A development agreement between the city of Johnston and West Park Developers I LLC for an 11-acre parcel at the intersection of Northwest 54th Avenue and Northwest 100th Street has been approved by the City Council.

The agreement, which provides for a property tax rebate on six commercial buildings that are expected to be constructed in the northeast quadrant of the site, was finalized on Dec. 1.

Greg Judas, who owns West Park Developers with business partner Mike Nelson, said the agreement is “not overly aggressive,” adding that they have a “fairly long timeline” to finish the project.

Jim Sanders, Johnston city administrator, said West Park anticipates erecting a building about every two years and, due to the phasing of the project, the agreement will extend out about 12 years.

Johnston has been “very aggressive” with its tax increment financing program, Judas said, adding that the city understands that in today’s economic climate the buildout is “not going to happen overnight.”

Phase one of the project includes two 33,000-square-foot commercial office buildings, one of which is under construction. A 10-year lease for the four-story building has been signed by Ontuet Inc., which will take possession when construction wraps up in February.

Phase two is slated to include four single-story buildings ranging in size from 10,000 to 16,000 square feet, Sanders said.

That is the minimum square footage the city asked for in the agreement, Judas said, adding that the number or size of the buildings could change.

For example, he said, “we can double the size of a building and take two lots.”

No other users have signed on, and no speculative construction is planned, Judas said, but he believes there is a lot of potential for rapidly expanding businesses such as Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and John Deere Credit Union. The Class A office buildings will be constructed as the lots are sold or lessees are found, he said.

West Park Developers is the master developer of the project, Judas said, adding that the process of platting the parcel into six lots should be finalized near the end of January and the ownership of each building will most likely be transferred to its own entity as the development moves forward.

Sanders estimates the taxable value of the first two buildings at $4 million each and the combined taxable value of the other four at around $5.5 million.

Judas, president of K.C. Holdings Inc., sold the land in 2006, but exercised his option to repurchase the property from RAL III LC in June of this year, when he and Nelson “decided there was big potential for the corner lot,” he said.