Tonight’s Unified Government committee meeting saw a formal end to a project to redevelop the former Indian Springs shopping mall site at 47th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.
Without very much explanation of what went wrong, UG Economic Development and Finance Committee members voted to terminate a development agreement with Scavuzzo’s Foodie Park. It next goes to the full commission for approval.
Commissioners also voted to repeal the 2019 Midtown Redevelopment Plan, which addressed redevelopment plans for Indian Springs.
Katherine Carttar, UG director of economic development, said this is the first time she knew of that the UG had to use a reversionary clause in a development agreement. The development agreement contained timelines for various parts of the project to be completed.
“Everyone is disappointed,” Carttar said.
Carttar said the UG and the developer of the project came to an agreement without having to go to court.
She said the developer was current on their taxes through 2021. The UG, which sold them part of the land at 47th and State, will get the property back, she said, while the developer will pay prorated taxes on the property through the closing date. The issue will go to the full UG Commission on June 30, and if it is approved, Carttar expected the land to be transferred back to UG ownership by July 19.
Commissioner Andrew Davis acknowledged the community nostalgia and expectation that the UG do something with this particular property, given its history. He said he was hoping for good news and the opportunity for engagements and partnerships in the future. He said he recognized this as a tough loss but hoped they will be able to bounce back.
While no reasons were given for why the foodie park project was not going forward, developers who were involved in several unrelated projects told the committee Monday night that some of them had been affected by the pandemic, and prices on construction materials had increased greatly in the past few years.
Another development project had been planned around 2009 for the Indian Springs property, but that project was stopped by a recession and also by the developer’s death. The last big anchor for the Indian Springs mall left in 2001. The last regular tenant there, Italian Delight, a restaurant, left in 2010 and relocated to 82nd and State. The Indian Springs shopping mall was demolished in 2016.
