Your Tax Dollars Not at Work

Keeling says that over the years, she has tried many times to speak with Threatt and the CDC-KC staff, mostly to no avail. Tancredi says the Blue Hills Neighborhood Association invited the CDC-KC, along with other organizations, to a meeting this past summer, but no one from the CDC-KC showed up.

Threatt tells The Pitch that the CDC-KC was not informed of that meeting. In July, though, he did receive a strongly worded letter signed by the Southtown Council, Research Medical Center and the Blue Hills Neighborhood Association. That letter outlined the groups' previous support for the project and emphasized that they were "extremely concerned" about the lack of progress.

"Unfortunately, not only have positive outcomes not been forthcoming in a reasonable fashion, but collectively we are experiencing significant issues and challenges resulting from CDC-KC's lack of performance," the letter noted.

It took the CDC nearly four months to reply in writing. In his November 7 response, Threatt outlined the progress of the project and blamed City Hall for the delay.

Two days after Threatt sent that letter, though, the CDC-KC was hit with another lawsuit.

Adnan Khan owns a Valero gas station on 63rd Street, just west of Prospect. Earlier this year, the CDC-KC agreed to pay him $775,000 for his property. In October, Threatt sent Khan a letter giving him 18 days to vacate the premises. The CDC-KC then changed its story and said Khan could stay until the end of November if he paid $9,000 rent. More than the rent requirement, Khan was struck by the CDC-KC's insistence that he "not remove anything from the location."

Ron Bodinson, Khan's attorney, says his client has no problem turning over the property when the CDC-KC is ready to clear the land and start developing. "But he does object to them turning over the property to a competitor and them being able to sit there, using his equipment, making money," Bodinson says.

Threatt says the CDC-KC bought Khan's entire operation, not just the land.

Now, he says, the only thing holding up further development is a financing agreement with the city — an agreement lending the CDC-KC $45 million in taxpayer-backed bonds.

Threatt says he hopes that the City Council will authorize that $45 million early this year. "It has been very frustrating," he says of his negotiation with the city.

But if the city lends Threatt $45 million and Citadel Plaza doesn't break ground, or if it isn't as successful as the CDC-KC pro­jects, the public will be left with the debt.

Along the way, Citadel Plaza's troubles have stirred unusual tensions at City Hall.

That much was clear back on February 21, 2007, at what should have been another boring meeting.

That day, Threatt and a gallery of CDC-KC lawyers and financial backers sat before the City Council's Finance and Audit Committee. Their goal: Secure permission to negotiate a deal with the city manager — a deal for $55 million in city-backed bonds to start construction on the Citadel Plaza.

City Finance Director Deb Hinsvark told the committee that staffers from her department had been meeting frequently with the CDC-KC and that the two parties had "dramatically" different projections for how much revenue the Citadel Plaza would produce. The city's financial advisers believed that Citadel Plaza would ring up $55 million in TIF reve­nues over 20 years; the CDC-KC projected $101 million over the same length of time. The finance staffers suggested an independent study.

"We've been working very hard with this developer, and this does feel like a surprise end run around our staff," Hinsvark said of the CDC-KC's effort to negotiate a deal directly with Cauthen.

Riley accused Hinsvark of impeding the project. Other council members had to cut in to keep the meeting on track.

At one point, Hinsvark approached the microphone while council members were speaking. "I need to correct something I said earlier," she said.

"Hold on real quick," Riley interjected. "Never before have we had a staff member who, while the council is talking, abruptly gets up and interrupts and says, 'No, I want to talk right now.' That's totally inappropriate. I was trying to say something, and she just runs up to the microphone and arbitrarily cuts me out."

"I apologize, Councilman Riley," Hinsvark said when the committee chair allowed her to continue.

"From the finger pointing in my face earlier this morning to the interruptions ..." Riley trailed off.

"He and I have been arguing all morning," Hinsvark acknowledged.

Hinsvark left City Hall abruptly in September 2007.

Riley still bristles at what he considers to be unfair scrutiny of the project by city staffers.

Cindy Circo, Riley's fellow 5th District council member, did not return calls from The Pitch seeking comment on Citadel Plaza.

Threatt says the city has forced the CDC-KC to jump through hoops that other developers haven't had to, such as the third-party study.

"We're not trying to say we did everything perfectly," Threatt says. "We have a cross to bear. But that's not what the holdup is in this project. There are items prohibiting it moving forward."

But he won't specify what those items are.

Neither will LaTrisha Underhill, the assistant city manager working on the CDC-KC agreement.