The board of Enhanced Enterprise No. 1 of Kansas City voted 3-1 to approve a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement for a building at 215 E. 18th St., where Tallgrass Technologies plans to move about 20 employees from its Lenexa location and create about 33 new full-time jobs over the next five years.

Tallgrass Technologies LLC, an IT consulting firm that's been headquartered in Lenexa for 23 years, may be moving across the state line to the Crossroads Arts District.

On Tuesday, the board of Enhanced Enterprise Zone No. 1 of Kansas City voted 3-1 to approve a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement for improvements to a building at 215 E. 18th St., where Tallgrass Technologies plans to move about 20 employees from its Lenexa location. In addition, the tech firm plans to create about 33 new full-time jobs at the Crossroads location over the next five years.

The staff of the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City recommended approval of the abatement based largely on the fact that the move would result in more than 50 high-paying tech jobs with an average annual salary of $92,291. The total new annual payroll at the Crossroads location has been estimated at $4.9 million.

Bruce Enright, CEO of Tallgrass Technologies, said the move was being pursued in order to enhance the company’s brand and talent.

"Technical talent is difficult to come by," Enright told the EEZ board. "You have to do more than pay them."

According to Vince Bryant of 3D Development, his firm has been selected by Alan Lankford and Greg Fendler, the owners of the building at 215 E. 18th St., to turn it into the type of work environment that will be appealing to young tech professionals.

Through their partnership, 18 McGee LLC, Landford and Fendler paid $1.6 million for the two-story brick building with basement, Bryant said. Another $4.4 million will be spent on renovating the building, according to an EEZ staff report. The building, which has sat vacant for five years, is located across 18th Street from the historic Kansas City Star building at 1729 Grand Blvd., which 3D Development has purchased and plans to renovate into a campus-like office setting.

Tallgrass Technologies, which also is pursuing Missouri Works incentives in support of its proposed move, is planning to lease the 6,166-square-foot second floor of the roughly 18,000-square-foot building. An initial seven-year lease term is anticipated.

According to Bryant, the 15-year, 100 percent abatement is necessary in order to keep lease rates attractive. But the City Council will get the final call on the abatement.

Steve Hamilton, who chairs the EEZ board, made a motion to recommend approval of a 15-year, 75 percent abatement in keeping with the 75 percent incentive cap adopted by the City Council in October 2016. But that motion died for lack of a second.

Instead, the EEZ board approved Daniel Edwards' motion to recommend the 15-year, 100 percent abatement requested by the applicants. Its total value has been estimated at $1.13 million.

While the ordinance enacting the 75 percent incentive cap doesn't specifically mention incentives granted by the EEZ, Hamiltion said, "it does say (it applies) to all city incentives."

About a year ago, however, the City Council made an exception to the cap ordinance by approving the EEZ No. 1 board's recommendation of a 12-year, 100 percent property tax abatement for redevelopment of the McQueeny Lock Building at 520 West Pennway. That abatement was requested by three area contracting firms — Superior Bowen Asphalt, Inspired Homes and Centric Projects — that plan to move a total of 300 employees into the building upon completion of its renovation and add 140 more during the next 10 years.

The abatement cap ordinance does allow for exceptions for projects in continuously distressed census tracts and for those that score as "high-impact projects" through the Advance KC system of vetting developments seeking incentives.

The project at 215 E. 18th St. did not qualify for either of those exceptions. But Drew Solomon, executive director of the EEZ, said that Tallgrass Technologies' plan to add 53 jobs in the Crossroads fell only about 15 jobs short of a high-impact designation.

Timothy Kristl cast the sole EEZ No. 1 board vote against the 100 percent abatement recommended on Tuesday. In another motion that died for lack of a second, Kristl had urged his colleagues to cap the abatement at 75 percent, make it contingent on Tallgrass Technologies remaining at 215 E. 18th St. for at least 15 years, and crediting the tech firm with creation of only 30-some new jobs — not the 20-some it plans to move from Johnson County.