University City TIF Passes 10-2

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — University City's TIF Commission passed a resolution 10-2 to allow a publicly-financed development to proceed at Olive Boulevard and Interstate 170 Thursday night.

Glenn Powers, who voted no, told Patch an analysis by the St. Louis Development Corporation's Jonathan Ferry was not shared with the commission prior to the vote.

Ferry has previously worked on projects in St. Louis City, and typically scores projects based on how reasonable the amount of public assistance is when compared to the expected return.

Powers said he believed the TIF was "too rich" for the developer.

The development is strongly rumored to include a Costco as its anchor tenant, though the wholesale club's involvement is something of an open secret. The entire project, which includes space for retail outlets, offices and a luxury apartment building, will cost about $200 million, with taxpayers footing more than a third of that.

The city hopes to reap a $10 million windfall to reinvest into the city's Third Ward and another $5 million for the Olive Business Corridor, but some citizens have criticized the city's outreach to residents and business owners. Others have accused the city of Sunshine Law violations, an allegation the Attorney General's office is investigating.

Some, who say the city's promises sound good in principle, have demanded those promises in writing in the form of a legally-binding Community Benefits Agreement. The city, though, has expressed little interest. Gregory Rose, the city manager, said at a neighborhood meeting August 17 that a CBA is unneeded and unlikely to happen.

Nonetheless, activists have put their demands in writing, saying they may try to negotiate directly with Novus Development if the city continues to stonewall them. Some of the things they are asking for include affordable housing, job training, local hiring quotas, scholarships for local students, "ban the box" fair hiring practices for all tenants, and clawback provisions spelling out exactly what happens if the developer violates the agreement.

Some of those things may end up in the city's redevelopment agreement, but enforcing them will depend on the political will of city officials who may come and go over the 23-year life of the TIF, activists say.

"The City is checking its boxes in terms of their due diligence but that does not tell the complete story nor does it illustrate the deep, deep resentment among a significant portion of this community regarding how this process has been managed," said CBA-advocate Patricia Washington in an email to TIF Commission members Wednesday. "If you approve the project and it is successful, there will be members of this community who will rejoice. There will be others who will never forget, just as they will never forget Meacham Park, Evans Place or Hadley Township South. I would hate for that kind of rift to be part of our city's history and for your names to be associated with it."

Some community members participated in a protest at the high school before the TIF Commission got underway Thursday night. State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and former progressive Congressional candidate Cori Bush were both in attendance.

"After five months of asking U City Council to negotiate a community benefits agreement and meaningfully engage the 3rd ward residents, we have seen only 2 community listening sessions which both came in the last two weeks," protest-organizer Clair Antoine said in an email. "The city has been in talks with Novus for over a year, and we are tired of the community playing second fiddle to a developer."

"No CBA, no TIF," she added, echoing the familiar protest chant.

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University City TIF Commission draft agenda for August 23:

Photo by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch

A map of the proposed development:

Catch up before the next public hearing by reading Patch's previous reporting below:

• U. City Holds Last Community Meeting Ahead Of Likely TIF Vote
• Bagels Go Uneaten At Poorly-Attended Olive/170 Business Meeting
• CBA Demands Intensify At Contentious Olive Development Meeting
• Maria Chappelle-Nadal Talks U. City TIF In New Campaign Ad
• AG's Office Investigating U. City Over Sunshine Law Complaints
• U. City Will Meet With Stakeholders Ahead Of Next Public Hearing
• Olive/170 Project Raises Hopes And Fears In University City
• TIF Public Hearing Gets Heated In University City
• University City Rejects Sunshine Request For TIF Analysis
• 'Councilwoman Paulette Carr Is On The Warpath': Riverfront Times
• Post-Dispatch Editorial Board Is Opposed To U City TIF
• Watch Live: Public Hearing On Olive Development In U. City
• Watch The April 15 University City TIF Commission Meeting
• Local Government Watchdog Accuses TIF Chairman Of Conflicts Of Interest
• Citizens Call For Community Benefits Agreement Before TIF Vote
• Olive Retail Anchor To Remain Secret Until TIF Is Approved
• Sale Of McNair Building, Eminent Domain Discussed Monday Night
• Mostly White TIF Commission Weighs Fate Of Minority Community
• Councilmember Smotherson Responds To Patch TIF Commission Article
• Olive Development Meeting Scheduled For 6:30 Tonight: Watch Live
• Commentary: Redeveloping The I-170/Olive Interchange Benefits All Of U-City
• Commentary: U. City's TIF Plan: Bad for the 3rd Ward, Bad for Community

Read other coverage here:

• It’s time to dismantle TIFs as tool of segregation
• University City TIF Plans Worry Olive Boulevard's Immigrant Restaurateurs
• University City divided over TIF financed mixed-use development
• Olive/I-170 redevelopment has potential to benefit University City
• Commentary: Taxpayer largesse unnecessary, wasteful in U City development
• TIF can jump-start U. City neighborhood
• University City's bold redevelopment plans are a win for the city, residents
• University City uses TIF tool responsibly to improve neighborhood
• University City won’t get built up by tearing thriving parts of it down
• University City isn’t acting in best interests of its existing businesses
• Leave well enough alone; don’t OK big-box proposal in U. City
• University City TIF Proposal Has Residents Fighting Back
• Editorial: University City shouldn't give away $70.5 million for a big box store
• Commentary: University City development proposal mirrors failed Sunset Hills plan
• County Let University City Choose Some Appointees For Commission Weighing $70 Million Big-Box TIF
• University City using $190 million in TIF funds for redevelopment
• TIF Public Hearing Gets Heated In University City (St. Louis American Reprint)
• Developer petitioned for Community Benefits Agreement, U. City has no minority inclusion policy for public-subsidized projects
• Curious Louis: The future of St. Louis' 'unofficial' Chinatown
• University City Big Box Plan Exemplifies All That Is Wrong
• Proposed development could change the texture of University City's gritty back door
• U. City Has A Chance To Be An Innovator On TIF Development

Public documents can be found here:

• University City TIF informational web page
• School District Olive/170 Project Information