Apr

30

Cordish: “All your party are belong to us”

April 30, 2008 |

After Kansas City gave the Cordish company an unprecedented tax break with great risk to the taxpayers, and got a change in state law, the developer is now threatening to sue the city. The problem is the Power & Light District’s special open container permit, which allows customers to take booze outside into the street and public plazas.  It is the only one in the state, but now Westport and other districts want the same permit so they can stay competitive with the heavily subsidized Downtown district.

Cordish wants to keep the party to itself and is threatening to sue the city for supporting the expansion of open container permits. They claim the city promised that the P&L District would be only place with open containers, but the city says it made no such promise.

We have to wonder if this supposed promise was in the same agreement where Cordish promised to open the P&L District along with the Sprint Center.  Or maybe it was in the second agreement where they pushed the opening back to the Big 12 tournament?  Or maybe it was in the third agreement were we let them open whenever the heck they got around to it? Or maybe the broken promise where they pledged to build condo towers in exchange for big tax breaks?

Maybe Cordish should spend less time litigating and more time constructing?


Comments

5 Comments so far

  1. Corey on April 30, 2008 1:19 pm

    This is what happens when the government works on favors and promises of protected “rights”. The proper way to encourage investments is eliminate barriers to develop such as taxes and bureaucratic tape. Make KCMO the easiest and cheapest and most safe place to run a business. The rest will follow.

    Cordish is acting on the favor premise which is how they developed what they have now. There’s no reason to think why they would stop now.

  2. Tim on April 30, 2008 1:27 pm

    If they lose the exclusive rights to open container, it puts the entire P&L plan in jeopardy. We have to make it work.

  3. ChrisM70 on April 30, 2008 1:46 pm

    Anyone think that perhaps Cordish has all kinds of “loopholes” like this so at the drop of a hat they can blame KC for “not fufilling obligations” and skipping out of their downtown deal?

    More likely is that this gives them plenty of corporate muscle to bully the city into giving them ANYTHING they want or they threaten to break the deal - a deal this city desperately needs to bring downtown back to life. But let’s look at their recent demands:

    No one can hand out fliers for non-Cordish restaurants on their property?
    No one else in KC can have “festival” type liquor licenses?
    They open restaurants and stores on their timeframe and change that timeframe whenever they want without notifying the city?

    Sure Cordish, whatever you want!
    It’s not Downtown Kansas City - it’s Cordishville!
    They make all the rules and have no accountability.

    This city has a LONG and terrible history of making terrible deals and getting screwed (Truman Sports Complex, Kemper, etc.) leaving the taxpayers to pay for the mistakes.

  4. Ryan on April 30, 2008 3:14 pm

    From what I understand, the legislation that the Kansas City Council is endorsing at the state level is for TEMPORARY festival licenses. The city is endorsing this idea because Westport and other areas would like, during festivals, to let their patrons go from bar to bar without repercussions. Cordish is definitely trying to bully the city.

    As far as the Condo towers, I think that they will build them as soon as the market allows. Which, in my opinion, is now but I guess they do not see it that way. Perhaps, they believe that Miley (short for Smiley) Cyrus-esque shows will make this ‘cowtown’ happy and let us forget about thier promises.

  5. Tim on May 2, 2008 9:12 am

    No matter what “promises” were made either way, what’s written on paper is what will stand legally.

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