Several Joplin area banks are being asked to participate in a consortium to lend the Joplin Redevelopment 353 Corp. money to start buying land for projects that will be part of the city’s tornado recovery.
David Wallace, chief executive officer of the Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, told the 353 board on Tuesday that he is seeking $8 million in loans to start purchasing land for some of the $794 million in projects proposed for Joplin’s redevelopment.
The 353 organization is to be the land bank for the projects and a means to generate money for future projects through land sales. The plan is to fund those purchases with $30 million. Of that, $8 million will come from the city’s federal Community Development block grant funds. The city has been awarded a $45 million grant for tornado recovery. Wallace also is negotiating a commitment from the Missouri Development Finance Board to obtain $22 million in bonds for land purchases.
Access to money would allow pending land deals to close within two to three months, Wallace told the board. Wallace has asked Doug Doll, president of Arvest Bank, to seek commitments from five to nine banks to pitch in on the $8 million loan pool. Wallace is asking that the banks forgo requiring a down payment.
“The banks would usually require 20 percent equity, but they have agreed to make 100 percent loans with only the loan and the land on the balance sheet,” he said.
Wallace said a similar loan consortium for $6 million was done on an Amarillo, Texas, project his firm handled.
The bonds sought from the state would be repaid from taxes generated in a proposed tax increment finance district the master developer proposes. The TIF district would encompass the tornado zone and the downtown district.
Wallace said it does not impose any new taxes on property owners. It would channel the taxes created by the new development for bond payoffs and reinvestment in the development projects. Wallace told the 353 board he believes the projects in the TIF district would generate $60 million in capital.
“Generally, a TIF is created for the benefit of the developer” to repay costs incurred in providing infrastructure and streets within the development that government would normally be obligated to provide. “This TIF is being funded for the benefit of the community,” Wallace said.
The board asked if members could be held liable if any legal issues arose. City Attorney Brian Head said liability insurance is being purchased for the board.
A closed session was held by the board after the discussions on the loans and TIF. The board cited an exemption in the open records law allowing closed discussions on real estate transactions as the reason.
Public meeting
A PUBLIC MEETING on the TIF proposal is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, at City Hall to inform residents about the details of the proposal.
Local News
Loans sought to fund initial land purchases
- Local News
-
-
Civil War committee honors sacrifice of soldiers ambushed at Rader Farm
Dozens of local residents gathered Saturday at the Rader Farm on the 150th anniversary of the massacre of 15 soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry and three white soldiers from the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Artillery Battery by guerrilla Confederate forces.
-
Summer classes scheduled for Joplin, MSSU
Summer classes for Joplin Schools have been scheduled for Monday, June 3, through Friday, June 28.
-
Mike Pound: No cure for ‘worst parent ever syndrome’
I may be the worst parent ever. The reason I say that is because our 15-year-old daughter, Emma, suggested that was the case the other day when I was driving her home from school.
-
Wally Kennedy: Ye Olde King Pizza to open by September
Let’s start at the beginning. Earlier this year, Brian and Tracy Myers, of Joplin, signed a licensing agreement to bring a Ye Olde King Pizza to Joplin. This style of pizza was the forerunner for what eventually would become Joplin’s signature pizza restaurant, Pizza by Stout. That restaurant at 2101 S. Range Line Road was destroyed by the May 2011 tornado.
-
FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
-
VIDEO: Nearly 2,300 take part in second Joplin Memorial Run
Having just cruised across the line to finish in first place in the Joplin Memorial Run’s half-marathon, Andrew Webb paused for a moment to catch his breath and take it all in.
-
PBS stations to broadcast ‘Deadline in Disaster’ documentary
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations across Missouri this week will broadcast “Deadline in Disaster,’’ a one-hour documentary that chronicles how The Joplin Globe helped its readers find hope in the aftermath of the EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin two years ago this week.
-
Hatred, resentment and retribution fueled bloody encounter at Rader’s Farm
Members of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment had been in Jasper County in large numbers on previous foraging missions. Coming from their outpost in modern-day Baxter Springs, Kan., the armed former slaves in Union uniforms had entered the property and homes of white residents to take their food or other useful supplies.
-
Ceremony to mark push for Civil War memorial
Organizers hope that today’s ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of a Civil War battle northwest of Joplin also will encourage support to finance a permanent memorial on the site.
-
Disaster response team to hold tornado memorial ride
A group of motorcycle enthusiasts who focus on disaster relief plan to hold a motorcycle ride through Joplin on the second anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
- More Local News Headlines
-
