urbanSTL

Gone Corporate (or anybody for that matter), do you know when the state has its hearing/vote on approval for its share of the incentives? I thought it was in March and then I read about approval expected by mid or late April. I tried looking on Missouri's economic development state website to no avail.



I don't see why the state can't move up its meeting on approval. Either the state is behind it or not. It seems like a no brainer (or any easy way to polictically promote economic development sooner then later) just to move their schedule ahead if everything hinges on getting the state approval finalized prior to selling bonds. This has a much bigger impact then Nixon's announcement of $1 million dollars in tourism funds. Nixon's little side show made me just as frustrated with the State as with DeWitt.

Missouri Finance Board hears Plan



http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stor ... ily32.html



http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/politi ... l-fix/2009

/03/missouri-finance-board-hears-revised-ballpark-village-plan/

Thanks Goat314, This sums up my latest fustration and why I have can't understand the lastest from Jefferson City. We got a downtown law firm a screaming for action and the board, led by a St. louis lawyer of all, waits to act on this project. While our gov is proud about the tourism money.



The Missouri Development Finance Board did not vote on the subsidies at its meeting Tuesday and a vote is not expected until April.



Pending approval from the state, construction for the first phase is expected to span two years. St. Louis-based financial services firm Stifel Financial Corp. is seeking to occupy 175,000 square feet of space at Ballpark Village, and law firm Polsinelli Shughart PC is in talks to occupy 100,000 square feet of space in 2011.



Polsinelli chairman and CEO Russell Welsh said Ballpark Village is among the options the firm is evaluating to consolidate its downtown St. Louis and Clayton offices, but the delays in Ballpark Village and changing economic conditions are factors he’s weighing in making a final decision. “We want to be consolidated,” Welsh said. “We would have liked (Ballpark Village moving forward) to be a year ago.”



Linda Martinez, the newly named director of economic development for the state of Missouri and an attorney from St. Louis, chairs the Missouri Development Finance Board.

denlp02 wrote:Once the softball field is built, I would like to call on all citizens of the city to participate in a little bit of civil disobedience by destroying the park any way possible. For example, doing donuts in the outfield or buring all of the grass! Anything would help get the message across that this "temporary" use of the land is pathetic and an insult to the prestige, reputation, and identity of the city of St. Louis.

Like Grover, I cannot condone it. But I do like the way you think.



I suppose I'm supposed to feel better about this since the project is out for bid and the MDFB will vote on state backing next month.



Honestly, though, the only things that'll make me feel better about Softball Village are (1) the sale of the Cardinals to different owners (which will likely happen once the economy improves) and (2) a complete rethinking of the plan that leads to building infrastructure first, dividing the land into parcels, and attracting developers that will ensure best/highest use of the land (not likely to happen, we're probably stuck with a cookie-cutter bar mall like those built and proposed everywhere from Louisville to Los Angeles).



That statement from the Polsinelli CEO doesn't give me much hope- why do I get the feeling they'll bolt for Clayton if we don't see some action soon?

I'm still hopeful something will happen this year. But until then this project shall be known (to me, anyway) as the Softball/Park Village.



-RBB

I've been calling it Failpark Village. I like Softballpark Village as well.

Ballpork Pillage. All of the aforementioned names are fine as well. Actually, any name besides the official name works, since the finished project (regardless of what it is) will never match the original plans (mirages?) floated to us several years ago.

ThreeOneFour wrote:....... since the finished project (regardless of what it is) will never match the original plans (mirages?) floated to us several years ago.

Siren songs.

steve wrote:Siren songs.

No kidding.

here we go again.







Lawmaker threatens to stop Ballpark Village public subsidies



A Missouri lawmaker has threatened to stop taxpayer subsidies for the planned $600 million Ballpark Village project, next to Busch Stadium in St. Louis.



“I’m trying to put everyone on notice at the (Missouri Development Finance Board) that hell will freeze over before that passes," Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, told the Springfield News-Leader.



Getting state approval from the MDFB for up to $188 million in taxpayer subsidies is the final step in the approval process for the mixed-use project.



Requests for comment from Robert Miserez, executive director of the MDFB, and Linda Martínez, chairwoman of the MDFB and the state’s economic development director, were not immediately returned.



Baltimore-based Cordish Co. is the 50-50 developer with the St. Louis Cardinals on the project. Calls to Cordish and Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III were not immediately returned.



Crowell and other Republican leaders continued their fight to limit tax credits in a late-night standoff Tuesday over a job creation and economic development bill in the Missouri Senate.



After about nine hours of debate, the Senate decided to set the bill aside in the hope of revisiting it next week, the Associated Press reported.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stor ... a=from_rss

Grover wrote:Hey - let's offer this subsidy in exchange for the historic tax credits.

Deal!

We offer that deal and we might have Stifel Nichols and another law firm going to Clayton. I'm ready to move on with what we got.

As much as I loathe the Cardinals owners, I'm not too fond of State Sen. Crowell either. What a tool.



I can't imagine any scenario in which the tax credits don't move forward, not that I really care much one way or another. I'd also be willing to keep the historic tax credits in exchange for Softball Village incentives.



Yesterday I saw a story on KTVI about how the Cardinals won't even have the softball field ready in time for opening day. Apparently the weather is to blame. While that may be true, I've been trying to chase this image from my head since I heard that story:







The Cardinals have blamed everybody else for all of their Softball Village failures, so they might as well blame it on the rain.

I'm always amazed at the attitude towards St. Louis from the rural areas. I wonder if they realize how much of their own economy is based upon St. Louis. If St. Louis withers away, they suffer too.



Personally i believe the opposition is largely party based. St. Louis is a democratic stronghold and out state Mo is Republican. I bet they'd see eye to eye more often if they were all on the same team so to speak. As it is they just try to score points against each other. We're fighting over deck chairs on a sinking ship ...

Welcome to Missourah.

Grover wrote:Mr. Dewitt to the RCGA this morning:

The key is to get the bond market fixed up. … I hope it (a bond issue) would be done sometime later this year. If not, I believe with high confidence that it would get done sometime next year.

I don't think that this is what many of use wanted to hear - hey, if not this year probably next!

This is coming from the same man that told us "At this point it's either going to happen or it's not going to happen"