blight study was conducted to satisfy the legal definition of blight, and included items such as the age of buildings, infrastructure, deterioration, any conditions which endangered life or property, and other factors. A third party independent study found the area to be blighted, which means the UG could move ahead on issuing tax-increment financing to redevelop the area.
Mayor Mark Holland remarked that a lot of houses near the Kansas Speedway were determined to be in a blighted area in order for that project to move forward. “If I were to be crass, I would say blight is a legal determination of being in the way of another project,” he said.
He later said the difference between that situation near the speedway and this one on College Parkway was that there is no eminent domain being used in this project, and the owners of the property are voluntarily making agreements to sell their property to the developers.
The mayor also said it was important to him that these changes take place after the school year is completed, as there are many children who live in the townhomes.
In response to a question from Commissioner Gayle Townsend, Miller said they have held several meetings with the homes association, and they are working with each person’s circumstances. He said they will close on the sales after they receive government approvals from planning and zoning. Those who have a contract with the developer should get paid within 30 days of the UG’s approval of planning and zoning, which could be May of next year, according to Miller.
Miller said some of the contracts are paying compensation, including relocation of tenants. He said they will work with the tenants on the dates they can move.
Commissioner Harold Johnson said he was impressed with the level of care, respect and dignity that the developers showed to the residents.
Wood said developers will work with the residents, communicating with them at intervals about the project. He said this also was done at the Merriam Village project they developed in Merriam, Kansas. They sent out 120-day communications, then 90-day, then 60-day, and 45-day communications.
Wood also co-developed the Heights at Delaware Ridge in 2014, which included 228 market-rate units.
In answer to a question from Commissioner Melissa Bynum, Stephens said it was correct that all current property taxes that are paid now will continue to be paid. It is new development created by the project that would be tax-abated.
The UG Commission voted 7-0 to approve the TIF district for the project. Commissioner Jane Philbrook did not vote, as she owns property in the area. A development plan will come before the UG Commission later.
