BettPlex

Plan submitted for first commercial development at sports complex; Middle and Forest Grove Road intersection upgrade yet to be finalized

Plans for two commercial buildings and a restaurant – part of the sports complex at Middle and Forest Grove Roads – are headed for Bettendorf City Council approval, but improvements to that key intersection have yet to be finalized by the city.

Bettendorf sports complex building permits $8 million less than specified in development agreement

Building permits issued for the Bettendorf sports complex at Middle and Forest Grove Road total $38 million, some $8 million less than the $45 million value specified in the agreement with BettPlex developer Douglas Kratz.

Meanwhile, the cost of city infrastructure – sewer lines, stormwater facilities and street improvements to serve the 79-acre complex – is expected to be well above the $3.87 million specified in the same development agreement.

The sports complex builder, Build To Suit of Bettendorf, obtained the building permit August 28. The permits listed the building cost of $28.6 million, electrical work $4.11 million, heating/air conditioning $1.85 million and plumbing costs of $950,000, for a total value of $35.5 million. Two months ago, the developer obtained a permit for the sports complex foundation for more than $2 million.

Bettendorf taxpayers to pay far more for sports complex streets, sewer and stormwater detention

Bettendorf taxpayers will pay far more for streets, sewers and stormwater detention than the $3.87 million stipulated in the contract with the Bettendorf sports complex developer.

In private 3-on-3 meetings with aldermen July 5, city officials outlined a summary of estimated infrastructure costs for the sports complex showing construction bids received so far are $844,000 above the cap set in the development agreement between the city and developer Douglas Kratz.

Bettendorf sports complex developers to get more than $7 million in upfront grants and loans; no plans to conduct 'due diligence' review of development

Even though Bettendorf will upfront more than $7 million in cash, grants and land acquisition to developers of a $45-million sports complex, city officials say they do not intend to conduct any detailed financial review of the project or project partners.

Asked via email if the city had in the past, or planned in the future, to conduct any due diligence review of the finances of developers involved in the project, City Administrator Decker Ploehn replied with a one-word answer: "No."

In past Tax Increment Financing (TIF) development deals, city officials have been unconcerned with developer finances because city tax rebates wouldn't occur unless the development was completed at the agreed upon investment by the developer.

If the project was not completed, city officials reasoned in the past, there would be no "incremental tax" to then rebate back to the developers.

However, the development package prepared by city officials and scheduled for a public hearing and approval May 2 by the city council, would provide $1.9 million in cash, a $4.9 million upfront grant, plus $600,000 to buy 10-acres from the developers when the building permits for the sport complex are issued this summer.

Bettendorf betting $11.2 million on sportsplex to kickstart development at I-80 and Middle Road

After secret briefings given Bettendorf aldermen in mid January, the city added $11.2 million in bonds to its proposed budget to pay for roads, sewers, stormwater detention and developer loans and rebates for a sports complex at Forest Grove and Middle Road.

According to documents and emails obtained by Bettendorf.com through a Freedom of Information request, city officials in those non-public sessions discussed with aldermen the impact the sports complex would have on next year's capital improvement plan (CIP), city tax levy and debt margin.

The project was outlined a month later at a news conference Feb. 17 by Mayor Robert Gallagher and developer Douglas Kratz, but aldermen have yet to publicly discuss the sport complex plans or its financial impact on city finances at an open city council meeting.

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