Mission is taking the final steps to terminate tax incentives for the Mission Gateway development, the ill-fated project that after two decades of setbacks has left the city with graffitied, unfinished structures at a highly visible site.

The City Council in July tossed out its redevelopment agreement for Mission Gateway, at the prominent intersection of Shawnee Mission Parkway, Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue. That came after the property owners, Aryeh Realty, did not pay nearly $450,000 in taxes due in May, putting it in default of the agreement.

At the same time, Mission Gateway also faces possible foreclosure.

Now the council is expected to sever its final ties with the development. On Wednesday, the council’s finance committee moved forward with terminating the city’s tax increment financing plan for the project, as well as the community improvement district, which would have collected a special sales tax on the site. The City Council is expected to vote on it later this month.

It was the city’s fifth iteration of a redevelopment agreement with Mission Gateway since developers purchased the former Mission Mall site in 2005. The development team includes Cameron Group, a New York firm run by Tom Valenti, and GFI Capital Resources Group, a New York City real estate finance and management firm run by Allen Gross.

The project has been marked by false starts and broken promises over the past two decades. But city officials continued to work with the developers, saying that their hands were mostly tied because the land is privately owned, and hoping a tax incentive package would help get the work done. Plans for the $268 million project included a Cinergy Entertainment complex, apartments, restaurants and a hotel.

The property is now cluttered with support pillars holding nothing up and structures abandoned years ago as construction stalled during the pandemic. The developers, who previously said they spent more than $60 million on the project, blamed the years of delays on a series of misfortunes, most recently COVID-19 and limitations on the bond market.

In April, New York’s Metropolitan Commercial Bank filed a lawsuit in Johnson County Court seeking foreclosure of the property, saying the owners missed several mortgage payments. The bank says Aryeh owes more than $25 million in principal and interest, plus other late fees, court costs and appraisal costs. Those debts far exceed the likely value of the property if the bank forced a sale.

A hearing in Johnson County court has been set for 1:30 p.m. on March 5.