Pulled directly from the City of Mission’s website:
Important Points:
1. The City of Mission does not own the Gateway site.
2. The City and Gateway Developers, LLC would be very glad to see development on the site and continue to work to achieve that goal.
3. A chief obstacle at this point is securing enough tenants to lease in the proposed development.
Gateway Developers, LLC has been in the process of securing tenants for the proposed Gateway Development since the summer of 2008. Before the developers can secure any construction funding from the bank, they must surpass a threshold percentage of tenants who have signed leases to occupy the future space. This means the bank will not finance construction until a minimum occupancy is achieved.
The collapse of financial markets in late 2008 has complicated efforts to secure new tenants, as many businesses are hesitant to continue expansion given the current financial climate. Additionally, the developer’s bank has increased previous tenant thresholds, meaning the developers must have a greater number of signed leases before construction monies will be disbursed from the bank. Gateway Developers, LLC continues to actively seek out business tenants to fill vacancies in the proposed structure. As soon as enough tenants have signed, the bank will disburse money and construction will begin.
At this time we have no anticipated start date for construction to commence, due to the fluctuations of financial markets and the current hesitancy being experienced in the commercial land sector. The project is simply on hold until enough business tenants can be found to meet the bank’s requirements.
The City of Mission has been actively working with Gateway Developers, LLC to try and move the project forward. However, like many other large development projects across the country, we are still waiting for the commercial market to stabilize to the point where businesses are comfortable with continued expansion.
In short:
1. The developers continue to try and get businesses to sign leases.
2. The bank will not give the developers money to begin construction until their lease threshold is met.
3. Given the current economic climate, many businesses are hesitant to expand into new development.
Project History and Other Background Information
In 2005 The Cameron Group, LLC, a development company from Syracuse, New York, purchased the Mission Mall property with plans to build a mixed-use development on the site. Preliminary plans for this redevelopment project were approved by the City on October of 2007. The Final Plat for the site was approved by the Planning Commission on May of 2008. Mission’s Governing Body approved a development agreement with the Gateway Developers, LLC at their January 23, 2008 City Council Meeting.
The City of Mission then submitted an application to the Kansas State Secretary of Commerce for STAR Bonds financing of certain components of the project. On June 6, 2008, the Secretary of Commerce approved and designated the Mission Gateway STAR Bond Project District as a STAR Bond Project, and approved the issuance of STAR Bonds for the same.
On September 5, 2008, the development group announced the first four confirmed tenants of the project, as follows:
The Kansas Aquarium: A 2-million gallon, 70,000-square-foot, three-level aquarium.
Upscale hotel: 150 to 170 room, five to six story upscale, national flag hotel with a full service restaurant, developed by the The Widewaters Group, a New York real estate development and management company.
Urban Active Fitness: A family fitness center with amenities such as a cardio movie theater, a smoothie bar, month-by-month memberships and a women-only fitness area.
Studio Movie Grill: An eight-screen movie theater offering plush leather chairs for full-service dining.
Also in 2005, the City of Mission initiated a visioning process for the “East Gateway” area of our community. An East Gateway Redevelopment Study Team was established, which included residents, business owners, and city officials from the cities of Mission, Roeland Park, and Fairway. Following many meetings and public input, a final vision was presented on March 24, 2006
