Monday, September 14, 2026

Creekside at I-435 and Highway 45 in Parkville, Missouri, is a 300-plus-acre mixed-use project (often cited as about 337 acres) led by local developer Brian Mertz, 


Creekside at I-435 and Highway 45 in Parkville, Missouri, is a 300-plus-acre mixed-use project (often cited as about 337 acres) led by local developer Brian Mertz, not a national homebuilder or REIT. Mertz owns Parkville Development and related LLCs (Parkville Development 50, 70, 140, 38, etc.) plus PC Homes LLC. He is a University of Kansas accounting and business graduate, a CPA, a longtime Platte County resident, former CFO at S&T Enterprises, and later a Park University trustee and Parkville EDC board member. He has said the baseball-complex idea came from a trip with his son: why didn’t the Northland have a destination like that? Cost estimates have moved from roughly $300–$335 million at approval toward $350–$380 million as phases added on.
The land had been annexed into Parkville around 2000 and sat mostly empty after an earlier scheme failed in the 2008 downturn. The city ended up owning large tracts and was making about $300,000 a year in Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) payments on Brush Creek and Brink Meyer debt. Getting that land developed—and getting off those NID transfers—was a central city goal.
What Parkville did
The city did not just rezone a private tract. It:
  • Sold city-owned land into the project. About 70 acres for The Meadows were tied to a $4.8 million purchase price; later the board sold about 50 more acres to Parkville Development 50. CID proceeds were structured so part of that money paid the city and helped retire NID debt.
  • Entitled the master plan in late 2018. Planning and Zoning held marathon hearings (one ran 6½ hours). The Board of Aldermen gave final approval to the main quadrants on November 6, 2018. Creekside Industrial (Capital Electric’s ~72,800-sq-ft HQ) followed later (P&Z Nov. 2018; city page lists Nov. 17, 2020).
  • Layered Missouri incentive tools in 2019: TIF plan and contract, CIDs, a TDD, Chapter 100 bonds on the commercial side, PILOTs, economic-activity taxes, and hotel tax rebates. The TIF Commission recommended the TIF 7–4 after a three-hour hearing; Park Hill School District’s two seats voted no.
  • Took title under Chapter 100 on commercial parcels (fee simple in the city’s name, leasehold to the developer or hotel partner). That is how Missouri Chapter 100 works: city ownership supports property-tax exemption, with PILOTs instead of full ad valorem tax. Authorized commercial Chapter 100 bonds were reported up to $171 million, with a 2019–2026 term on that issue.
  • Kept amending the map. In 2026 the Board of Aldermen approved voluntary annexation, rezoning, and prelim plans for Creekside West—about 246 more patio homes, duplexes, and triplexes. A nine-hole “Irish golf” (wedge-and-putt) course also went through P&Z in 2025 under Parkville Development 38.
Staff who carried the file included community development director Stephen Lachky and city administrator Joe Parente; Mayor Nan Johnston publicly argued the deal got the city off NID payments and would produce new sales and hotel tax. Parkville EDC also spoke in support at the TIF hearing.
CID, TIF, TDD, Chapter 100 — not RHID
There is no RHID. Rural Housing Incentive District is a Kansas statute. This is Missouri. The stack that was used:
Tool
What it did at Creekside
TIF
~$52 million in reimbursable project costs on ~124 acres in 14 redevelopment areas. PILOT share stepped up: 50% years 1–11, 65% years 12–17, 75% years 18–23. Combined with EATs, hotel rebates, CID/TDD, and Chapter 100.
CID (Meadows)
Special assessments on finished apartments and single-family homes—not a sales tax. About $10.5 million in listed costs, including $4.8 million of old NID costs. Used in part so Mertz could buy city land and the city could retire NID debt. Assessments can run up to 30 years.
Second CID
One-cent sales tax CID on commercial area.
TDD
Transportation Development District for road/access costs.
