A downtown Kansas City, Kansas, grocery store is on the agenda for tonight’s Unified Government Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting. The meeting will follow a 5 p.m. meeting in the fifth floor conference room at City Hall.
The committee agenda includes a proposed management agreement for the UG and Community Mercantile , the proposed manager of the store. If the agreement and resolutions are approved by the committee, they would move forward to the full UG Commission meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 30.
The grocery store is proposed for 5th and Minnesota, in the northeast corner of a parking lot across from the Reardon Convention Center and also across from the former EPA building.
It will be a 12,000 to 14,000-square-foot full-service grocery store, according to the agreement. The store may have a café, and an outdoor farmer’s market may be located nearby.
The proposed agreement calls for the UG to reimburse the manager up to $150,000 in expenses during a period from 60 days before the store’s grand opening and the first two quarterly accounting periods.
Under the proposed agreement, the UG would establish a stabilization fund reserve account of $540,000. The UG would be authorized to draw upon the stabilization fund reserve account if the quarterly sales stabilization benchmark has not been achieved during the first three years of the term. The manager could withdraw funds from the reserve account that would total a percentage of the revenue shortfall, in amounts that are established in a table in the agreement. The proposed agreement calls for the grocery store manager to pay a fee to the UG each quarter of 3.5 percent of gross revenues exceeding the quarterly sales.
The manager of the store would be responsible to pay the UG taxes and payments in lieu of taxes, under the proposed agreement. The manager also would pay for any store improvements and for utilities.
Tax-increment bonds could be issued for the financing of the Downtown Grocery Redevelopment District, according to the proposed resolution.
A proposed resolution would authorize the UG administrator to enter into contracts of up to $6 million for the planning, design, construction and stabilization reserve fund for a downtown grocery store.
The project would follow a development plan, where the UG would work together with the manager on the plans.
A public hearing on the Downtown Grocery Redevelopment District is proposed for 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at City Hall, Commission Chambers.
The EDF Committee meeting follows the Neighborhood and Community Development Committee meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, in the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
I feel the Quindaro area needs a grocery store, more than 5th and Minnesota. The store would benefit a wide open range from Parallel, State and Leavenworth Road, and it will bring back the revenue to that community, which is much needed. Build and they will come, and build back up hope for the neighborhood and jobs, thank you.