The following initiatives and programs are administered and/or being led by the Office of Economic Development on behalf of the City of Kansas City.

AdvanceKC

The City of Kansas City, Missouri’s AdvanceKC initiative was launched in the fall of 2011 to determine how Kansas City, Missouri can effectively use its competitive assets to grow its economy to the fullest potential. Over the course of 18 months, City and community leaders worked with a consulting team to analyze the City’s role, purpose, structure, future, and how a stronger Kansas City can benefit the region as a whole.  For more information regarding the AdvanceKC initiative and process, click here.

Opportunity Zones 

The Opportunity Zones incentive is a new community investment tool established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. Opportunity Zones provide a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into dedicated Opportunity Funds. 

The City of Kansas City has designated 32 census tracts as eligible for the program.  Investors can take advantage of the program in Kansas City by investing in eligible real estate and business development projects located within designated opportunity zones.

For more information about this program and other incentives, please visit the EDC of Kansas City’s website.  In addition to these resources, the City of Kansas City recently presented a newly developed prospectus outlining Kansas City’s priorities for Opportunity Zone investment and providing an overview of current investment zones.

Comprehensive Incentives Analysis 

The Kansas City Incentives Study is a data driven evaluation of the impact of the City’s economic development incentives. The Incentives Study evaluated the 10-year performance and deployment of key economic development programs utilized by the City in promoting job creation and redevelopment in three ways – Economic Impact, Geospatial Impact, and Systems and Procedures.  This first-of-its kind look at incentives in Kansas City discovered that for every $1 spent on incentives generated an increase in revenue of $3.83.  Read the full report here.

MDFB Tax Credit Projects 

The Missouri Development Finance Board is an agency of the State of Missouri offering a tax credit equal to 50% on the value of any eligible contribution to the Board by a taxpayer for contributions towards the financing of certain economic development activities and public sector infrastructure improvements.  Local governments serve as the applicant for this program, and projects seeking credits within the city limits of the City of Kansas City, Missouri must apply through the City Manager’s Office.  The Office of Economic Development serves as the project manager and administrator of this program on behalf of the City.  Previous projects that have received tax credits through the City include the Youth Baseball Academy, the Downtown YMCA, and the Kansas City Museum.  For those interested in applying for tax credits through the program, reference the MDFB preapplication.

Chapter 353 Projects (Prior to 2014)

The Chapter 353 Program was created to assist in the removal of blight and blighting conditions by providing local property tax abatement to development projects located within a 353 Area.

Prior to May 1, 2014 the City of Kansas City, Missouri administered this tax abatement program.  Pursuant to Ordinance 140306 a new Kansas City Chapter 353 Advisory Board was created, which is now staffed and administered by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri.  Plans/Projects that were created prior to that date are still administered by the City, and the Office of Economic Development handles inquiries related to these legacy plans and projects.