urbanSTL

Tonight I sat in on the TIF hearings, mostly for my own understanding of it. Here are my notes, as unbiased as I can be:



To set the scene, the line was out the door into City Hall to the sidewalk. T-shirts were being distributed by various labor unions for those who wanted them. I had to squeeze past people to fit in the side door and couldn’t see the presentation screen from where I ended up. City officials had to squeeze past everyone. The crowd was overall quite polite, deferring seats to the elderly and helping a (very) pregnant woman through to take a break during the meeting.



Presentation highlights beyond the slideshow:

- New Mississippi River Bridge is planned for 2014, with an entrance exchange culminating at Cass & 11th Streets.

- Barb Geisman: “The development is feasible.”

- A property maintenance provision is now on the developers to make sure all properties they own are kept in good order.

- All properties to be rehabbed are planned to be designated so by 2011.

- No eminent domain is possible through this legislation. It may be brought up through future legislation, with the understanding that the Board of Aldermen would have to vote on whether or not specific properties are to be taken, and done if and only if the property owners have refused multiple buyout offers.



Comments & observations by the crowd (two minute max speaking time):

- The first commentator made three references to McKee being a part of the Klu Klux Klan.

- The head of the TIF Commission then stated that personal attacks would not be tolerated before the second commentator was allowed to speak.

- The City of Saint Louis was directly blamed for the North Side’s economic disenfranchisement.

- Addressed to Paul McKee: “The African American community does not need you.”

- An ex-member of the StL School Board (don’t know name) said that this is the first step to re-segregate the public school system.

- Multiple statements were made to give money directly to property owners and other residents to make repairs to their own buildings.

- A pro-development commentator & North Side resident said that North Saint Louis “deserves” the opportunity to reinvent itself, that it was a chance for Saint Louis to recognize itself north of Delmar and that it was “time (for it) to shine”.

- The National Society of Black Engineers gave its support for the plan.

- I overheard a woman sitting near me say: “White people, keep’em in the lofts.” Ouch. And I let this silly beeyotch grab a chair ahead of me while I kept standing.

- Union heads were fully in favor of the development. Among their statements were that it would provide for 43,000 construction jobs and 42,000 permanent jobs. Truly, job creation was a major impetus for support tonight.

- A TIF opponent said that, when Kirkwood had its TIF, no black people were employed in its construction, and therefore the North Side Regeneration would not have black contractors either, despite statements made otherwise.

- There were multiple accusations that the proposal is part of a vast long-term conspiracy by the City of Saint Louis and “Businesses” to keep the North Side black, poor, and unable to live in the City.

- A resident said that, while she wants economic revitalization, she does not want to lose her neighborhood or the neighbors that make it up.

- The director of the prep school for construction job training said that this project is essential for his school’s graduates to be employed. He noted that the majority of his graduates were black, male, and trained in construction. He also noted that StL’s unemployed white population is about 8.5% and that it’s unemployed black population is about 16%.

- A North Side resident originally from Chicago said that he’s been a resident there for 20 years, that the lot behind his house has sat vacant for at least those full 20 years, and that 20 years is enough time to wait for it to be developed.

- One man said that the TIF board had no jurisdiction to approve TIFs, that such power resides with the State of Missouri only. He also called the TIF board evil.

- A resident said that the North Side is worthy of receiving major development, not just apt to be developed.

- A leader of a league of Baptist churches said that the churches would support the project, including TIF, if and only if they have assurances of poor people in the area being protected. By far, I found this to be the smartest commentary by a constituent organization still trying to decide where it stands.

- Another minister spoke immediately afterwards of the crime in the area, noting a 17 year old boy who he baptized 3 years ago whom he buried this summer. He said the proposal is a means to rise up beyond crime and disenfranchisement.

- A white male from Holly Hills said that he was afraid the proposal would cost the rest of the City’s residents too much money and potential loss of services. He then called McKee names and refused to give up the podium, forcing the marshals to arrest him. This guy, I believe, was nothing more than an attention-seeking jack*ss who should hop off the cross because we need the wood.

- People questioned the elements of the proposal, namely what they specifically are. He sounded like he never researched the docs and wanted to protest his lack of knowledge.

