Frustrated by the lack of activity at Antioch Center, Northland representatives want to put pressure on the shopping center's erstwhile redeveloper.
Eastbourne Investments, the aging mall's Canadian owner, put forward a plan in 2004 to remake the mall with taxpayer assistance. The City Council approved a deal in which tax-increment financing (TIF) and other public sources would cover half of the $80 million project's costs.
Yet today Antioch Center remains an outdated, salmon-colored facility with few tenants. And city officials are getting impatient. "Nothing has happened," says Kansas City Councilwoman Deb Hermann.
Hermann sits on a committee that advises the Antioch TIF plan. Last month, the committee discussed Eastbourne's inability to make things happen. The committee passed a motion asking the TIF Commission to review the redevelopment agreement.
Hermann says Eastbourne is in default of the agreement and risks losing the incentives that were promised if it does not address code violations and show other signs of progress. Hermann says Eastbourne can't rely on the recession for excuses. "This has been going on for five years," she says.
On Tuesday, the TIF Commission accepted the advistory committee's recommendation. Eastbourne's lawyer, Charles Miller, who attended the TIF Commission meeting, was unable to send a signal that patience was all Eastbourne needed. "At the present, we don't have anything tangible to offer," he said.
Comments (0)