Developers For Oasis At Lakeport Make The Case For A TIF

The Osage Beach TIF Commission convened Monday, Mar. 27 to hear from Oasis at Lakeport about a potential TIF for the entertainment destination.

Oasis at Lakeport is a multi-million dollar resort and entertainment district. Construction plans include the creation of a year-round entertainment destination offering 25 acres of amusement rides and attractions along with a Marriott Hotels property and 26,000-square-foot conference center, indoor waterpark, restaurants, 200 public boat slips and 1,000-space parking garage. Amusement offerings will include roller coasters, thrill and family rides and a 200-foot-tall observation wheel.

Oasis is being developed by Tegethoff Development who are also developing the 268-unit apartment complex on Nichols Road.

Jeff Tegethoff, chief executive officer of Tegethoff Development, spoke about his company's plan for Oasis at Lakeport as well as the impact a possible TIF for the development would have on Osage Beach.

“It's estimated that this will attract about 600,000 visitors to the Lake area,” Tegethoff said. “We believe there's great future for the Lake, we believe the time is now and we believe this is sorely needed.”

TIF stands for “Tax Increment Financing” and refers to a funding mechanism created by state law. In short, a TIF allows the increased sales and property taxes that result from the development of a property to be diverted toward paying for certain elements of the development, for a set period of time. TIF agreements are struck between local governing bodies and developers, and each TIF agreement may have its own specific negotiated elements. Developers for The Oasis are also proposing what is referred to as a “Super TIF,” which references a similar TIF arrangement on the state level.

TIF Commission member Gail Griswold asked about whether the numbers made sense with such a small margin and whether the loans were a good return on investment.

Tegethoff answered, "It shows that our yield on costs without the incentives is around 6.25%. So basically take our net income each year, and you divide that by the total development costs and it ends up making about a 6.25% yield a year, we say that's not enough to make a feasible project. But with the incentives, that yield on cost goes up to an 8% return. And what myself, Fred and Skyview team, as well as our lenders have determined is that we can make an 8% net income, net operating income off of our net total development cost, so take the total development cost minus the value of the incentives, that we think that's a feasible project."

He added, "I will tell you like the apartment project that we're doing at Sycamore Creek is also right around an 8% yield on costs."

Commission member Ike Skelton asked about the legitimacy of the blight study.

"I’m curious how you can blight a piece of land with... how many feet of Lake frontage," he asked.

Tegethoff referred the board to their law firm GilmoreBell for more specifics about the blight study but also stated:

“It's a great piece of real estate, it’s lakefront, but even post-recession, what happened here? Not much. What do you think is gonna happen in the next 20 years? Especially with interest rates having gone up?” he asked, adding, “There's an economic side of it, looking at the past history and the declining assessed value property.”

Other questions about road safety in the area, timeline for building and possible legal action from other resorts in the area were all addressed. The projected timeline for the compilation of the park is January, 2027.

Tegethoff also provided an approximate tax impact for the area if Oasis was granted a TIF vs if a TIF was denied and Oasis was not built.

The numbers below represent projected total tax revenue over the 23-year TIF.

Approximate Real Estate Taxes to School Districts

Without TIF: $683, 596

With TIF: $9,743,475

Approximate Personal Property Tax to School District

Without TIF: $0

With TIF: $14,154,869

Approximate Real Estate Taxes to Fire Districts

Without TIF: $171,106

With TIF: $13,905,960

Approximate Sales Taxes to Fire District