Power & Light Redevelopment Mired in Money Disputes

KANSAS CITY, MO-Power & Light District developer RegentPartners Inc. of Atlanta has rejected an alternative financial plan proposedby the city, a plan the city says would reduce risk for taxpayers.

In a letter addressing the proposal, David Allman, president of RegentPartners, wrote that city Finance Department suggestions would, instead,”significantly increase the financial exposure for Regent Partners.”The plan submitted by the city called for a decrease in the amount ofcity-backed bonds to fund the project.

The Power & Light Districtis a $620-million redevelopment project that has been delayed for morethan two years.A scaled-down version of the redevelopment plan is now being considered. Regent Partners wants toconvert the Power & Light Building into apartments, construct an AMCEntertainment office building and bring a House of Blues nightclub intothe old Empire Room. The late Stan Durwood, president of AMCEntertainment, was the original backer of the Power & Light Districtrenovation.

In its proposal, Regent Partners asked for two sets of bonds, one for$36 million to be city-backed and a junior set of $7 million worth of bonds. It isbetween the developer and the Tax Increment Financing Commission to setan appropriate amount on the bonds. If the blend increases costs to thedeveloper, the company may withdraw without penalty.Allman wrote: “To reiterate, given the considerable amounts of moneythat are now at risk and even greater amounts of private debt and equitythat will be committed by Regent, we are not in a position to increaseour financial exposure.”

To address the long fought differences, Mayor Kay Barnes has created acommittee to review the latest financing plan and proposal.