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Developer asks Lee's Summit for 75% tax abatement for downtown townhomes
Summary
Omni 360 Development presented a conceptual 28-unit townhome project at 4th & Green and requested a 25-year LCRA package including a 75% property-tax abatement and sales-tax exemption on construction materials; council praised design but asked for clearer public-benefit details before a formal application.
A local developer told the Lee's Summit City Council on Aug. 4 she needs public incentives to make a downtown townhome project financially viable. Ashley Seibert of Omni 360 Development said the concept for the 0.96-acre site at 4th and Green would deliver about 28 townhome units, rear-entry garages, and a small commercial space, but "we're not asking for city dollars — we're asking for the property tax abatement" to bridge a financing gap.
David Bushek, the city's economic development legal counsel, framed the request in numbers: the developer is seeking a 75% property-tax abatement for 25 years (Bushek cited a present-value value of roughly $1.41 million) and a construction-materials sales-tax exemption worth about $393,000, bringing the incentive package to roughly $1.81 million or about 17.2% of the project's estimated $10.5 million cost. Bushek described the sales-tax exemption as a common construction-period tool and said the city's share of any incentive impact would be a portion of the total borne by multiple taxing districts.
Council members broadly praised the project's design and the idea of adding "missing middle" housing downtown, but several asked staff and the developer for more detail on public benefits and infrastructure costs before advancing an application. Mayor Pro Tem Shields asked whether underground stormwater detention, water-main upsizing and alley mill/overlay work would create benefits for other properties; Bushek and Seibert said some onsite improvements would be site-specific and that staff would provide more itemized estimates in a future submission.
Councilor concerns also focused on the size of the incentive. Council member Atkins said she is sympathetic to the housing type but prefers a lower incentive share "closer to 15%" rather than 17.2%. Seibert said she and her partners are open to accountability measures — including benchmarks, compliance requirements and clawbacks — and said she had met with the school district superintendent to inform the district of the project and the request. The presentation was conceptual only; the council provided nonbinding feedback and directed staff to work with the developer if they choose to proceed to a formal application.
