Olive Development Meeting Scheduled For 6:30 Tonight: Watch Live

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — Proposed development on Olive Boulevard will again be a topic of discussion when the University City TIF Commission meets tonight at 6:30 in council chambers. Patch previously reported that the commission, which will decide whether to redevelop a mostly African American community using public funds, is almost entirely white. Third Ward Councilman Bwayne Smotherson and others objected to the reporting of that fact, calling it an opinion.

"I don't think color means anything in reference to that TIF commission at all," Smotherson said at the April 9 city council meeting.

Jonathan Browne, president of the development company Novus, presented his plan to build luxury apartments and big box retail stores — including a rumored Costco — on the site at the intersection of Olive Boulevard and Interstate 170 earlier in April.

Novus is the only developer to respond to University City's request for proposals. The project is expected to cost $189.5 million, with U City taxpayers footing more than a third of that. The developer estimates retail sales for the site to increase from $6 million annually today to more than $173 million by 2020, according to a cost benefit analysis presented to the commission.

Read the cost benefit analysis, the developer's proposal and other TIF-related documents here.

Second Ward Councilmember Paulette Carr said at the April 9 meeting that big retailers would give U City residents a place to spend their "daily dollars," meaning money spent on groceries, home goods and other everyday necessities, in turn adding sales tax revenue to the city's coffers.

Novus' proposal for a big retail development meets some requirements in the city's RFP submitted earlier this year, which called for a significant retail anchor to support the overall development. But others it seems to miss entirely. For example, ensuring the developed area reflects the "unique 'personality' of University City," and that it is not just "a clone thoroughfare."

If approved, the new shopping center will displace many of the local businesses that make University City unique in favor of national chains, and few local business owners say they would be able to return.

The RFP also calls for the development to be "more than just a transportation channel," and asks that it include "multi-modal transportation connections and amenities for bicyclists, pedestrians and buses."

Novus' proposal calls for more than 2,000 parking spaces, and walkability does not seem to be a major concern for the site.

"I think it's hard for us to argue for much walkability at the intersection of Olive and 170," Mayor-elect Terry Crow said to laughter at the April 9 council meeting. "To hear Olive and 170 and to talk about walkability, it may be something that hits the checklist, but it probably doesn't hit numbers one, two, and three just because of where it is."

Critics have also raised concerns over whether tax loopholes could leave the school district in the lurch. Additionally, kicking out local businesses to make room for multi-national ones may mean more wealth and tax dollars leaving U City than coming in, especially with a declining retail sales tax base due to online shopping.

According to strongtown.org, an urban development advocacy group, big box stores cost towns far more in infrastructure and services than they contribute in sales tax.

Critics — including outgoing Third Ward Councilman Rod Jennings — have also cited potential conflicts of interest surrounding the development.

WITH, a non-profit founded by acting community development director Rosalind Williams, has submitted a proposal "to guide the City through the TIF approval process," according to a document Patch obtained from the city manager.

WITH's consultation would be for a fee, and would depend on the development's approval.

"The developer is investing time and money in the project without an approved TIF plan and development agreement," the proposal states. "Property owners with option in hand will begin to get anxious about when they can start looking for new homes and business locations, which makes it imperative for the city to accelerate the TIF approval process by setting up a TIF Commission as soon as possible."

City manager Gregory Rose said the proposal does not represent a conflict of interest because it has not been accepted by the city. Asked if the city had any plans to accept the proposal in the future, Rose said: "Not today."

"Rosalind has very good experience setting up this type of TIF, which is a bit unique in as much that it allows for some of the revenues from the TIF to be used to improve the quality of housing in a socio-economically challenged area," Rose continued. "[WITH] made a proposal that would allow them to be a consultant in this process. It just so happened that Rosalind has a great deal of experience in planning. The prior community services director resigned, and so I brought Rosalind on board, which provides me with that experience that we need for this particular TIF, but beyond that, great experience in the planning area."

Whether the city will use eminent domain to take property from private residents and business owners is also a concern. Browne said at the April 4 meeting of the TIF Commission that he had received assurances from the city that eminent domain would be used in at least one case to condemn and seize an existing business — Public Storage — whose owner has said he will not leave willingly. Patch can't confirm who gave Browne that assurance or when.

At the April 9 council meeting, Crow told citizens he understood many of their concerns, but — in effect — to take it or leave it.

"For all of us sitting in this room, and a lot of you have lived here longer than me, this is our moment in time," he said. "I've been on council for 10 years, and we have talked about that intersection for 10 years. Folks, this is it. It's kinda thumbs up, or it's kinda thumbs down. And, if you're not for it, that is perfectly fine. I respect your decision. But, do not come back again and say, 'What are we going to do?' Because it's not like like folks have been knocking at the door to do these developments over the past 10 years."

Patch has asked for comment from Carr, Smotherson and Williams. This story will be updated if we hear back.

Patch will be livestreaming tonight's meeting of the TIF Commission, as well as a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 23 at the Mandarin House on Olive Blvd. Follow us on Facebook or check back here to watch.

Images via University City