A privately funded study just released measured the economic impact of Branson Landing at nearly $3.3 billion between 2006 and 2012.
Among the statistical analyses, the study by consultant Hunden Strategic Partners found the expenditures at the $420 million outdoor lifestyle center fronting Lake Taneycomo has resulted in $50 million in city tax revenue directly from Branson Landing visitors, $1.1 billion in net new earnings and nearly $100 million in taxes collected from its ongoing operations.
For the developer that commissioned the study, HCW Development Co. LLC, Hunden’s report said $50 million had been generated on-site to repay bonds, and the public-private project has kept pace with its debt service.
“Given that the public sector was a funding source for much of the project, there is an interest to determine and show the impact that the project had had on the community since its opening in September of 2007,” Hunden said in its cover letter to HCW Operations Vice President Robert Allen.
The project was funded with $171 million in public bonds, mostly tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds through the Missouri Development Finance Board, according to the report. It noted the critical timing of the development, just prior to the Great Recession and its adverse effect on Branson’s tourism activity, mostly the theater industry. Since a recent peak in 2008 with 53 theaters and nearly 60,000 seats, the industry has declined by nearly a third to 37 theaters and 43,000 seats, according to the report.
“Based on our analysis, the Branson Landing project mitigated the decline of the traditional Branson product (live shows), which had become overbuilt and too similar in their offerings,” the executive summary reads. “More of the same type of product (oversupply) only created more fierce competition for a waning market (shrinking demand), which led to a race to the bottom in pricing, which then made the industry less viable for all participants.”
Anchored by Belk on the north end and Bass Pro Shops to the south, with Hilton hotel rooms and restaurants sprinkled between, sales at Branson Landing have hovered between $110 million and $120 million since 2008. According to the report, the mall finished 2012 at $112.5 million in sales recorded. With 2013 sales of $61.9 million through July, the study projected Branson Landing would exceed $120 million in sales last year.
The study also found Branson Landing is responsible for 11 percent of all city taxable retail sales, 17 percent of restaurant taxes and 12 percent of lodging taxes. Roughly 60 percent of Branson visitors patronize Branson Landing.
The results in the 87-page report are timely for HCW as it is engaged in
a land dispute lawsuit for property it wishes to develop north of Branson Landing.
