Woodsonia to seek TIF change for 32nd Street project

Jul. 4—A proposed amendment to the tax increment financing plan for the 32nd Street Place development near Range Line will be presented Thursday at a public hearing before the Joplin TIF Commission.

The applicant of the TIF for the project, Woodsonia Joplin LLC, will make a presentation on the proposed amendment. The request is for boundary changes to some of the locations for projects within the TIF because of topographical issues that were found when the land was recently cleared, according to city documents related to the request.

Joplin City Council members in 2020 agreed to a TIF for the project, which is planned as a $188 million mixed-use, retail and residential development on land east of Range Line Road and south of East 32nd Street.

In the plan as it was outlined to the TIF Commission and the council in 2020, nearly $139 million of the development cost would come from private investment and debt. The developer is to obtain another $28.7 million of the cost in property and sales taxes from the tax increment financing district to build streets and other public infrastructure. A TIF pays half of the increase in the new taxes generated by the development to the developer to repay the costs of infrastructure development.

The land involved is about 75 acres south of 32nd Street and east of Range Line Road.

Drew Snyder, president of Woodsonia Joplin LLC, told the Joplin City Council in January that construction would launch later this year on multiple 12-plex and 86-plex villa-styled apartment buildings. They are to be located east of Sam's Club.

A planned home improvement store, Menards, is to be built by the Menards company on land north of Sam's Club and west of Hammons Boulevard. Snyder also said in January that Menards owns property adjoining 32nd Street where other businesses and restaurants could be built. But Menards has not shared any other information with Woodsonia about plans for its property, he said.

In addition to land clearing, Woodsonia has been working on rebuilding streets within the development site including replacement of the former John Q. Hammons Boulevard and preparing for an intersection to be built on 32nd Street for entry to the area.

In January, the developer also said that the reopening of Hammons Boulevard would happen within days; however, the road is still closed and there has been no public explanation for the delay.

Snyder told the council at the earlier meeting that Woodsonia will install infrastructure for the project area and develop the east side of Hammons Boulevard while Menards will develop and build the improvements in the area west of the boulevard. He said he did not know what the timeline or plans are for the Menards side.

Woodsonia has completed renovation of the former Jim Bob's restaurant southeast of Sam's Club where the BKD accounting firm has relocated. BKD had operated in a building farther north but agreed to move from that site to make room for Menards. It was the first building completed in Woodsonia's project.

The cmmission meeting is to be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 602 S. Main St.

The commission will consider whether to recommend to the City Council that the TIF amendment be made and will vote on a resolution to that effect.

The City Council will make the final decision on the request at a future meeting.