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Commission sets June 16 public hearings for K‑State Foundation27s Edge 3.0 financing
Summary
The Manhattan City Commission voted May 5 to set June 16 public hearings on a proposed TIF district and a Star Bond/sales‑tax district tied to the K‑State Foundation27s Edge 3.0 project, while commissioners pressed for more detailed financials and clarity on tax capture.
The Manhattan City Commission on May 5 set June 16 as the public hearing date to consider creation of a tax-increment financing (TIF) district near College and Kimball and a Star Bond/sales‑tax district on Kansas State University property, both linked to the K‑State Foundation27s Edge 3.0 proposal.
"Edge 3.0 is intended to be this quantum leap to help us catch up," Greg Willems, president and CEO of the K‑State Foundation, told commissioners as he recapped the project and its roughly $297.6 million capital stack. Willems said hotels, condos, restaurants, an indoor track and research‑related EdgeTech facilities are among the components under discussion, and that the foundation as developer would assume most project risk while new incremental revenue would be used to support project costs.
Commissioners said they were willing to set the hearings but pressed staff and the foundation for more concrete numbers before the public meeting. One commissioner said they were “not comfortable” authorizing districts without clearer detail on what TIF dollars would be used for and questioned whether incremental taxes would primarily benefit the foundation or return to the city for infrastructure.
City staff and Willems said feasibility studies and detailed project plans will be released ahead of or between now and the June 16 hearings, and that establishing the hearing does not create the districts. The commission approved the resolution to set a TIF public hearing (resolution 050526a) on a 4–1 vote and separately set the Star Bond/CID public hearing (resolution 050526b) on a 5–0 vote.
Next steps: the public hearing on both districts is scheduled for June 16; commissioners and staff said they expect to receive feasibility studies, financing breakdowns and draft development agreements in the weeks before the hearing.
