Bannister Mall - Most popular for 2008
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An article has come out today in the KC Business Journal talking about the redevelopment of the 3
Trails area, that includes the construction of the Wizards soccer specific stadium. Unfortunately,
it's not good news. Due to the increase in construction costs recently, Lane4, OnGoal, and the
other redevelopers are having to up their request for state tax credits from $10 million to $30
million.
Today was the final day for Richard Tolbert and the Save Bannister Group to turn in their
signatures for saving Bannister Mall. And the grand total of signatures turned in? TWO!!! He didn't
turn in any more signatures today, but since he likely had no where close to the number needed it's
not surprising.
This isn't directly related to the Wizards, but something interesting that was brought to my
attention today was a post on the KCRag Forum. It's a photo collection of the inside of Bannister
Mall as it currently is. For those that have grown up around the mall and remember what it used to
look like, this is a shocking look at how far the inside of the mall has fallen.
The save Bannister Mall group got the extension that they wanted for their work to collect
signatures. Today the group turned in a whopping 2 signatures to get the extension on the plan. You
can see the report here on NBC Action News' website, it's currently the top story on the left.
Richard Tolbert, Woody Woodruff, and the rest of the Save Bannister Mall group continue to use
misdirection in their campaign to stop the redevelopment of the area.
I came across this article from The Call while looking around the KCrag Forums. The article is a
rehash of a lot of the information that's been out there already about Richard Tolbert's attempts
to stop the redevelopment of the area. Still there are a few things from the article I want to
touch on.
If you haven't checked out the Wizards official blog, Hillcrest Road, you really need to, it's a
great place to get different types of news on the team. Early this morning, Robb Heineman posted an
update about the stadium process on the blog.
He talks about the "Save Bannister" Group, and the dreaded 60-90 days that the state has said for
the TIF funding.
It's not over yet. The hopes of Wizards fans, and South KC residents that after tomorrow Richard
Tolbert would be gone from our minds will have to wait. Tomorrow was supposed to be the date that
Tolbert had to have his 8500 signatures to put the redevelopment funding on an upcoming ballot.
Unfortunately, tonight we find out that Tolbert plans to file for a 10 day extension in hopes of
collecting the signatures he needs.
While discussing today's developments on the Bannister Mall redevelopment on bigsoccer. This google
cached article was linked. The article talks about how Lane4, the developers in charge of the Three
Trails redevelopment, have purchased Bannister Mall from the former owners for $12 million, or $70
per square foot.
Earlier today I posted about the rally at Bannister Mall for the redevelopment of the area. I also
mentioned how Richard Tolbert and his crew were there as well. Tonight, we have some news of how
many of the 8500 signatures Tolbert already has. The answer, not nearly enough. According to Fox4,
Tolbert has somewhere between 2000-3000 signatures with just over a week left.
There could be some big news this week in regards to the Wizards. Specifically their stadium and
their MVP last season.
The first bit of news that will be coming out, is news on the Wizards potential stadium. On Tuesday
the 22nd, Richard Tolbert's petition to save Bannister Mall is due. Last Sunday after the rally in
support for the redevelopment of the mall, we learned that Tolbert apparently has between 2 and 3
thousand of the 8500 signatures required to get the redevelopment on the ballot.
Apparently, Richard Tolbert and the Save Bannister group are struggling for their signatures. So
much so that they are planning to change their tactics on trying to save the mall.
According to the article, Tolbert and the group are now going to try and get the title to the mall
and get TIF funding to resurrect the mall.
A quick stadium update. The Wizards, OnGoal and Lane4 only have 1 hurdle left in getting the funds
to begin construction of the Bannister Mall area, that includes building Hillcrest Road for the
Wizards. That last hurdle was to petition the release of those funds from the Department of
Economic Development.
Tonight on 980 KMBZ AM here in Kansas City, Richard Tolbert basically admitted the group did not
have the signatures required to put the 3 Trials TIF funding on the ballot. While on the radio
talking about the campaign to recall Kansas City Mayor, Mark Funkhouser, the hosts asked Tolbert
about his Bannister petition and if he had the signatures.
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today signed the Missouri budget for this coming fiscal year. Part of
the budget included the state TIF funding for the Bannister Mall redevelopment and the Wizards
soccer stadium.
With that signed, there is now only 1 more hurdle for the Wizards and Lane4 to get over before
construction can begin.
Back in December I wrote my yearly wishes for this coming year. Now that we are over halfway
through the year, it's time to look at my wishes and see how they're coming.
1. Save Bannister Mall Petition Fails - Well that failed in January/early February. So that looks
to be taken care of.
According to the KC Star this morning, that's true. The group has apparently abandoned it's efforts
to block the redevelopment. Whether that is 100% true or not I do not know. The article makes no
mention of the groups' new plan, of trying to obtain the title to the mall, and have it cut out of
the redevelopment area or of the groups plan to sue the city to stop the demolition.
NBC Action News here in KC has picked up on the continued delays in the process to get Bannister
Mall torn down so that the Wizards stadium and a new shopping area can go in. As I've stated
previously, the project is only needing one final approval before construction on the site can
begin. Once that is done, then the construction on the stadium can actually begin.
The KC Business Journal has an article for paid subscribers up on their website about the reason
for the delays in the 3 Trails Project, including the Wizards soccer specific stadium. You can at
least read a portion of the article and get an idea as to why. It would appear that the main reason
for the delay is the fact that there is a disagreement between the developer and the state on the
amount of square footage that would need to be developed to avoid a "clawback" provision.
For those of you that don't read bigsoccer, last week Robb Heineman posted about the fence going up
around the former mall. Well today I was finally able to make it out during the daylight to get
some pictures of the mall and the fence that now encloses it. In the first picture, you'll remember
that this was where the redevelopment rally was held back in January of this year.
