'We Finally Got There': Osage Beach Approves Outlet Mall Redevelopment Deal

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — It was a long journey to get there, but on Aug. 20, Osage Beach aldermen gave their final approval to the Redevelopment Agreement for the nearly empty outlet mall.

After the board's 6-0 vote on the agreement, Mayor Richard Ross announced, "I think we just passed the outlet mall agreement." Then he addressed Chris Foster, who represents the development team: "Look forward to working with you all, Chris. Go get 'em, Foster."

The passage of the agreement comes after some final tweaks, added by the city for the final version. They include:

• If the developer uses a pay-as-you-go TIF reimbursement method, the City can hire a consultant to help administer it, at the developer’s cost. That cost can later qualify as a reimbursable TIF administrative expense.

• The Board gave itself authority, at its sole discretion, to waive certain financing preconditions in the agreement. In other words, if the developer later needs flexibility on financing requirements, they can come back to the Board and ask for a waiver instead of formally amending the entire agreement.

Board members congratulated Foster on having cleared this major milestone in the project.

"We’re not driving anymore," Alderman Kevin Rucker added. "So it’s up to you now to to carry that torch now."

In an interview with LakeExpo, Foster expressed his relief that the agreement had cleared the city, noting excavation would begin as soon as the development team had permits from the City. Time is of necessity now: Bass Pro Shops has announced its intent to build as the anchor-store in the mall, and the developers have a promised timeline in which to deliver a developable pad to Bass Pro.

Very soon, Foster said, "We will be moving dirt."