Mr. Mitchell has extensive experience in representing clients in major business and real estate development transactions; commercial office and industrial building leases for both landlords and tenants and land use and zoning; historic preservation regulation issues; public finance bond document review and negotiation; and commercial loan transactions for both lenders and borrowers. He has worked extensively with the City of Kansas City, Missouri on land use and historic preservation issues. This included work drafting new zoning ordinances in 2004-2005 to expand permitted uses of historically designated properties.
Mr. Mitchell's particular expertise is in bringing parties together in complex legal arrangements so that all deal points and details are properly covered and drafted and there are not surprises as agreements are implemented and/or development takes place.
RECENT CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
- From 2005-2006, Mr. Mitchell was the lead negotiator and draftsman for Jackson County, Missouri, for a $575 million expansion and renovation of the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City and for new long term leases with the Kansas City Chiefs Football and Kansas City Royals Baseball organizations. This work included Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) state tax credits and county bond financing. Mr. Mitchell was also involved in preparation of a comprehensive MBE/WBE For Share Agreement for the construction project for the stadiums.
- In 2003, Mr. Mitchell was lead counsel in the negotiation and preparation of all real estate documents for sale of the BMA Tower, a landmark international style 19-story Kansas City office tower, and in 2004, he acted as special local counsel for the sale of the former Mutual Benefit Life Building (2345 Grand), a 28-story office tower in the Crown Center area of Kansas City.
- From the mid-1990's to 2002, Mr. Mitchell was the principal attorney for the development of the $70,000,000 plus "Mill Street Station" and "Midtown Market Place" shopping centers in Kansas City, Missouri. This project involved two blighted tracks of property comprising approximately five blocks in the Westport area and 20 blocks at Linwood Boulevard and Main Street, each in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to extensive lease and property sale negotiations with national retailers (Home Depot, Costco, et al.) and other development legal services, Mr. Mitchell assisted the developer in securing tax increment financing (TIF) for the many public improvements needed for the project. This project also required Mr. Mitchell negotiating and drafting the first "revenue sharing" provisions for private-public TIF Cooperative Agreements to be used in Kansas City. This work also involved a number of other complex land use and development agreements and easements with adjoining property owners that were primarily handled by Mr. Mitchell.
- In 2002, Mr. Mitchell was counsel for the YMCA in its negotiations and documentation of a public-private joint venture arrangement with Platte County, Missouri, for the building of two new community centers in Parkville and Platte City, Missouri, which will be operated on a long-term basis by the YMCA.
- Mr. Mitchell was the attorney for the Jansen Place Lot Owners Association which in 2002 completed a $1,000,000 Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) Project, which was the first of its kind in Kansas City. This project involved conversion of a 100-year old private street to a public right-of-way and a complex long term cooperative agreement between the Homes Association and the City for shared maintenance and operational costs for a large park-like area and resulted in new curbs, streets, sidewalks, 1897 historic gateway improvements and a state-of-the-art historic style street lighting system.
- In 1997, Mr. Mitchell was the lead negotiator and drafting counsel for the Kansas City Museum in its transaction with Kansas City's Union Station's development corporation and he was the primary draftsperson for a resulting 297-year lease for the Museum's "Science City" now located in this historic building.
- In the early 1990's Mr. Mitchell was the lead negotiator and drafting attorney for Hilton Hotels Corporation in its $100 million plus development of the Flamingo Riverboat gaming facility near the Paseo Bridge on the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri. This work involved the negotiation and preparation of a complex development agreement and sublease between the Port Authority of Kansas City, Missouri, and Hilton.
