The Homefield development at the former Schlitterbahn site at 94th and State was detailed at a UG committee meeting on Monday night. (Plan from UG meeting)
Two projects together totaling more than $700 million went before a Unified Government committee tonight, a scale that Economic Development Director Kathryn Carttar said was “quite stunning.”
The Homefield youth multi-sport complex proposal for the former Schlitterbahn site at 94th and State was estimated at more than $300 million, and the URBN distribution fulfillment center and office development at 118th and State is estimated at $403 million, according to UG officials.
The Homefield multisport athletic complex, performance center and youth baseball fields are proposed to be built at the former Schlitterbahn water park, which has been closed since 2016.
Robb Heineman, a part owner of Sporting KC, presented a proposal for the Homefield complex at Monday night’s Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting. The virtual meeting was on Zoom.
“Our intent on the site is to develop a premier amateur sport resort in the Midwest,” Heineman said. He said they have 230 acres under contract from the Henry family, that owns Schlitterbahn.
The project will be a large mixed-use destination, and It may include other retailers, auto dealers, a 200-room hotel, convenience store, grocery and ancillary buildings.
Their intent is to open Homefield in late spring or early summer in 2022, he said. They would plan to demolish the existing Schlitterbahn buildings, including the vertical slides, according to Heineman. The water park was closed after a fatal accident on Aug. 7, 2016.
There would be $130 million in public financing, with $200 million of private capital, and there would be no property tax abatements, according to the project proposal. The project proposes to use STAR (sales tax revenue) bonds, paying off the old Schlitterbahn STAR bonds. Carttar said they feel like the old STAR bonds can be paid off early. Also, sales taxes from the Menards’ store on 98th could be applied to this project.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend asked if everyone could use the sports complex, even if they weren’t on teams. Heineman said there would be opportunities for individual youth to participate in some activities for individuals, for example, if a daily rate for an individual activity was $25, a Wyandotte County rate could be $15, he said. They would work toward giving people access, he said.
Commissioners attending the committee meeting praised the project. Commissioner Tom Burroughs also asked about having a swimming pool for the public within the sports complex, as there had been some residents asking for one.
There wasn’t a vote on the Homefield development at this time. It’s expected to go forward to considering the development agreement at a future meeting.
Some land to the west of the Kansas Speedway is proposed to be a new URBN distribution fulfillment center. It is on the southeast corner of 118th and State Avenue.
The URBN distribution fulfillment center and office development is being built next to the Kansas Speedway on the southeast corner at 118th and State. The project advanced on Monday night, with the EDF Committee voting to approve the development agreement, industrial revenue bond ordinance and bond purchase agreement. The commission set a public hearing on the project for Oct. 29.
The URBN distribution center development was announced at a news conference online on Aug. 5. It will become the hub for Urban Outfitters, according to David Ziel, chief development officer for Urban Outfitters. He said they are looking for a long-term partnership with the community.
The building will have a total of 1.5 million square feet, according to officials, and will have jobs paying about $18 an hour. They are developing a plan to have a child care center for employees that will be located at Indian Springs and will be on the bus transit line, according to Carttar.
The project will use industrial revenue bonds and will have a net 75 percent for 10 years abatement, but the UG will not be on the hook for the money, according to Carttar. She said a financial study showed that every taxing jurisdiction came out with a significant return on investment from the project. To see an earlier story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/new-350-million-development-announced-for-kansas-speedway-area-in-wyandotte-county/.
Menards was on the agenda again with a public hearing set for Oct. 29 for a redevelopment proposal that would build a new Menards store in an Epic Center TIF development at the southwest corner of 18th and I-35.
The project wasn’t discussed but it is expected to go before the Planning Commission on Sept. 14
Agenda information stated it may also have an office, hotel, restaurant and retail, and mixed-use development.
Unified Government committees are scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, in remote meetings.
On the agenda for the Public Works and Safety Committee meeting is a management agreement for Metro 24 Fitness at the Joe Amayo Community Center. The fitness program would pay $22,777 a year to the UG under the new agreement.
Also on the PWS Committee agenda are an update on the illegal dumping program; an agreement with the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville school district to provide a school resource officer; and an application for an $88,514 federal Justice Assistance Grant for the comfort canine program.
The UG Administration and Human Services Committee meeting will follow.