Chapter 100
Commercial tax abatement via city title + PILOT; bonds authorized on the commercial program. Hotel rights later assigned to Creekside Hotel Partners, LLC (2021).
Developer counsel (Rouse Frets White Goss) later described the package as about $52 million in incentives layered with two CIDs, a TDD, three Chapter 100 projects, a TIF plan, and two city land purchases. Local coverage at the time put the combined package over $60 million. State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s broader 2018 CID report was cited by critics as a warning about stacked, developer-heavy districts. Mertz’s side argued there were no city-backed bonds, the developer took the construction risk, incentives were leaner than some earlier Parkville deals, Park Hill would net more than $4 million over the incentive period, and after TIF the city and county would see several million a year in property, sales, and lodging tax.
Community process
This was not a quiet approval.
  • Fall 2018 P&Z took hours of public comment on density, product quality, buffers, and whether a private youth baseball complex would actually draw (skeptics pointed to an earlier city soccer-complex study that had gone the other way). P&Z recommended Meadows with conditions, including cutting planned apartments in half and sending the final plan back. Some “no” votes on Old Town.
  • A September 2018 developer–neighbor meeting produced some buffer and green-space tweaks. Mertz and his team said they changed the plan in response.
  • Citizens for a Better Parkville, a PAC, formed to fight this specific plan (not all growth). After the Board of Aldermen passed the ordinances in about 45 minutes on Nov. 6, 2018, with no public comment, the group posted that it was disappointed the board had reversed P&Z conditions and warned of political consequences. They also alleged Sunshine Law and ethics problems; those were advocacy claims, not adjudicated findings in the clips reviewed here.
  • Park Hill schools opposed the TIF recommendation. Neighbor Tim Albright and others kept raising buffer and process issues into the industrial hearing. Weston Coble, then running for alderman, questioned whether stacking TIF + CID + TDD + Chapter 100 would starve the general fund.
Once buildings opened, local coverage shifted. The Platte County Landmark (“From nothing to wow,” 2022) and the Kansas City Star (2023 Cityscape) treated Creekside as a new Northland hangout: Johnny’s Tavern, Ten & Two Coffee, Plaza Mariachi, hotels packed on tournament weekends, The Infield jumbotron, the LED “Parkville Tree.” Mertz told the Star the baseball complex had drawn almost a million visitors from 19 states in a year and that the site still needed a grocery store. Park Hill bought about 29 acres from Parkville Development 70 for $1.4 million for a future elementary school. Thrive at Creekside (264 apartments + 100 townhomes) sold to Gold Block Ventures, then MLG Capital partnered in—the first multifamily permit in Parkville in 50 years, per the buyer.
Who owns what now
Mertz’s entities remain the master developer and still file new pieces (golf, Creekside West). Individual assets have been sold or assigned: multifamily to Gold Block/MLG; hotel Chapter 100 rights to Creekside Hotel Partners; city still holds fee title on some Chapter 100 commercial tracts with ground leases. Aristocrat Realty’s Michael Meier has marketed the project for Mertz. Capital Electric occupies the industrial building. NSPJ Architects did major pieces of Old Town / Meadows.
Bottom line for someone who watches CID/TIF: Parkville used the classic Missouri stack—TIF + CID + TDD + Chapter 100 + city land sale—to restart a stalled interstate corner, get off failed NID debt, and underwrite a private baseball destination plus housing and retail. There was real opposition on density, school-tax diversion, and process speed. There was also a documented public-hearing record, a split TIF commission, and later annexation to grow the same master plan. RHID was never part of it.

