Of Counsel

by David A. Fenley

All told, there were probably enough legal documents to fill a small room. In the end, in the not-to-distant future, we will once again be proud of this Kansas City Landmark and enjoying time in the historic Drum Room.

Public/Private Partnerships on Parade in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri

Perhaps not in recent memory have so many development tools come together at one time to promote public/private partnerships as is occurring in the revitalization of the southern loop of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. From federal, state and local benefits that will help the President Hotel rise again in splendor, to the newly minted Missouri Downtown and Rural Econo-mic Stimulus Act helping create a bustling downtown entertainment district, to state supplemental and local tax increment financing and state economic incentives used to attract H&R Block, Inc. downtown, the landscape of the southern portion of the downtown loop in Kansas City is being transformed before our very eyes.

The long awaited President Hotel rehabilitation has begun after putting in place a series of complex financing tools. Investors in the project were attracted by federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credit incentives that along with developer equity and the commitment of the Kansas City Council to issue city-backed bonds backed up by 100 percent local tax increment financing support enabled the developer, Ron Jury, to attract a significant private real estate loan. State Brownfield credits also played a part in cleaning up the property.

All told, there were probably enough legal documents to fill a small room. In the end, in the not-to-distant future, we will once again be proud of this Kansas City Landmark, and enjoying time in the historic Drum Room.

The state of Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri were able to step up to the plate and offer homegrown H&R Block, Inc., a package of incentives making it possible to locate the company’s world headquarters in the downtown loop. The state and the city were not asked to issue bonds but were able, due to state tax increment financing and local tax increment financing, to make it possible for the Company to partially mitigate the costs associated with the creation of its new world headquarters in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The state and the city used this and other development tools in crafting a package to present Block with a package comparable to other jurisdictions.

Finally, not only as an enticement to create a surrounding venue attractive to H&R Block but to help transform the eyesore of the southern loop into a 24/7 entertainment district, the city of Kansas City is making application to use the newly created Missouri Downtown and Rural Economic Stimulus Act legislation for the first time in the state of Missouri, so that Baltimore-based Cordish Com-pany can build a seven-block entertainment venue, dubbed Kansas City Live. The statute, which was passed by the state legislature just one year ago and signed by the governor, was championed by Mayor Kay Barnes and other city officials in order to make projects like Kansas City Live a reality. The city intends to issue bonds that will be repaid out of the revenue stream created by this new tool.

All told, these projects, not including the proposed sports arena project, will equate to over $600 million of new investment in the downtown loop. The use of all of these federal, state and local incentives, and the creation of public and private partnerships, is a great testament to the ingenuity of government officials and the private sector in bettering our city for all of us and helping make us proud of our downtown for years to come. It is hard to overstate the work of Mayor Barnes and the City Council who, with the support of Governor Holden, the General Assembly and the “can do” attitude of city economic and development officials, made all of this possible.

David A. Fenley is the chairman of the law firm Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP. He may be reached at 816.983.8000 or by e-mail at dfenley@blackwellsanders.com.