Ingram's October 2023

IN THE NEWS

Tidbits of Business News from Around the Region

MISSOURI BUCHANAN COUNTY Sport Complex Study

Office Struggles Continue As the nation’s office vacancy rate crept up to within a hair of its 1991 record high during the third quarter, the Kansas City market proved no excep tion. According to Moody’s Analytics, the rate here increased 1.3 percentage points in Q3. It hit 26.5 percent in the greater Downtown area and 35.1 percent for all Class A properties, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Nationally, office vacancies came in at 19.2 percent, just below the record 19.3 percent from 32 years ago. Plaza Sale in Offing The owners of a luxury shopping district in Dallas have signed an agree ment to acquire The Country Club Plaza

JACKSON COUNTY Major Mixed-Use Downtown The prospect of a public park lid over the south loop of Interstate 70 has inspired one of the biggest apartment building efforts since the onset of Downtown’s revival 20 years ago. Copa- ken Brooks plans for just north of the T-Mobile Center include a $300 mil- lion mixed-use project featuring 700 apartments, plus 20,000 square feet of retail at 12th and McGee. In addition, it envisions 85,000 square feet of office and smaller retail space on the adjacent block in a separate project valued at $35 million.

City leaders have received results on the feasibility of building a multi purpose sports facility in St. Joseph, a project that could cost as much as $120 million. The proposed 70-acre site would include venues for basketball and volley ball, soccer, baseball, and softball. At the upper price range, it would include a pool, but without one, the projected cost falls to $90 million. A major consideration is financing; the $60 million tax for parks approved by voters in 2021 is largely dedi cated to the upkeep and improvement of current park properties. As its population approaches 25,000, the bedroom suburb of Belton rolled out two initiatives in September, both aimed at setting a civic agenda. The first was the creation of a Community Development Department, which will oversee city planning, building inspections, zoning, and code enforcement, as well as a rental registration and inspection program scheduled to start in July 2024. The other is the production of a comprehensive plan for the community, with scheduled hearings for residents and opportunities to help produce growth strategies for the city. The newest addition to a growing industrial-client roster in Liberty is an automotive parts maker and distributor that will move into a 167,000-square-foot space at Heartland Meadows Industrial Park. U.S. Motor Works, which has six locations nationwide, says it will invest more than $19 million to prepare the facility for operations starting in Janu ary. City officials say the expected lease to-own agreement may set the stage for the company as a long-term tenant. CASS COUNTY Belton Setting Agenda CLAY COUNTY Liberty Snags Distributor

Correspondent News Updates from the Capital cities

Washington | Missouri’s Smith Wants Business Break Saved Rep. Jason Smith, who represents the far-southeast 8th congressional district and chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, has submitted a bill that would extend the small-business deduction of 20 percent carved out during federal tax reform in 2017. Nine out of 10 small businesses, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, have benefitted from that break since its introduction in 2018, but the measure was designed to sunset in 2025. It applied to pass-through entities—sole proprietorships, S-Corporations, partnerships, or LLCs—and allowed Gov. Mike Parson headed to Japan earlier this month on an international trade mission with one of Missouri’s biggest export partners, which imported products valued at more than $455 million last year. Stops on the trip include Tokyo and Missouri’s sister state, Nagano Prefecture. The agenda includes meetings with the prefecture’s governor, Shuichi Abe, and the mayor of the sister city to St. Louis, Suwa. He was also scheduled to meet with various government officials, diplomats, and business leaders to promote Missouri as a prime destina tion for business investment and expansion. Last year’s exports, his office said, reflected the importance of international trade to the state’s economic success, chief among them processed foods, chemicals, and electronic products. Topeka | Kobach: Edgerton Annexation Illegal Attorney General Kris Kobach claims in a new lawsuit that Edgerton illegally annexed land in 2020 to expand around Logistics Park Kansas City, where neighbors have opposed increasing the footprint of the region’s premier logistics center for years. The Edgerton City Council annexed nearly 700 acres in 2020, rezoned it, and fought off a legal challenge from nearby residents. Kobach’s lawsuit, filed in Johnson County District Court, says the city violated annexation law by carving out a narrow corridor adjacent to non-contiguous properties it wanted for the logistics park. a deduction of up to 20 percent of qualified business income. Jefferson City | Parson Heads to Far East

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Kansas City’s Business Media

October 2023