Editor’s note: Updated 7/29 at 3:45 p.m.
City Administrator Laura Smith told the Post on Tuesday that the brewpub tenant the developer planned to bring to the former Wild Oats building has decided against signing a lease for the space.
Smith didn’t state which regional brewpub was negotiating with U.S. Properties Co. for the space.
Still, she said that the public incentives package approved for the project earlier this year requires a regional brewpub to lease a majority of the redevelopment for a minimum of five years.
The brewpub must be regional with a full-service kitchen and outdoor dining and recreation space, according to the public incentives package.
U.S. Properties Co. has until Nov. 1, 2025, to sign a lease with a tenant that fits this specific definition, otherwise the current public incentives package is null and void.
In that case, and in the event the developer still wants public incentives, they would need to renegotiate a package and terms with the city, Smith said.
Original story continues below.
The developer of the former Wild Oats building in downtown Mission wants to bring a brew-pub concept to the long-vacant site.
After sitting empty for nearly two decades, the former grocery store at 5101 Johnson Drive — just across the street from the stalled Mission Gateway project — is now on track for a full renovation featuring a 13,000-square-foot local brew-pub and a 9,000-square-foot space for an unidentified type of retail tenant.
The Mission City Council in May approved a package of public incentives totaling $1.6 million for the project, including a community improvement district and tax increment financing.
“I would just thank [developer] Mr. (Dan) Carr for his willingness to invest in Mission and looking forward to a successful project here — which I think everyone on council would echo,” Mayor Sollie Flora said during a May city council meeting.
A two-tenant retail space is taking over the site
Dan Carr, a developer with Kansas City, Missouri-based U.S. Federal Properties Co., purchased the former grocery store space late last year.
Carr plans to renovate the existing building — all 22,000 square feet — and transform it into a two-tenant retail space.
The main tenant, dubbed tenant “A,” is planned to be a local brewery-pub, according to city documents.
What specific brew-pub it will be has so far not been publicly named, though representatives of the developer in previous meetings have said the brew-pub has a major focus on patios.
Details have yet to be announced on what type of retail tenant will take over the other 9,000-square-foot space next door.
Developer to get public financing and industrial revenue bonds
The city council in May approved in separate unanimous votes three different public incentives for the project.
Those incentives are:
- a 20-year tax increment financing (or TIF) agreement to reimburse the developer for more than $615,000 worth of land acquisition costs,
- more than $975,000 to be reimbursed through an additional 2% sales tax at both businesses as part of a 22-year Community Improvement District (or CID),
- and industrial revenue bonds for sales tax exemptions on eligible construction materials.
Both the TIF and CID are scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, 2026.
Over the 20-year TIF, the developer will receive all of the tax revenue generated from the new development.
Typically, such TIF revenue is split between a developer and the city, usually 75% for the developer and 25% for the city. Councilmember Ben Chociej said that because the estimated additional tax revenue generated from the Wild Oats site is small, he thinks it is a reasonable ask for Carr to receive 100% of it.
“It seems like a good use of incentives and a reasonable amount for a project that I think has a pretty broad appeal for the city, and especially for that location,” Chociej said.
What happens next
- The city and developer’s agreement calls for the project construction to start by May 1, 2026.
- By May 1, 2027, the project needs to be completed under the agreed-upon terms and conditions.
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