Received the below response. Mike brings up some interesting, positive points.
ray,
this corner, when developed, will be our "gateway" development to more development westbound on shawnee mission parkway, all the way out to shawnee mission pkwy. and kansas hiway 7.
if you have ever been on the property ( i have ) you would notice that like the deffenbaugh rock mining + landfill operation, it is a huge pile of rock under that soil.
to make it "development ready", it will take millions of dollars of rock detonation, earth moving, and utility installation.
in short, it is a "big deal." despite the fact that the families involved have a net worth exceeding you + i, it is still a huge endeavor, and one that cannot be undertaken without a city / landowner / developer partnership. the other alternative is to leave it alone, zoned agricultural, which produces the lowest revenue stream possible, or the owners bequeath it to a charitable-trust estate arrangement, and tax revenue could go to zero.
from a personal standpoint, i would love to see a drury inn, mixed retail / condo development / restaurant / bar area, similar to a development that i am familiar with in west des moines, iowa, that has spurred further development along a similar corridor, and is now one the current "hot properties" in polk county, ia.
i understand your concern on t.i.f., and to be sure, all t.i.f.'s are not created equal. in this case, i believe that the "give to get" scenario of this property is in the best long term interest of shawnee and the school districts.
another key consideration is that when cerner corp. builds the development out by the nascar track, the need for affordable, condo-type housing in west shawnee plays right into this future potential area. some clerical worker and her husband working at cerner can afford a nice, new, $100,000.00 - $150,000.00 2 br. condo, in an area with restaurants / bars / retail, but cannot afford to buy my home at a $250,000.00 clip.
ray, i hope that you take my commentary at face value, as i have no financial dog in this hunt, just want to see first class future development out here in my neighborhood.
permission to post to your web site is granted.
respectfully,
michael t. egan.
