Johnson County Golden Ghetto Developers Giving Up On Retail

A surprisingly good bookstore is closing up shop and it seems that this suburban enclave is no longer interested in buying stuff in the real world.

The owners described JoCo retail as "impossible in this market" as part of their tax break adjustment . . .

In 2015, the Overland Park City Council approved a redevelopment agreement including a "pay-as-you-go" tax increment financing district and a community improvement district financing. Tax increment financing allows the increase in property taxes generated by a project to be redirected to cover some project costs, while a community improvement district allows for an increased sales tax to be levied.

This summer, Half Price Books will vacate a building between the first and second phases of the project. The development plan gave Arbor Development the option to redevelop the building for retail or build a 120-unit apartment building with retail on the first floor. But the developer now wants to replace the first-floor retail with more apartment units.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Developer wants only apartments for last phase of Promontory project - Kansas City Business Journal

Citing a tougher market for filling retail space, the developer of the Promontory mixed-use project in Overland Park wants to dedicate the project's final phase solely to apartments. Arbor Development LLC has asked city officials to amend a development agreement for the third phase of the Promontory project to allow construction of a 150-unit apartment building.