Politics & Government

Watch Live: University City TIF Public Hearing (Part Three)

This is likely your last chance if you want to make your voice heard before the TIF commission votes.

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UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — The third continuation of a public hearing on tax increment financing (TIF) for the proposed redevelopment of U. City's third ward is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the University City High School (7401 Balson Avenue). It may be the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the TIF commission sends its recommendation to the city council, which is unanimous in its support of the almost $200 million project. (Taxpayers will foot about $70.5 million of that bill.)

If you can't make it (and you should try), Patch will streaming the hearing live. Check back here or watch on the University City Patch Facebook page. And be sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts for the latest updates: patch.com/subscribe.

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Homeowners in the redevelopment area seem eager to hear the commission's decision, with many waiting to see if they should make improvements to their houses or start packing up to leave, while business owners are less thrilled with the prospect of giving up their locations for a big-box retail store.

"Over my dead body," the owner of Tai Ke Taiwanese restaurant on Olive Boulevard told the Riverfront Times.

Find out what's happening in University Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Other business owners in the redevelopment area say they too are angry, scared and confused, and have heard little in the way of reassurance from the city.

A slew of editorials have hit the internet ahead of the hearing, most notably in the pages of the Post-Dispatch, but also here on Patch. Here are a few notable excerpts:

Redeveloping The I-170/Olive Interchange Benefits All Of U-City

"While we are talking about some people's homes and we need to be sensitive to non-economic attachment, we need to be reminded that these owners are willing sellers, and are excited to have it finalized," writes University City resident Yvette Joy Liebesman. "Jeffrey Plaza is already owned by the developer—for all we know, if the plan doesn't happen, he may decide to sell the property to QuickTrip and the businesses there would be gone anyway, without the benefit of any relocation or other assistance that the city has stated will be available to both owners and renters in the buy-out area."

U. City's TIF Plan: Bad for the 3rd Ward, Bad for Community

"The truth is the western part of Olive Blvd in University City is already developed, but it is not viewed as the 'right' kind of development," writes third-ward resident Julia Lucas. "So, instead of actually being innovative and improving upon and adding to the successful local businesses that are in the 3rd Ward, University City leaders are simply going to destroy successful businesses that already exist and replace them with a complex of urban sprawl."

Commentary: University City development proposal mirrors failed Sunset Hills plan

"It’s hard to believe that nearly 13 years ago, my neighborhood (Sunset Manor) in Sunset Hills was nearly bulldozed much in the fashion that University City plans to do to its city," writes Katherine Russ in the St. Louis Business Journal. "The toll these kinds of threats of “redevelopment” take on a community, the uncertainty, the angst and the worry is staggering. People gutted homes Novus had promised to buy and purchased new ones with bridge loans they were unable to pay back. Homes were boarded up and yards overgrown, windows were broken and a smattering of derelict vehicles were left in Novus’ wake, so much so that our beloved neighborhood resembled a demilitarized zone. We were lucky enough to vote out elected officials who sided with Novus over its own residents, and ultimately, Novus moved on leaving other projects undone — and now, to University City."

Editorial: University City shouldn't give away $70.5 million for a big box store

"Should University City give away $70.5 million in tax increment financing, uproot residents and destroy a close-knit, middle-class African-American neighborhood to bring in a new big-box store? Does a developer really need such a sweetener to make a project work at the busy intersection of Olive Boulevard and Interstate 170?" the Post-Dispatch editorial board asks. "The answer to both questions is probably not..."

University City's bold redevelopment plans are a win for the city, residents

"Sometimes opportunity comes knocking, and we have the unique chance to open the door to welcome new hopes and possibilities," writes former state senator and 34-year University City resident Joan Bray. "University City has just such an opportunity on its doorstep — for reinvestment in our community that would include accountability and a creative approach."

University City won’t get built up by tearing thriving parts of it down

"The Olive-170 development is a bad deal for residents and small businesses that will get kicked out of their homes and buildings. It is also a bad deal for University City," writes University City resident Tom Sullivan. "You don’t build up a city by tearing it down."

University City uses TIF tool responsibly to improve neighborhood

"The proposed Olive Boulevard/Interstate 170 development in University City offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a catalytic economic stimulus and long-term tangible benefit to the 3rd Ward," write University City Councilmembers Stacy Clay and Bwayne Smotherson.

University City isn’t acting in best interests of its existing businesses

"University City’s claim that they want to improve Olive Boulevard for Asian-American Pacific Islander businesses doesn’t stand up to the reality of Asian-American and immigrant business owners on Olive who do not want their taxes used to subsidize a big-box store that may put them out of business," writes Caroline Fan, executive director, Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates. "This is unfortunate for residents, businesses that will close and never reopen, and patrons who believe in diversity."

Leave well enough alone; don’t OK big-box proposal in U. City

"I wish University City would leave well enough alone. The businesses along the Olive Boulevard-Interstate 170 corridor seem to be thriving, so why displace them?" writes Kathie Molyneaux. "With so many big-box stores going out of business, the proposal to place one in a viable business district is foolish."

(If you would like to submit an op-ed on the proposed Olive development, either for or against, Patch would be happy to run it. Submit pitches to ryne.danielson@patch.com.)

A map of the proposed development:

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

Read other coverage here:

Public documents can be found here:

Photo by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch

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