On the agenda for the AHS meeting is a presentation from the UG CARES Act team about progress concerning the first state reporting deadline and plans for distribution of funds to educational organizations, nonprofits and governmental entities.
Also on the agenda is a request to approve the public transit agency safety plan, requiring some operators of public transportation systems that receive federal funds to develop safety plans to implement safety management systems.
Also on the AHS agenda is approval for grants from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, $732,567 Enhancement Act – Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grant for COVID-19 staffing and infrastructure support, and $800,000 ELC optimal care resource coordination and expanded testing for COVID-19. No match is required.
The meetings will be on Zoom on the internet, on telephone and also on the UG cable television channel and on YouTube.
For more information about how to connect to the meetings, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Clerk/Agendas.aspx
Plans for development of The Woodlands include five buildings. A 97-acre park-like area to the east, near Wyandotte County Lake, is proposed to be given to the Unified Government for parks. (From UG meeting)
On a 6-3 vote, the Unified Government Commission on Thursday night approved a warehouse redevelopment project for the former Woodlands horse and dog track at 97th and Leavenworth Road in Kansas City, Kansas. The Zoom meeting was online.
The redevelopment project is on 431 acres of property at 97th and Leavenworth Road, including the former Woodlands racetrack, and also Bennet Lake, according to developers. Wyandotte County Lake is nearby.
The owner of The Woodlands, Phil Ruffin, who also owns a casino in Las Vegas, is selling the track. During the past several years, the state legislature has failed to approve plans that would allow racetracks to keep enough gaming proceeds to reopen.
While nearby residents opposed the warehouse project, the offer apparently was too good for the UG to refuse, as the developer did not ask for incentives, paid the UG $2 million for some UG-owned property, agreed to put in sidewalks, gave land for parkland and agreed to help pay for trails.
At the public hearing Thursday, the commission heard from seven residents who were against the project, and one resident who was in favor of it.
The residents’ protest petition was thrown out, however. With a valid protest petition, nine votes would have been needed to pass the rezoning; without it, only six votes were needed.
Residents who lived near the proposed warehouse development said it did not fit with the character of their neighborhood.
“It’s like taking a bathroom and putting it in the middle of your living room, that’s how out of place it is,” said Laurie Torrez, a nearby resident.
Jeff Miles, a resident, was in favor of the project. He said he lived across from The Woodlands and is in favor of redeveloping the property. The redevelopment will be better than what they currently have, he said. He added the traffic and noise doesn’t bother him.
Rusty Roberts, a Realtor whose relative has an event center located near The Woodlands, also opposed the development, saying he believes real estate values will go down in the surrounding area a little. More studies need to be done on how it will affect the area, he said.
Karen Lauber, who lives near 99th and Leavenworth Road, said their experience with trucks and vehicles parked at The Woodlands previously was “a really bad experience, intolerable from the standpoint of noise with the trucks.”
Meghan LaDuke, a nearby resident, suggested moving the entrance so it is not directly across the street from residents. She said it will be hard for residents to get out on Leavenworth Road.
The zoning was changed from agriculture and planned general business districts to limited business and general industrial districts.
Gunnar Hand, UG director of planning, said the tops of the 60-foot buildings will be shielded by berms. There are sidewalks and trails planned with this project, also. There are plans for a traffic light on Leavenworth Road, according to Hand.
Hand said he focused on maintaining the character of the neighborhood and also mitigating the traffic impact. The berms and landscaping are intended to maintain the character of the neighborhood, while traffic will be focused on the main entrance on Leavenworth Road, according to Hand.
Shaun Cofer appeared at the meeting, representing Scannell Properties, an Indiana real estate development firm. According to the UG agenda, the proposal was to build five industrial buildings for warehousing distribution and manufacturing totaling 3.14 million square feet and 51 square feet of commercial retail. During Thursday’s meeting, officials said there would not be manufacturing on the site, but described it as warehouses and a business park.
The neighborhood retail center would be at the northeast corner of 99th and Leavenworth Road, according to the developers.
Each of the buildings would come back later before the UG Commission for approval, according to staff.
Seth Reece with Olsson Associates, representing the developer, said 97 acres to the east will be dedicated to the UG for a park. There are plans to put in trails and sidewalks, and the developer will provide funds for the trails, he said. Existing trees to the east and north of the project will be preserved, he said.