- Many comments were made of a lack of knowledge for details. One person spoke of her fears of this project because it supposedly privatizes the police? All I could think of was how a poor cop named Murphy was shot, and then turned into a cyborg police officer when Omni Consumer Products (OCP) privatized the Detroit Police to construct Delta City over old Detroit. Seriously, people were talking of a RoboCop scenario being implemented. If this means ED-209 is part of the project, I’ll support it today. (“You are illegally parked. You have 20 seconds to comply.”)

- Demands were made for buyouts of houses to be based on fair valuations. Makes perfect sense.

- A commentator noted that $55M is allocated in the notes for relocation expenses, stating that this signifies eminent domain would be utilized. He then said the writings of Pope Leo XIII applied herein makes the development immoral.

- The meeting leader then said again that eminent domain was not part of the TIF commission’s decision as it was not part of the legislation.

- “Our aldermen sold us out.” (Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin was the main target)

- Demands were made for guarantees and degrees of quantifiable culpabilities.

- Handicapped poor people were said to have been “treated like animals by Paul McKee” by a commentator who began to cry.

- Bank of Washington was decried as a bad bank to support such a project for its size in assets under custody. I think it’s a weak argument to make, banking-wise.

- Job centers were said to be nothing other than “vacant office space” and should not be supported.

- Concerns were made on revenues generated:

o Is the money for the project or for the pocket?

o Is the project of a good enough quality to support?

o Praise was given to the 14th Street Mall as quality development.

- The statement was given that “no true (was) told by those elected officials” who have the development area as their jurisdiction, followed by a full accusation of “political influence peddling.”

- An independent black construction developer said that it’s not McKee who he questions for the project. Rather, his concerns are for the City officials involved in the project. He further stated that they should act “to do the right thing for us”, that the project was morally right for the North Side and its residents.



Commentary by Alderpersons followed. (Opponents to the project booed when the Alderpersons were allowed to speak for more than two minutes)

Alderwoman Ford-Griffin’s comments:

- Her constituents for 12 years have wanted the same things: better housing stock, choices in retail, jobs, and green spaces.

- The plan is comprehensive to these wants.

- She has not always been a fan of the project, only favoring it when shown the development and sharing these details with her constituents.

- A comparable project in background, size, scale, development, and socioeconomic revitalization has taken place already in Denver. (I’m unfamiliar with this and would appreciate knowledge of this, perhaps in a new thread?)

- All opposition to the plan is based not on the plan itself but in how the properties were initially accumulated.

- She has faith in how the developers must abide by multiple legal contracts to abide property in the development or pay the consequences.

- She’s looked for developers for work in the North Side for years and has found no one with the interest as McKee, and more so no one willing to make significant developments in the area besides his company.

- The North Side should get whatever it can out of this deal while it can.

- After compromises made before the meeting, she says the project can give the area what it needs.

- This development is a reprieve “for areas that have been very neglected for a very long time.”

- The project’s plans do not preclude other developers from working in North Saint Louis in conjunction with the economic redevelopment plans.



Alderwoman Davis

- It’s time to look at developing large, and/or going with something different, because of the history of socioeconomic decay.

- Without development, the City risks “permanently los(ing) the North Side.”

- “If you’re not gonna tell the truth, shut up! … I need definitive plans before me.”



Alderman Bosley

- He started with a discussion of Appomatox Courthouse and the start of the Civil War. This led into how Hyde Park used to be farmland where cattle had been herded to the slaughterhouses. He also said the journey of 1,000 miles begins with one footstep.

- Developments on Salisbury show that development in North Saint Louis is capable and appreciated by the constituency.

- McKee is the “only person thus far and stepped up to the plate and offered up a solution.” He said “only person” in reference to him as a developer again two minutes later.



Other commentaries:

- Office of the Comptroller: Darlene Green will not vote in favor of bonds in favor of the project if those bonds are to be guaranteed by the full faith & trust of the City of Saint Louis. (The biggest question I’ve had the whole time through)

- Paul McKee:

o “We can create a different kind of wealth in the community.” This is to come with the emergence of professional jobs in the community, including real estate development, insurance, accountants, and other like professional peoples who wear collared shirts to work.

o Of the 4 group areas to be developed, the idea of high-rises in any or all of them is proposed. Fascinating.

o Other investors would be able to buy into the redevelopment efforts, that it was not McEagle claiming the full slice of the pie. I wonder if this means the North Side could become a catalyst for REIT development.

