The Port Authority of Kansas City's board of commissioners will decide next week whether to issue $10 billion of taxable revenue bonds for a data center complex.
The conduit issuer plans to close on the bonds and execute a development agreement and an incentive compliance agreement with the developer sometime this year, according to a presentation shared with The Bond Buyer.
The presentation did not name the company developing the parcel in the Northland area of Kansas City. The
The company
Site work will also begin this year, according to the presentation.
"This project is under an NDA [non-disclosure agreement]," said Meredith Hoenes, director of communications for Port KC, regarding which company is building the data centers.
But she said the company developing the data centers will pay all debt service, and Port KC, a "quasi-state government entity," does not plan to seek a rating on the bonds.
"Port KC incurs no financial responsibility for acting as a conduit. Repayment of the bonds is the sole responsibility of the developer and is not guaranteed by Port KC or any other political subdivision of the State of Missouri," the presentation says.
Hoenes said in 2022, Port KC signed a memorandum of understanding with a different company. That company got preliminary approval for a data center project. But then the first company was approached by another company, which said it would buy the land and take over the project.
"Final bond approval hadn't happened yet," Hoenes said. "We didn't see any harm — it was a data center project turning into a data center project… We started the bond process, and then it was swapped over."
She said the board meeting Monday will determine final approval of the bond measure for the newest iteration of the project.
"We had a financial analysis done and everything," she said. "It was 12 buildings; now we're down to five buildings. But those five are probably bigger… We're in the process of getting another financial analysis done now."
Hoenes said reports of a 75% real property tax exemption over the next 25 years are "carried over from the previous financial analysis.
"That financial analysis is not valid anymore," she said.
Port KC anticipates the project will take 15 years total, she said. The five data centers will be spread out over a 492-acre site, according to the presentation, which also mentions "major local infrastructure enhancements including water, fiber, and road networks."
Hoenes added that the state will collect a small fee based on square footage and will redistribute that money back into workforce development. A portion — roughly 25% — will go to the Full Employment Council in Kansas City. The balance will go to school career centers or the Northland Career Center, depending on the judgment of the local taxing bodies.
"It's a small amount of money that's consistently coming in," she said. "The idea is that we're building and training a workforce that's going to end up benefiting the company."
The port authority functions as an economic development agency for the city. Its commissioners are appointed by the Kansas City mayor.