Steve Penn had a great article for the Star today discussing the petition being put together by
Richard Tolbert and the Save Bannister Group. He comes right out and says how bad the idea is to
try and save the mall. We even get some new quotes from Tolbert in this piece. Again we get the
comment that the area is "the black community's gold mine.
The KC Business Journal has broken the news on the Bannister Mall situation today. The Journal is
reporting that the Missouri Development Finance Board is set to approve the $30 million for the
Three Trails redevelopment. Included in the development is the Wizards soccer specific stadium. The
board and Three Trails Redevelopment LLC (with OnGoal LLC) have reached an agreement on the amount
of square footage that needed to be developed to avoid the clawback clause.
2008 is almost over, which means I need to look back at my wishes for 2008.
1. Save Bannister Mall Petition Fails - As I said in my mid-year review, the petition failed early
in 2008, and we haven't heard from Richard Tolbert since that failure. Now with everything secured,
it looks like we won't have to worry about him at all.
Today at Bannister Mall, the rally to support the tearing down and redevelopment of the area
occurred outside the old Dillard's entrance. Which, as you can see, has seen much better days.
There was a large crowd there, at least 100-150 people there, many of them with signs against the
petition and for the redevelopment of the area.
Thanks to a poster on bigsoccer, we now have the full TIF plan for the 3 Trails Development
(WARNING: it's 60 MBs). The 794 page document outlines the entire plan that is in front of the
state. There are 24 pieces to the TIF, the stadium, hotel, tournament fields, and stadium retail
will all be done by 2010.
The Wizards have approval for their funding for the Three Trails Development and while we're still
waiting for those first true renderings of the stadium to be released. While we wait for those
first renderings to be released, we do have some new site plans, that do give an idea of what the
stadium will possibly look like.
Great news for all Wizards fans today. Today we are 1 step closer to Hillcrest Road becoming a
reality.
Today the Missouri Finance Board has approved the $30 million tax credit for Lane4 and OnGoal for
the Three Trails development at the old Bannister Mall site. The news comes from the Wizards
Executive Vice President, Greg Cotton on Bigsoccer.
Lane4, OnGoal, and the Wizards got their wish from the KC City Council, as they approved extra $30
million incentives for the Three Trails development at the old Bannister Mall site. The money does
come with caveats attached to it to make sure the development goes well. This is big news, as it
appears to be the very last step that is needed for demolition and construction to begin on the
site.
So tomorrow is New Years Eve and that means it's almost 2009. Time to take a look at some wishes
for the year of 2009.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - I wanted this to happen last year and obviously it didn't
happen. So now it's time to push this back to next year. With all the hurdles cleared for the
stadium it's much more likely that the ground breaking will happen this year.
With word out of DC being that their stadium plans are looking to move ahead, it's time to take a
look at what's going on with the stadium development in Kansas City. Not much has been said about
the redevelopment of Bannister Mall since the Save Bannister Group decided not to turn any more
signatures in to the city to try and get the measure on the ballot.
It looks like we may be waiting on a bit more then just the governor's signature, like I had
thought we were for the stadium. A few of the KC city council members presented the redevelopment
to the Missouri Development Finance Board yesterday. While the group got a good vibe from the
meeting, the article does has some pretty sobering news for Wizards fans.
Those of you hoping to head to the Downtown Marriott in KC for the Missouri Developmental Finance
Board hoping to see the Bannister Mall funding finally be approved, can cancel your plans and go
ahead and go to work. The state tax credit for the development has been delayed again. According to
an executive assistant to the board, the plan is not ready for a second presentation to the board.
Tomorrow out on the East side of Bannister Mall, by the old Dillard's, there will be a community
rally in support of the redevelopment of Bannister Mall, including building a Wizards soccer
specific stadium. The rally is set to start at 2 pm on Sunday. Kansas City sixth district
councilman, John Sharp has invited all those in support, including Wizards fans to come out and
show their support for this project.
Today over at KC Soccer Review I came across a commentary from Bruce Rodgers on @KC Online about
the redevelopment at Bannister Mall. It's a generally negative article about the burden being put
on tax payers. There are a few points in his commentary that I would like to comment on, and it
gets a little long.
We have another update on the Wizards stadium, thanks to Greg Cotton. Cotton was on The Program
with Soren Petro today. I was unable to listen to the show, but a friend of mine was able to listen
to it and sent me a write up on it. He also posted that write up on bigsoccer. Besides the basics
that we already knew, including the total cost of the project, there will be youth fields used for
more then just soccer, and the fact that we're still waiting on final approval, there are a few new
things we learned today.
The Three Trails redevelopment at the Bannister Mall site looks like it may finally be moving
forward. The plan for the redevelopment of the site is on the agenda for Missouri Development
Finance Board meeting this Thursday, November 20th. The redevelopment is the first piece of old
business on the agenda for the meeting.
It's been a while since I've written about the Wizards and their stadium situation at Bannister
Mall, so I figured it was time for an update. Since the approval by the Kansas City city council,
the bill has moved on to the state level. At the state level, it started in the House where it
spent most of the month of March.
I'd mentioned recently how the Missouri budget had been stuck in the state House after some
disagreements with the Senate on some things in the funding. As I'd mentioned earlier, the stadium
is part of the budget, but was not the part that was causing problems. Well yesterday, the House
and Senate came to an agreement and it was "Truly agreed to and finally passed.
With word out of DC being that their stadium plans are looking to move ahead, it's time to take a
look at what's going on with the stadium development in Kansas City. Not much has been said about
the redevelopment of Bannister Mall since the Save Bannister Group decided not to turn any more
signatures in to the city to try and get the measure on the ballot.