Fw: Subject: Ready project — JB Carpet & Upholstery (James Bolden Jr.) / 10% funds

The lady that runs the pet hotel. Seems to get grants right and left. Karen do you know how many shes had over the time of her deal
 

Henry McClure
785.383.9994 

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From: Rhiannon Friedman <rhiannon.friedman@topekapartnership.com>
Sent: Monday, 14 September 2026 10:31:55
To: Henry McClure <mcre13@gmail.com>; James L. Bolden, Jr. <jbcarpet2@aol.com>; Stephanie Moran <stephanie.moran@topekapartnership.com>; Stephanie Norwood <stephanie.norwood@topekapartnership.com>
Cc: sduncan@topeka.org <sduncan@topeka.org>; dbanks8487@yahoo.com <dbanks8487@yahoo.com>; Robert M. Perez <rmperez@topeka.org>
Subject: RE: Subject: Ready project — JB Carpet & Upholstery (James Bolden Jr.) / 10% funds
 

Hi Henry,

 

Thanks for reaching out on behalf of Mr. Bolden.   Hi James, I hope you’re doing well!

 

Since James utilized our Entrepreneurial Support grant through the Economic Mobility program in 2025, he would not qualify to reapply for those funds.

 

Some of this equipment may be a fit for our traditional Small Business Incentive Program. I’m copying Stephanie Moran and Stephanie Norwood, who can reach out to share more information about the program, discuss the equipment you’re considering, and help determine what may be eligible.

 

Topeka & Shawnee County Small Business Incentives Program - Go Topeka

 

Appreciate your help getting us connected.

 

Thank you,

 

 

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From: Henry McClure <mcre13@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2026 2:02 PM
To: Rhiannon Friedman <rhiannon.friedman@topekapartnership.com>; James L. Bolden, Jr. <jbcarpet2@aol.com>
Cc: sduncan@topeka.org; dbanks8487@yahoo.com; Robert M. Perez <rmperez@topeka.org>
Subject: Subject: Ready project — JB Carpet & Upholstery (James Bolden Jr.) / 10% funds

 

To: Rhiannon Friedman

Dear Rhiannon,

I hope you’re well. I’m writing with a concrete file, not a complaint.

James Bolden Jr. owns JB Carpet & Upholstery at 4128 SE Ridgeview Terrace here in Topeka. He is a local operator and a man of color. He needs a proper plant to grow the business: a 2021-or-newer Chevy/GMC cargo van and a HydraMaster CDS 4.8 SV truck mount built for that chassis.

Aramsco / Interlink already quoted the mount, HydraCradle 125-gallon tank and reels, shelving, hardware, and store install (quote S7896755). Equipment and install come to about $44,000 before a refreshed tax line. A suitable 2021+ Express/Savana 2500 with the 4.3L V6 is in the $20,000–$25,000 range locally. All-in we are looking at roughly $70,000–$80,000. Nothing has been purchased. We know your programs require pre-approval.

I was at the September 9 JEDO meeting and took your comments in the spirit they were given. You said the hard part is getting the 10% funds into the community, that the redevelopment line has been the slowest because the commitments are larger and projects have to be ready, and that the 50% match often waits on the applicant’s bank. James is the kind of operator those funds were written for. If we can line up his half — loan, savings, or equipment finance — this is a project that can move instead of sitting in a pipeline.

I am not asking you to force a van into a building program. I am asking which bucket this belongs in before anyone spends a dollar:

  1. Whether the truck mount, tank, reels, and install labor can be considered under Small Business Incentive Equipment (and what the cap would be at his employee count).
  2. Whether any Economic Mobility / 10% interpretation can help a minority-owned service business put a mobile plant on the road in Shawnee County.
  3. What documents you want first — quote, van buyer’s order, ownership, proof of the match — so staff are not chasing a half-ready file.

James would like to come in and meet with you, or with the people on your team who handle this kind of file. I will help him assemble whatever you need so the meeting is useful. If this is not a fit, a straight answer lets him finance it privately and we will not waste your committee’s time.

Thank you for looking. He is ready when you can see him.

Respectfully,

Henry McClure
MCRE, LLC
3625 SW 29th Street #100
Topeka, KS 66614
785-383-9994
mcre13@gmail.com

 

Sunday, September 13, 2026

SHALL

 The rest of the Legislature changed the law so Shawnee County would never have to do what the statute already required. Four members refused. Esau, James, Rhiley, and Schwertfeger voted to keep the public’s seat. Kevin Cook never created the commission when the law said shall. Then the statute got softened so he wouldn’t have to. Those four did their job. He didn’t.



SHALL MEANS SHALL — Unless You’re Kevin Cook

The U.S. Supreme Court just reminded everybody that when the law says shall, it means shall. Not “when we feel like it.” Not “after we rewrite the statute.” Shall.

Kansas law used to say the same thing.

K.S.A. 19-2670 was crystal clear: in a county between 170,000 and 200,000 people, there shall be a Citizens Commission on Local Government. Shawnee County is the only county that fit. That commission was supposed to put regular citizens at the table — not just the usual huddle of officials — and look at how local government actually works.

