The Raymore City Council approved Chapter 100 industrial development revenue bonds Dec. 22 for the Timber Trails project (now called Iconic), authorizing tax-abatement frameworks for a 300-unit multifamily phase and a small multi-tenant retail phase. Both items were approved on first reading after extended council discussion about fiscal tradeoffs and precedent.

For the multifamily phase (Bill 3992), staff and counsel explained the bond issuance would implement the tax-incentive structure established in a 2023 development plan: bonds estimated at $56,625,000 would support construction of approximately 300 Class A apartment units on roughly 17 acres at the northwest corner of Dean and Johnston. The pilot formula uses a dollars-per-unit payment in lieu of taxes starting at $14.48 per unit (projected upward under a 1.5% biannual escalation used in the plan) and includes a sales-tax exemption for construction materials. The multifamily pilot is scheduled to start no later than 2028 and would run up to 25 years under the development agreement. The performance agreement includes a preferred-tenant program (a $300 credit at initial application for Raymore Chamber members, first responders or local public-school teachers).

For the retail/mixed-use phase (Bill 3993), staff described a roughly 13,560-square-foot retail building with a bond amount cited as $3,675,000. The baseline abatement is 25%; enhanced annual abatement (up to 50% for that year) is available if leasing meets sales-generation thresholds (defined in the plan as roughly $300 per square foot per month in taxable sales). Staff and legal counsel explained the separate bond issuances reflect different abatement schedules for each phase, though the city views the project as one overall development with separate special-purpose entities for each bond.

Council debate focused on the public finance mechanics and precedent. Councilmember Baker argued Chapter 100 financing historically supported larger industrial or infrastructure projects and cautioned that applying the same incentives to apartments and small retail may reduce property-tax revenue available to support city services. He said transparency around the net tax impact and the projection assumptions was necessary, and he questioned whether the guaranteed 1.5% biannual escalation in the pilot was appropriate as a locked-in growth rate. Supporters, including other council members and staff, said incentives are necessary to attract development and that projections use assessor valuations and the 2023 cost-benefit framework as a common basis.

Developers (Griffin Riley and counsel) said site grading and utility work have begun and that retail typically follows residential occupancy: "retail follows rooftops, not the other way around," a developer said. The council discussed risk-mitigation measures, note that the bonds are developer-responsible (the city is not on the hook for debt service), and that if a developer defaults the Chapter 100 incentive would be removed and the property returned to the tax rolls.

Both Bill 3992 (multifamily) and Bill 3993 (retail) were approved on first reading with 5-2 votes. Council directed staff to continue oversight and to report on implementation details as the project advances.