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Developers secure initial approvals for The Shops at Smithville CID and Chapter 353 redevelopment plan
Summary
On first readings Sept. 23 the Board approved Bill No. 3079-25 to establish The Shops at Smithville CID and Bill No. 3080-25 approving a Chapter 353 redevelopment plan, including a requested blight finding; the school district won agreement to a 10-year PILOT cap and 4% biennial increases for years four through ten.
The Smithville Board of Aldermen on Sept. 23 approved on first reading two measures to enable a redevelopment and financing structure for The Shops at Smithville: Bill No. 3079-25 to form a Community Improvement District (CID) and Bill No. 3080-25 adopting a Chapter 353 redevelopment plan and declaring the area blighted.
Megan Miller of Gilmore and Bell, the city's economic development counsel, told the Board a petition submitted Aug. 4 met statutory requirements for creating a CID for a building on Highway 169. The CID would be a separate political subdivision governed by a board (four owner representatives and one city representative) and would generate revenues from a proposed 1% sales tax to fund improvements; the petition requests the 27-year statutory maximum term and a blight finding to allow remediation and rehabilitation.
Mark Maas, superintendent of the Smithville School District, said the project would raise assessed valuation by roughly 28% once renovations are complete and that the developer agreed to the district's terms: a 10-year limit to PILOT payments and a 4% biennial increase in PILOTs beginning in year four. Megan Miller said the applicant filed a revised redevelopment plan on Sept. 22 to reflect the 10-year abatement limit and the higher PILOT biennial growth, and that another public hearing is scheduled Oct. 7 to accept comment on the revisions.
Kirk Peterson, representing Smithville Holding, LLC (owners Shane Crees and John Davis), said redevelopment of an existing property is more complex than new construction and predicted the project would expand the tax base, add businesses and create jobs.
Alderman Marv Atkins moved approval of both bills and Alderman Dan Hartman seconded. Both measures passed first reading by unanimous roll calls (6'00). No substantive discussion was recorded beyond the presentations and the scheduling of the Oct. 7 hearing for revisions.
The bills advance the formal process; further approvals and any final financing details, including final PILOT schedules and board composition for the CID, will be resolved in subsequent proceedings and hearings.