Kevin Cook and the rest of the Commission sat on that “shall” for years. They never created it. They never appointed the 18 citizen members the law required. They never wanted the public in the room.

Then some of us started talking about it.

Suddenly Senate Bill 104 appeared. One word change: shall became may. Shawnee County’s own counselor went to the Legislature and asked for it. The Senate rubber-stamped it 40–0. The House passed it 119–4. Four members actually stood up for the original word. Governor Kelly signed it.

So the law that said the public shall have a seat got rewritten the minute people noticed it wasn’t being followed.

That’s not “cleanup.” That’s not “the old statute was written for Wyandotte.” That’s the governing class changing the rules after they got caught ignoring them.

Kevin, you didn’t want a citizens commission because you don’t want citizen involvement. You dragged your feet until the heat started, then you and the rest of the club got the statute changed so you wouldn’t have to do what the law already required.

Shall means shall — unless you’re above it.

Shawnee County deserved the commission the statute ordered. You denied it. Then you had the law rewritten so you could keep denying it. That’s the record.




Subject: You exploded over a hot dog. The banquet checks did not even raise your pulse.

Commissioner Cook:
You are a lawyer. You are an officer of the court. You sit on JEDO with a vote. That is not a hobby. That is a higher duty than the rest of the room, and you have spent years reminding people that you know the rules better than they do.
So let’s talk about the rule you applied to me.
You came at me personally over a hot dog. Electioneering, you said. A frank in a bun. Mustard. Onions. You treated that like I had stuffed the ballot box. Fine. You set the temperature. Live at that temperature.
Now apply it.
On May 6, 2024, Molly Howey sent me GO Topeka’s own list of “grants/contributions/sponsorships/scholarships” for 2022 and 2023. I published it. The line includes church dinners, ministry retreats, Juneteenth festivals, an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet, YWCA awards tables, Peace and Justice sponsorships, and a $10,000 night called For the Culture KS. The civic/banquet/church/festival slice that no honest person can call a factory is $93,235. The whole drawer Howey dumped those checks into totaled $861,750, because the banquet was hidden behind Choose Topeka, PTAC, Forge, and pitch prizes so JEDO would never have to say the word charity.
You are the lawyer on the board. You know K.S.A. 12-187 et seq. The purpose goes on the ballot. Special-purpose sales tax stays inside that purpose. Kansas AG Opinion 2001-014: sales-tax money may fund economic development if the electorate approved that use — not if a contractor later decides a church dinner “feels like vitality.” AG Opinion 2017-015 is your county’s own half-cent. Spending follows the ballot and the interlocal. The GO Topeka contract is tighter than both: no grant-fund spending except as specified in the annual budget JEDO approves.
A banquet table is not payroll. A ministry retreat is not a plant. A Freedom Fund banquet is not a widening of the tax base. If you can find the electioneering statute in a hot dog, you can find the purpose clause in a $2,500 banquet check. Do not tell me the statute is too hard. You have already demonstrated you can get theological about condiments.
Officer of the court means you do not sit mute while a contractor spends voter-pledged money as a customer-loyalty program. Recipients of those checks do not bite the hand. That is the point. Public money in. Political goodwill out. You are supposed to be the person in the room who says that out loud, louder than you said it to me over a frank.
I want three things from you in writing, as counsel and as a JEDO vote:
  1. Yes or no: is an NAACP banquet, a church dinner, or a YWCA awards table economic development payable from the half-cent tax?
  2. Will you demand GO Topeka split true deal incentives from contributions/sponsorships so the banquet never hides behind Choose Topeka again?
  3. Will you use the same voice on those expenditures that you used on me about the hot dog — or was the outrage only available when the target was Henry McClure?
If a hot dog is a hanging offense, a banquet paid with other people’s sales tax is a board failure. You do not get to be the smartest lawyer in the room only when it is convenient. Read Howey’s list. Read the statute. Then get as loud as you already proved you can get.
Henry McClure
3625 SW 29th Street #100
Topeka, KS 66614
785-383-9994
mcre13@gmail.com

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