Plan to renovate rundown Olathe shopping complex will get public incentives

Steps to establish local public incentives to aid in redeveloping the dilapidated former Rosebud Plaza Shopping Center near Santa Fe Street and Mur-Len Road in Olathe easily cleared a few hurdles this week.

The project — with a total estimated $26 million price tag — is expected to get a maximum of $7 million in reimbursements through two separate incentives. Those will come in the form of a tax increment financing, or TIF, district and a Community Improvement District, or CID, special sales tax.

On Tuesday, the Olathe City Council voted 6-0 to accept a redevelopment project plan attached to the 115,000-square-foot shopping center — part of the TIF approval process. Additionally, the city council created the overlapping special, limited 1% CID sales tax.

Councilmember Matthew Schoonover was absent from the meeting.

Under the new development agreement, the shopping center is now dubbed Indian Creek Crossings.

Previously, city officials have lauded this effort to revitalize the corner.

“It’ll be new once again, so that’s exciting,” Mayor John Bacon said in September.

What are TIFs and CIDs?

• TIF districts work by turning over tax revenues earned from increased property values at a site to a third party — typically a developer — to reimburse costs incurred in the development of a specific project or wider area.
• The Indian Creek Crossings TIF comes with a 20-year term.
• Similarly, CIDs are a type of incentive that uses revenues raised through a temporary, special sales tax assessed within the boundaries of a specified area to reimburse developers for some project costs.
• The 1% CID comes with a 22-year term, the city’s maximum length.

Next steps on Rosebud redevelopment:

• Some improvements to the shopping center have already begun, most notably by Crunch Fitness, which has acquired part of the main structure for a new gym location.
• Additional approvals may be required for the redevelopment at Rosebud Plaza in the future.
• Sales tax collection under the new CID is set to begin on Oct. 1, 2025.

More on the Rosebud redevelopment project: Pickleball, QuikTrip and a gym — Plans for ‘tired’ Olathe shopping center take shape