KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The developers behind the Mission Gateway development in Mission are facing a July 15 deadline to pay the city nearly $448,000 in real estate taxes and other special assessments.
Mission officials announced Monday that a week ago, on May 15, the city notified the property’s owners, Aryeh Realty, LLC, with a “notice of default, demand and notice to cure” for non-payment of taxes.
Development at the project site, near Shawnee Mission Parkway and Roe Avenue, has seen starts and stops over the last several years.
In April, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, the mortgage holder of the loan on the property, initiated foreclosure proceedings, something the city said it was following closely.
Aryeh was due to pay a portion of its 2022 property tax bill on May 12, but that deadline passed with no payment.
Mission Mayor Sollie Flora requested the Mission City Council and the development team meet for a work session on Wednesday, May 24 to figure out next steps forward.
The city says the developer does not plan to attend.
“I cannot even begin to adequately convey my level of frustration with the developer’s failure to pay what our city is owed or its decision not to attend the meeting this week,” Flora said in a statement. “We expended tremendous effort last year working to negotiate an agreement which would give the developer the greatest chance of successfully completing the Gateway Project.”
The mayor described the actions of the developer as “beyond the pale.”
If the city does not receive payment by the July 15 deadline, the city said it has the ability to terminate the most recent version of the development agreement reached between the two parties in January.
But the city says its options beyond terminating the agreement are limited.
“I know there are many residents and businesses who would like to see the city take over the property. Unfortunately, there is not a viable path for the city to do so," Flora said.
It's not the first time the city and developers have battled over back taxes. The two sides went back and forth over $365,000 in property taxes in June 2021.
Flora, who then served as a Mission City Councilman, told KSHB 41 that she wanted the developer to finish the project or sell it to someone else.
"You know I think at this point, the council it seems and definitely the community have lost faith in the developer," Flora said at the time.
The site was home to the old Mission Mall, which was demolished several years ago with grand plans for the site. Several different development plans have come and gone, featuring big box retail, hotel, multi-family residential and office concepts.
So far, none of them have materialized.
“We’ve been more than reasonable and understanding over the years and now it is up to Aryeh to keep its end of the bargain,” Flora said. “We’re well past the time for excuses from the developer.”
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