Tax Breaks for Luxury Towers Spur Redevelopment, and Backlash

Twenty years ago, it was unimaginable that a new residential high-rise would ever adorn the modest skyline of downtown Kansas City, Mo. But in the last three years, two luxury apartment towers have opened, and a third is planned.

The buildings are part of a revitalization effort in the city’s core, but some officials are questioning whether tax abatements and other incentives given to the developer, Cordish Companies of Baltimore, are appropriate for residential projects that cater to the affluent.

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