North Platte redevelopment authority forwards North Flat Mall amendment, approves two housing deals and rental renewal

At a meeting of the North Platte Community Redevelopment Authority, members voted to forward an amended redevelopment contract for North Flat Mall LLC to the City Council and approved separate redevelopment agreements for Lakeview Apartments No. 3 and North Platte Rentals LLC.

The authority approved Resolution 2025-1 to forward the proposed amended redevelopment contract for North Flat Mall LLC to the City Council for consideration. The amendment seeks an increase of $3,300,000 in enhanced employment area (EEA) bond capacity supported by projected occupation-tax receipts; the action at the CRA level forwards the amendment to the City Council, which must approve the ordinance that enlarges the redevelopment agreement before the CRA will adopt a bond resolution.

Mike Works, a developer representing the North Flat Mall project, told the authority that retail sales at the mall have grown since the original plan and that the developer is requesting an additional $3.3 million “to make these two projects go forward.” Works said that, if approved by the City Council and the CRA, construction would begin about March on a new mixed‑use building with 71 apartments and ground-floor retail on the southeast corner near the movie theater. He estimated the new building would have about a 15,000-square-foot footprint and about 60,000 square feet over four stories. Works also said there is interest from a regional retailer to lease the rear portion of the JCPenney building if the developer receives assistance through the EEA expansion, and that the developer plans to repair potholes behind the building with asphalt.

Authority staff clarified that this request is an increase to the bond amount under the occupation tax mechanism and is not a change to the tax rate (stated in the packet as 1.95%) or to the sunset date; staff said the additional $3.3 million is the amount the developer identified as necessary, and that sales projections would support a larger request but the developer limited the ask to $3.3 million.

On housing matters, the authority considered Lakeview Apartments No. 3, a workforce-housing TIF project described in the packet as completing earlier phases and adding another set of multi-family buildings. Staff said Lakeview 3 is structured as a 15‑year tax-increment development revenue note in the amount of $825,000 and that some prior bond pledges must be released by bondholders as a paperwork cleanup before final signatures. The authority adopted Resolution 2025-2 providing for the tax-increment note and approval of the related redevelopment contract; staff said the signature will wait until required subdivision and Planning Commission steps are completed and the prior bond releases are documented.

The authority also reviewed and approved a renewal for North Platte Rentals LLC, a contract covering six or seven buildings and 42 apartments on the north side of town. Staff noted the City Council had directed that site purchase not be an allowable expense for that project, and the redevelopment contract was revised to remove land purchase as an eligible cost while retaining other qualifying expenses.

A separate, brief agenda item that appears in the packet and was approved covered a redevelopment contract for an entity recorded in the minutes as “any intellectual LLC” (text in packet), which the authority approved as presented.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 2025-1 (North Flat Mall LLC) — motion to forward amended redevelopment contract to City Council for approval; outcome: approved by roll call and will be on the City Council agenda the following week. Resolution 2025-2 (Lakeview Apartments No. 3) — motion to adopt a tax-increment development revenue note for $825,000 and approve the redevelopment contract; outcome: approved by roll call; signatures to follow after plat/subdivision and bond-holder releases. Approval of redevelopment contract renewal (North Platte Rentals LLC) — outcome: approved by roll call. Approval of redevelopment contract for the entity recorded as “any intellectual LLC” — outcome: approved by roll call.

Staff indicated they will prepare the necessary bond resolution and aim to schedule a follow-up CRA meeting soon after City Council action to consider the bond adoption for the mall expansion. Developers requested a quick turnaround to meet construction timelines if City Council and CRA approvals are received.

Clarifying details captured in the meeting record include the requested EEA bond increase of $3,300,000 for North Flat Mall LLC, the developer’s plan for a 71‑unit apartment building with roughly 15,000 square feet per floor and about 60,000 square feet total, last‑year mall retail sales cited by the developer at about $27 million with expectations to rise into the mid‑$30 million range, the stated occupation tax rate (packet figure) of 1.95% with no change to sunset, the Lakeview Apartments No. 3 note amount of $825,000 and term cited as 15 years, and the North Platte Rentals LLC contract covering about 42 apartments.

The record contains no council or CRA action to adopt a bond issuance for North Flat Mall at this meeting; that step was described as contingent on City Council approval of the amended ordinance and will return to the CRA for final bond action.

(Quotes in this article are verbatim from the meeting transcript.)