Shocker! KC Developer Builds Building, Pays Taxes!

Corporate Welfare | July 17, 2017

By Patrick Tuohey | Read Time 1 minute minutes

In a sign of the times, Rob Roberts at The Kansas City Business Journal found it newsworthy that a developer seeking to build a mixed use high rise in Westport is not asking for taxpayer subsidies.

In response to a question from Councilman Quinton Lucas, Cole added that the developers would not seek any incentives for West Port Terrace at Manor Square. They expect to begin work on the project by early next year and complete construction within about 18 months.

I can’t speak to the merits of the project, but I am pleased that Pulse Development LLC, the developer of record, is willing to pay taxes. Happily, this appears to be a trend. A proposed 13-story, 257-unit apartment building just west of Country Club Plaza and an entertainment development at Ward Parkway Mall that are likewise eschewing taxpayer subsidies. Maybe someday businesses paying taxes in Kansas City will be so common that it won’t show up in news reports.

About the Author

Patrick Tuohey

Patrick Tuohey is a senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute and co-founder and policy director of the Better Cities Project. Both organizations aim to deliver the best in public policy research from around the country to local leaders, communities and voters. He works to foster understanding of the consequences — often unintended — of policies regarding economic development, taxation, education, policing, and transportation. In 2021, Patrick served as a fellow of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Yorktown Foundation for Public Policy in Virginia and also a regular opinion columnist for The Kansas City Star. Previously, Patrick served as the director of municipal policy at the Show-Me Institute. Patrick’s essays have been published widely in print and online including in newspapers around the country, The Hill, and Reason Magazine. His essays on economic development, education, and policing have been published in the three most recent editions of the Greater Kansas City Urban League’s “State of Black Kansas City.” Patrick’s work on the intersection of those topics spurred parents and activists to oppose economic development incentive projects where they are not needed and was a contributing factor in the KCPT documentary, “Our Divided City” about crime, urban blight, and public policy in Kansas City. Patrick received a bachelor’s degree from Boston College in 1993.

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