An apartment project near downtown Mission is getting a tax break.
The Mission City Council on Wednesday, by a 6-2 vote, approved a tax abatement request from Mojo Built LCC, connected to Overland Park-based Moffit and Associates, for the 58Nall apartment complex. Councilmembers Ken Davis and Debbie Kring cast the dissenting votes.
Located just off 58th Street and Nall Avenue, the project calls for a three-story, 77-unit apartment building on the site of the former Sunflower Medical Group buildings.
The approval Wednesday comes after the city crafted a new tax abatement policy over the last several months, a process sparked by Moffit and Associates’ initial request for a tax abatement for 58Nall.
The city granted a 70% tax abatement, $20M in bonds
The finance and administration committee on Oct. 4 recommended approval of a 70% abatement for the project.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the city council approved that recommendation, instituting the tax abatement for a ten-year period. (Ten years is the limit for tax abatements in Kansas, according to state law.)
58Nall met the baseline criteria to earn a 45% abatement and received the remaining 25% from additional criteria related to the capital investment, target area, attainable housing and environmental design.
This means that for the ten-year period the developer will pay only 30% of the taxes due on the property to the city of Mission and all other taxing jurisdictions, including the Shawnee Mission School District and the county.
Mission caps all tax abatements at 75% for up to 10 years, per the new policy adopted in July.
The city also approved a resolution of intent to issue up to $20 million in industrial revenue bonds for the financing of the project.
The tax abatement goes into effect on Jan. 1 the year after the bonds are issued, according to city documents.
A look at the attainable housing, sustainability requirements
- For the duration of the tax abatement, the developer is required to keep at least eight units “attainable” for residents whose income is 60% of the average median income or lower, according to city documents.
- Of those eight attainable units, four must be one-bedroom units and there must be two studios and two must be two-bedroom units.
- The developer is also required to earn at least a “One Globe” certification from the nonprofit Green Building Initiative, which assesses projects’ environmental impact and sustainability.
One councilmember explained his dissenting vote
- Councilmember Davis said he disagreed with the percent of the abatement — 7.5% in this case — given for attainable housing, suggesting either the percentage for the abatement needed to be lower or more attainable housing units needed to be included in the project.
- “I believe this project does not deserve the full abatement that is being proposed,” Davis said.
- Councilmember Hillary Thomas said she initially shared some of Davis’ concerns with the project, but she is comfortable with the adjustments.
- “I think we are, again, affirming this council’s efforts to bring more economic development to Johnson Drive, create more sustainable buildings and more attainable housing options,” Thomas said.
Go deeper: Mission hears early concept for new apartments near Powell Community Center