- Multiple TIF commissioners made note of how the project would contribute large monies to the City’s school budget, more than doubling its budget of $36M. I think I heard $84M mentioned, but I also heard $184M (and so did the lady next to me).

- Taxes in the area would be made to pay off the TIF costs as well as to go directly to the City’s coffers. Or, the TIF area projects’ revenues pay off not just the TIF itself first but also the City along the way.



Four hours later, and we’re done. That was enough time to go back home, cook some southwest chicken & black beans, type this out, and now go to sleep.

that's quite a report, concise and detailed. thank you for doing that.



i began to type a reply but got too wrapped up in it and had to walk away... the ignorance, hate, fear and blame is amazing.



thanks again

GC-Great report!



As I am getting more excited about what this project could mean for the North side AND the city as a whole, I find it baffling to read how our city is still held back by ignorance and blatant racism. Very sad indeed.

Gone Corporate wrote:
Alderwoman Ford-Griffin’s comments:

- A comparable project in background, size, scale, development, and socioeconomic revitalization has taken place already in Denver. (I’m unfamiliar with this and would appreciate knowledge of this, perhaps in a new thread?)

Great write-up by the way... Here's some information on the project you're referring to. A planner (can't remember his name) of Stapleton was brought onto the Northside project by McKee, which was definitely a smart move- he has experience with successfully creating large-scale, non-suburban development.



If the North Side is as successful as Stapleton has been, St. Louis will be sitting pretty:



http://discover.stapletondenver.com/#/discover



http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/arti ... 1&res=1440



From smartgrowth.org:

The redevelopment of Stapleton Airport is one of the nation's largest and most ambitious infill projects, converting Denver's old airport complex into 4,700 acres of homes, offices, shops, schools, and parks. Over six years, a grassroots effort of more than 100 public meetings gathered community input on reusing the site, creating a vision of ''a network of urban villages, employment centers, and significant open spaces, all linked by a commitment to the protection of natural resources and the development of human resources.''1 The master plan emphasizes environmentally sound development, walkable neighborhoods, and lifelong learning. It rests on the principles of economic opportunity, environmental responsibility, and social equity. Stapleton will include a wide variety of housing choices, most of which will be less than a 10-minute walk from shops, schools, offices, and parks.

Thanks to all for the compliments.



Zink: It will impact Downtown West and cover land directly north of Downtown & the CBD. The goal, though, is to provide opportunities to the North Side above all else.



DeB: It wasn’t a full waste of time; there was a smart & very cute brunette reporter I met there. Ah, young & idealistic women in the City.



UrbanPioneer: Thanks for the Stapleton links. Good stuff.



Overall, the crowd was more in favor of development, inside and outside the meeting room, with the caveat that many undecided people were in favor of the development so long as development is done right. To paraphrase Spike, they want to make sure the developers do the right things, and it is a whole lot of things they are planning to do.



From the meeting, it was clear to see the manifestation of decades of socioeconomic stagnation and stratification on many people in attendance who opposed the project, oftentimes with wide-reaching and slanderous views. This compounded the ignorance, although I wouldn’t be rude enough to openly declare individuals ignorant, especially as they do so themselves through their words.



And, all people are fearful of broad actions. They require foresight, bravery, and sacrifice, and faith in the ones looking to lead. Here, the developers have planned to invest as much money as it would take to build the new ballpark more than twenty times over, an imposing figure for sure. And on a populace where such numbers are too big to truly fathom, from a white developer who made his name in the Chuck, such change must surely be seen as scary. We’ll see how momentum builds.



Perhaps the major fear can be seen in that we’re looking at $8B+ going into the North Side, yet the residents are scared that they won’t participate, that they’d be left out of the game much as they’ve been on the outskirts of contemporary society because of their poverty, whether self-imposed or historical.



The loudest voices, of course, displayed their opposition to development, their lack of knowledge to the project (and in general), their animosity towards the world outside of North Saint Louis, their fear masked with a hard front, and their worldview defined by the color of everyone’s skin & their prejudices, as well as the borders of the North Side defining the only world a vocal few know. I don’t consider these people to be by definition racist, as traditional racism labeled by sociologists deems the less-advantaged side as the oppressed and not the oppressors. Yet, so many people’s mistrust, both justified and imagined, alters what they can take in.