Reece said covenants will be added to the agreements to prevent the land from being used for heavy industrial purposes.
He also said the UG wants stoplights at the facility’s Leavenworth Road entrance and also at 103rd. He said the developer would be willing to assist with the costs if the traffic lights are approved by the Kansas Department of Transportation, which has authority over Leavenworth Road.
With the building in the first phase, there would be about 262 trucks a day going in and out of The Woodlands, according to Reece. The facility could operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be four shifts planned at the building in the first phase.
Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, supported the rezoning, saying that the current site hasn’t been used in nearly 15 years and is in significant disrepair. The project could bring 1,000 employees to the community, he said.
Kindle said the project would generate more than $1.9 million in property taxes the first year of operation. That includes $880,000 to the UG, $650,000 to the Piper school district and $300,000 to Kansas City Kansas Community College, he said.
“We are fortunate to have developers who want to invest in our community and be good neighbors,” he said. Plus, the project provides valuable jobs to those who have been laid off during the pandemic, he added.
Commissioner Mike Kane represents the district that The Woodlands is in, and voted against the project. He said almost all the calls he received were against the project, and he was voting with the residents. He also said since the facility operates 24 hours a day, it’s an industrial park, not a business park.
The proposed warehouse tenant for the development’s first phase was not disclosed at the UG Commission meeting. Also not disclosed by anyone at the commission meeting was how much the new jobs would pay.
During the discussion, Hand said the residents’ petition was invalid. When residents asked why it was thrown out, Hand said a protest petition required 20 percent of the residents of the land area, not the number of parcels, to sign a petition, and only 2.8 percent signed.
The commission also approved a Master Plan amendment for the Woodlands project on a 7-1 vote, with Commissioner Kane voting no and Commissioner Burroughs voting “pass,” saying he had a conflict of interest. The Prairie-Piper Master Plan had identified the Woodlands area as “entertainment” and the amendment changed it to “business park.”
At a public meeting on June 29 at the Venue at Willow Creek at the entrance to Wyandotte County Lake, about 45 people showed up, with most of them voicing opposition to the development, Commissioner Kane said.
At a UG committee meeting, a purchase agreement for Scannell Properties to buy 34 acres of Unified Government-owned land next to The Woodlands for $2.031 million was discussed.
According to UG Administrator Doug Bach at the July 30 meeting, the property was acquired by the UG in the past in a tax sale when real estate taxes could not be paid.
During a July 6 UG Committee meeting, committee members discussed how important this project was to the UG’s budget this year, with its $2 million payment to the UG. The UG is facing a shortfall in revenues.
At the July 30 meeting, Mayor Alvey said the $2 million certainly will not fill the UG’s budget hole. The shortfall was much greater than that. They had to make severe cuts to the budget, and they did not count on getting the $2 million, according to the mayor.
The mayor, mentioning another business park, also said he didn’t think the homes around the development would lose their value. He said if there isn’t economic development, the community would only see decline.
“There is no way out of this but economic development,” Mayor Alvey said. The community must take opportunities, hold developers to high standards and allow the development to happen, he said.
Commissioner Melissa Bynum, who voted in favor of the development, said she had heard from three residents against the project and a few in favor of it.
She said the project redevelops a blighted and vacant property and the proposed developer has a track record of quality development. They worked to mitigate as many of the residents’ concerns as they could, she said.
The project brings local tax dollars to the UG, Piper school and local governments. That’s a change from the current situation with the parcel, which has a lower property tax, thanks to decisions by the state Board of Tax Appeals, she said.
She also mentioned improvements to sidewalks and trails, and jobs that are coming to the county.
“What has to happen in order to have any chance of reducing the tax burden on residents is to grow our tax base,” Commissioner Bynum said. “Here’s a project to do exactly that.”
The vote was 6-3 in favor of the change of zone, with Commissioners Kane, Harold Johnson and Tom Burroughs voting no. Commissioners Bynum, Gayle Townsend, Brian McKiernan, Christian Ramirez, Jim Walters and Jane Philbrook voted yes.
In April 2019, when The Woodlands wanted to store vehicles on its lot, neighbors also opposed the noise and the traffic. At that time, the neighbors won concessions that prevented the business from driving trucks there at night.
The sale price of The Woodlands was earlier reported to be near $20 million.
