Outlet Mall Plan Is ‘Awful Close’ — But Osage Beach, Developers Still Hammering Out Details | Business

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — Developers say they’re ready to roll, and the City of Osage Beach appears close to finalizing the agreement that would clear the way for redevelopment of the Osage Beach Outlet Mall.

The mostly-vacant shopping center would be reimagined as a multi-use district with hotels, entertainment, restaurants and retail, according to the plans released by Osage Beach Investment Group LLC, the development team. But since the project would rely in part on redirected and project-generated tax revenues, the developers and the City still have to come to an agreement over the specifics: how much tax money would go where, and when.

That’s what Osage Beach aldermen, the mayor, and Developer Chris Foster spent more than two hours discussing at the Thursday, Aug. 6 Board of Aldermen meeting. Mayor Richard Ross began the discussion by saying they were getting “awful close,” and said the goal was to determine “how do we bring it home.”

Developers have already identified Bass Pro Shops as the anchor tenant for the redeveloped mall, with promises to have a developable pad for Bass Pro by early 2027, according to Foster. So the clock is ticking.

“We are ready to go,” Foster told the board. “We want to deliver this project. We have BassPro as the anchor tenant. Everybody wants to get this done.”

The conversation on Thursday centered on certain finer points of the Redevelopment Agreement, which is the “master agreement” in which the City and development team agree on what will be done, how it will be funded, and when that funding will be remitted.

One sticking point was the hotel tax rebate. The developers are asking for the equivalent of 1% of City sales tax revenues from the hotel rooms in the development area, for 30 years. Some aldermen wanted to compare that to the agreement with The Oasis at Lakeport, which is receiving 0.5%.

Another area to iron out was the method of reimbursement for project costs. While the developers wanted to use traditional bonds, with the flexibility to use a “pay-as-you-go” method, City staff prefers to use developer notes. But Foster said the focus should be on flexibility, with the main goal being to get the project done.

By the end of the discussion, aldermen agreed to a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 13 for a first reading on the Redevelopment Agreement, contingent on Attorney Mark Spikerman being able to get the ordinance ready in time. Then they are targeting a final reading on Thursday, Aug. 20.

Foster told LakeExpo once the agreement is finalized, construction can begin.