You feel for the elderly women there, older, proudly black, and with style & class, who are vulnerable to unscrupulous actions. While I do not see such women being victimized by the development, they have a very strong stance to protect their interests and innately question outsiders coming towards their homes. Others still supported the project, possibly thinking of their grandkids having a more elevated future. There were other older folks who were scared of their neighborhoods being dug under and destroyed in favor of tract housing, thinking that this was the full intent of the project.



Meanwhile, many residents see it as a way to elevate themselves and their world. They see hope and opportunities unavailable by anyone else. Union members want to rebuild their own homes (as well as union leaders wanting work for their people). They want progress and recognition of worth, validation of themselves and the whole North Side being deemed worthy to receive such progressions whether through the actions of an outsider or not. And, they want grocery stores, places to shop, and all other things that can be found outside of North Saint Louis that we all take for granted. Many of us downtown residents called for years for a Schnucks; think about how they must feel (the one on North Grand & Natural Bridge should not be their only choice).



As for the non-North Side residents there to speak opposition: mostly, they were a bunch of hippie wanna-bes looking to shake up a system, whose mislead idealism and animosity for businesses (in totality) fueled their desire to rage against anything. One girl actually had flowers in her hair, with cats-eyes glasses and a mouth that wouldn’t stop interrupting the aldermen. I really wanted to buy her a new bar of soap. The irony is that, through their protests, they end up selfishly hurting the people they claim to help. Perhaps the same could be said for other attendees.



In my opinion, the project should be strongly supported by all of us. It provides for a massive development, with near 100,000 new jobs coming in directly and indirectly. The infrastructure would be gutted, great considering the existing sewer system is around 150 years old and is collapsing on itself. It increases tax revenues, especially for the School Board, and through that increasing the power of the schools to properly teach. It will shake up the crime elements, from the corner dealers & metal thieves to the shooters and gang organizers. It will incorporate the New Mississippi River Bridge properly entering StL while fixing the 22nd Street Interchange. Trolleys, green tech fueling houses & neighborhoods, incorporating current light rail & planning for expansion, protecting old housing for restoration, and new tall buildings going up, including at the base of the Gateway Mall – this sounds like an ideal for StL economic development.



I don’t want Clark Griswold telling his kids to look at all the blight anymore.

scotto wrote:And, I'll just say - maybe someone should post a scathing critique of how you dress, GC, I bet that would really add something to this conversation.

Without wanting to go off-topic, I will say that how someone presents themselves in public, especially at a venue such as City Hall, reflects comparably on how well the quality of the content for what they have to say is received. This is especially reflective of the intended recipients of their commentary. When dealing with serious issues, one should present their self in a way that disposes said person to being taken in a serious manner by other serious people, otherwise the value of what is said is greatly diminished. Or: you don’t see many attorneys at the courthouse in Hawaiian shirts. I just called it as I saw it.



As for me, I’m a suave debonair gentleman with impeccable tastes and class, and doing so without being flaunty or garish. I welcome any critique you may have for my clothing ensemble and/or personal hygiene, scotto. Yet, as the TIF Commissioner stated, let’s not drop down to personal attacks or name-calling. After all, we are discussing things of a serious nature.



Now, getting back on topic, I disagree with your assessment that the project would create no jobs, with an immediate reference to the sheer numbers of construction jobs necessary to create what is planned. Further, I believe such investment provides ample opportunities for both directly-implemented & derivative employment opportunities as well as ancillary investments into the specific developments created, bringing new businesses to the area while providing opportunities for new businesses to be created. Such construction is a lure for companies and entrepreneurs to establish themselves in Saint Louis, in fact to North Saint Louis, in order to invest and create their goods/services, and through this create new jobs in and for the area. Especially in these uneasy economic times, spurring opportunities for future growth is essential to realize the future economic benefit of such efforts & monies invested therein.



For comparison, I look to the ancillary developments of Metrolink, both the original and secondary lines and whether or not in a pre-defined transportation development district.



My biggest remaining question is on whether or not federal support will come for this project. It truly is grand in scope and could well use any assistance available (with the TIF itself being a case of point). While the City does not appear ready to support the bonds with the “full faith and credit of the City of Saint Louis”, with which I defer to Ms. Green’s most competent understanding, other resources, including the US Government, may be available. I wonder how likely this is, and especially in recognition that this project is so transformative in nature as to potentially redefine urban economic redevelopment & direct investment into the inner city that it puts federal support of projects like Choteau Lake on an entirely lower plane of comparison.