Opinion: One Hundred Should Do Better To Receive TIF Financing

Some are opposed to the proposed 36-story glass apartment building, called One Hundred, because it’s too tall and/or too modern. Sorry, neither are a valid reason to outright reject the project. Besides, there are many valid reasons to demand be changed.

First, the results of the non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Q: The proposed 36-story apartment building at Kingshighway & Pine, called One Hundred, should be approved without changes.

• Strongly agree 17 [33.33%]
• Agree 10 [19.61%]
• Somewhat agree 3 [5.88%]
• Neither agree or disagreeii 3 [5.88%]
• Somewhat disagree 5 [9.8%]
• Disagree 4 [7.84%]
• Strongly disagree 8 [15.69%]
• Unsure/No Answer 1 [1.96%]

Tax increment financing is a great tool to help pay for public infrastructure such as roads, utilities, sidewalks, traffic signals, etc. A TIF for rebuilding public infrastructure where the 22nd interchange is now, for example, makes sense. Millions on TIF financing for this privately-owned site in a high-end dense neighborhood makes zero sense. If development of this site impossible without a TIF? Unlikely.

A 5-story base with parking isn’t good for fostering pedestrian life. It’s boring to look at, and those are the floors where residents could keep an eye on the sidewalk for added safety. The one storefront is under 1,000 share feet. A tiny closet of a space. There should be thousands of square feet of retail space at this location. Parking shouldn’t be included in the rent, it should be unbundled so residents can see how expensive parking is. Enterprise CarShare has a vehicle nearby at the Argyle garage, but there should be one here that can be accessed by the public.

There should also be some affordable units — 10% for low-income people. That’s just 3 units. The area has a lot to offer, it shouldn’t be limited to the wealthy. Doesn’t surprise me that most would approve the project without change, but this attitude is why St. Louis will never recover.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should A Proposed 36-Story Apartment Building Be Approved Without Changes?

The surface parking lot at Kingshighway & Pine has been vacant since 1973, when the 7-story Buckingham Hotel was razed for surface parking for the St. Regis co-op, located across the alley.

One Hundred’s design has a 355-vehicle parking garage, including one level underground. In addition to parking, the building’s five-story base will have 882 square feet of shop space and 6,756 square feet of “amenity space.”

Eli Ungar, founder of Mac Properties, said about 40 percent of the apartments will have one bedroom. About 40 percent will have two bedrooms and the remainder will be divided equally between studio and three-bedroom units. Rents near $3 per square foot per month, high for St. Louis, are possible in a neighborhood as “exquisite” as the Central West End, he said. (Post-Dispatch)

The proposed building will have 305 apartments. It has caused a debate, so I want you to weigh in, here’s today’s poll:

The poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: After Millions in Tax Incentives, Has IKEA Been A Net Positive or Net Negative?

It has now been over a year since IKEA opened for business and it appears to be boosting tax receipts:

The Swedish retailer’s 63110 ZIP code saw a 40 percent spike in state sales tax revenue from October 2015 through June 2016 compared with the prior-year period, according to the latest available data from the Missouri Department of Revenue.

The period with Ikea generated $277 million in state sales tax revenue versus $197 million in the prior-year period without Ikea. (St. Louis Business Journal)

An increase of $80 million, though not all can be attributed to IKEA. It’s unclear now much additional revenue went to the City of St. Louis. But it didn’t come cheap, from February 2014:

Ikea’s plans to open a St. Louis store next year moved ahead Friday when a city panel voted to back a $32 million tax incentive for the project.

Members of the city’s Tax Increment Financing Commission voted unanimously to approve the subsidy. The vote also backed a separate $5.1 million subsidy for a residential building planned for an area just west of the Ikea site.

The Swedish furniture retailer has yet to specify the cost of its St. Louis store, planned for the southwest corner of Forest Park and Vandeventer avenues, but a spokesman said it will exceed $100 million.

The TIF projects are part of a $167.7 million TIF city officials approved for the Cortex bioscience district in 2012. The district is split into 10 TIF areas that must be activated individually as the area develops. (Post-Dispatch)

The store employees hundreds, each paying the 1% earnings tax.

The poll will be open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

A Sneak Peak Inside The Lofts @ 625 North Euclid

Two weeks ago I visited a building I’d been in many times before. The 6-story warehouse on the SW corner of Euclid & Delmar, known as the Euclid Plaza Building for decades, is being transformed into high-end apartments known as 625 Lofts at Euclid. I got a personal tour from the developers. I previously posted about this project in May, see: Delmar & Euclid Building Will Soon Have New Use As Apartments.

The following are gone:

• The 70s/80s dated 2-story center lobby
• Former offices, hallways, bathrooms, etc
• The fixed windows
• Freight elevator in SW corner of the building

The following were retained:

• Three passenger elevators
• Medicine Shoppe pharmacy

Three of five floors are finished, residents have begun moving in. We took a look at the display units, plus a couple units on a floor still being completed.

Each unit is unique compared to others on the same floor. One bathroom featured a rain shower head, for example. Due to construction, we didn’t get up to the roof. When finished, it’ll be fully accessible, but it wasn’t yet when I visited. Interior parking is wisely unbundled — you pay extra if you need a parking space.

The developers say they’ve had no problems leasing the units, anticipate full occupancy despite rents on the high side. I think it’s important for cities to offer a variety of housing options — at a variety of price points. Purchase & rental.

After they get all the 82 residential units finished and occupied they’ll push for commercial tenants facing Euclid. Euclid & Delmar is a corner to watch. If you’re in the market for a nice apartment check out their website and visit the leasing office.

— Steve Patterson

Delmar & Euclid Building Will Soon Have New Use As Apartments

The 6-story building at Delmar & Euclid was known for decades as the Euclid Plaza Building. It was begun in 1910 as the General Van & Storage.  We know the building as 625 N. Euclid Ave, but General Van & Storage used 4908 Delmar Blvd. as their address.

In the early 1980s the building was redeveloped into office space by the now-defunct non-profit Union-Sarah Union-Sarah Redevelopment Corporation, headed by Nesby Moore.

At some point after the 80s renovation the owner became Del-Mar Corporation, which owned the building until it was lost at a tax sale:

Del-Mar Development Corporation (“Prior Owner”) failed to pay real property taxes on an office building it owned and the Collector of Revenue for the City of St. Louis conducted a tax sale on July 14, 1998, pursuant to the Municipal Land Reutilization Law (“MLRL”), sections 92.700 to 92.920 RSMo 2000. (casetext.com)

This building has held offices for KDHX, NAACP of St. Louis, and many others. Now, it’ll be apartments:

Best known locally for its Streets of St. Charles project, a developer from Peoria, Ill., is about to begin a loft apartment project in the Central West End neighborhood in St. Louis.

Cullinan Properties bought the Euclid Plaza building at 625 North Euclid Avenue and plans to begin renovating it within weeks. A company official said Thursday the building should be ready for tenants by late next spring.

Planned are 87 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with granite counters, “designer” bathrooms and 12-foot ceilings, the developer said. Indoor parking, a fitness center and a rooftop deck with a clubhouse for residents are part of the project. Cullinan calls the development the Lofts@Euclid. (Post-Dispatch)

The project should be completed by Summer, see my posts on their Streets of St. Charles project here & here.

The central lobby was very dated looking, but that’s all gone by now. I’m just glad to see the hideous fixed windows being replaced.

— Steve Patterson