TIF Commission Meeting Scheduled For 6:30 Wednesday: Watch Live

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — Citizens in University City elected a new mayor and several new councilmembers this week, and one of the biggest issues they will face going forward is managing proposed new development on Olive Blvd. near Interstate 170. Located in the city's poorer, more racially diverse third ward, the new development may displace hundreds of residents and small businesses but also bring an opportunity for greater prosperity to the habitually ignored and underfunded area.

(Read more here: Mostly White TIF Commission Weighs Fate Of Minority Community)

University City's new community development director, Rosalind Williams, oversaw a similar development in Kirkwood's Meacham Park neighborhood in the early 1990s. In that case, Kirkwood used eminent domain to take residents' property in the historically African-American neighborhood, building a Wal-Mart and other commercial developments where family homes once stood. Many residents felt in the long run they benefited from the Meacham Park development, but many were also displaced and unable to return to the neighborhood.

Officials In U-City say they hope to invest sales tax revenue in the local community in addition to providing incentives to developers. A recent story in the Post-Dispatch goes into more detail about who stands to win and lose from development on Olive.

A meeting of the TIF commission is scheduled for 6:30 Wednesday evening at city hall. The meeting is open to the public. Patch will be there to cover it, so if you can't attend, be sure to look for the live stream here or on the University City Patch Facebook page.

Photo: Jeffrey Plaza, which features All Star Tatoo, Nobu's Japanese Restaurant and other small businesses is in the path of proposed development in University City. (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)