urbanSTL

U City is raising the amount of relocation assistance, at least to businesses. What that amount will ultimately be remains to be seen.

City officials seem to be having a hard time connecting with affected business owners. They recently held a meeting for them, hoping to draw several dozen, but only four showed up. No asian or minority owners showed up at all:

https://patch.com/missouri/universityci ... aign=alert

My personal feeling is that this is all about the Costco. Period. U City wants the tax revenue, and they'll do anything to get it. The developer seems to have Costco locked in, but beyond that, I wouldn't be surprised to see the rest of the area molder for years. Sure, we'll probably get a gas station or fast food, but hotels, apartment and office buildings? I have my doubts.

In the meantime, U City risks losing a big part of it's unique multi-cultural shopping and dining area, trading it in for ugly, generic suburban sprawl.

framer wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2018

U City is raising the amount of relocation assistance, at least to businesses. What that amount will ultimately be remains to be seen.

City officials seem to be having a hard time connecting with affected business owners. They recently held a meeting for them, hoping to draw several dozen, but only four showed up. No asian or minority owners showed up at all:

https://patch.com/missouri/universityci ... aign=alert

My personal feeling is that this is all about the Costco. Period. U City wants the tax revenue, and they'll do anything to get it. The developer seems to have Costco locked in, but beyond that, I wouldn't be surprised to see the rest of the area molder for years. Sure, we'll probably get a gas station or fast food, but hotels, apartment and office buildings? I have my doubts.

In the meantime, U City risks losing a big part of it's unique multi-cultural shopping and dining area, trading it in for ugly, generic suburban sprawl.

If they uncap the amount for business relocation, they either have to increase the CBA amount or cut into the amount that would go to infrastructure and residents. Then, there's the matter of compensating the landowners. It seems like Novus wants to use Costco's tax revenue for a TIF to build apartments and other buildings. Don't think this one got posted, but now they pissed off the Catholic clergy https://patch.com/missouri/universityci ... nt-meeting

framer wrote: City officials seem to be having a hard time connecting with affected business owners. They recently held a meeting for them, hoping to draw several dozen, but only four showed up. No asian or minority owners showed up at all:

https://patch.com/missouri/universityci ... aign=alert

There are a lot of local Vietnamese folks that are plenty competent enough to run businesses, but they're not confident enough with their English to deal with City Hall directly. (I've gone to City Hall, Lambert, and St. Louis County Courthouse to help several different Vietnamese friends even though I speak German and not Vietnamese.) And that's just one language out of, what, a solid half dozen on that strip? Probably more. It's really danged intimidating to deal with a government that doesn't speak your native language. (We should all try it sometime. Nothing quite as exciting as losing your passport while abroad.)

U. City genuinely has their work cut out for them on that account. No fooling. That's a lot of folks, a lot of nerves, and a lot of translating. But it's worth the effort. (You know how my immigrant friends repay me when I help them? That's right. Food! Good food. And sometimes beer. Depending on religion.)

Anyway . . .

Some folks will weather the move. Pho Long already opened a second location on south Grand. But I'm sure other folks will just hang it up. And our fair [metro area] will be a little poorer for it. Even if Jeffery Plaza is all we lose. (The place is known. I'm not at all sure the east Asian students I know ever go anywhere else unless you drag them forcibly. Or . . . well . . . entice them carefully. To be more accurate. With testimony from other East Asians that, yes, this other strip [south and southerer Grand] is legit. The students at SLU. On . . . you know . . . some really nice street, just further north.)

I don't know. I'm in the city. I have no direct say in this. I just go there sometimes. But once it's gone?

. . . I won't be back. No reason to go to Costco. I never even go to the one down off 55.

. . . Well . . . unless my friends from CoMO drag me there, that is. But they ALSO go to the places currently on Olive. And Grand. Because everyone needs some Wei Hong roast duck, but you can't always wait for the CoMO grocer to get their delivery. (And they go to the Asian joints a lot more than Costco. Even if they do go there every now and then to get five million pounds of shellfish and a stepladder.)

Ian Froeb gets it:

"For as long as I’ve been writing about St. Louis restaurants, I’ve been visiting Jeffrey Plaza. At this drab strip mall on Olive Boulevard east of Interstate 170, you can bounce from the deeply beefy broth of Pho Long’s namesake dish to the fiery Jamaican jerk chicken at De Palm Tree to Noboru Kidera’s masterly nigiri sushi and maki at Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant. Just across Olive, hidden behind another drab strip mall, is the terrific Taiwanese restaurant Tai Ke.

...the element of affordable chance is what makes Jeffrey Plaza and homely strip malls of its ilk so essential. Here, immigrants, first-generation Americans or any restaurateur with more aspirations than capital might gain a foothold."

https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... deb32.html

It's bad enough that existing residents and business are being removed. What is really irking me is that the site plan is totally unimaginative and doesn't scream "destination" at all. With that said, it seems like they could have related to Olive St. much better to actually make it a "destination" and not just a typical suburban drive through. There also seems to be no reason that they couldn't have fitted these commercial buildings within the existing commercial zones with a little imagination. I just don't see how this sets University City apart from any other area of the county. I know most people at the meetings are more concerned with displacement, but has anybody at the meetings mentioned how this a totally unsustainable way to build in 2018.

Problem is you have to build out new space same as the old one for everyone. Bavarian wants $100k to move, I wonder how much Tesla is going to want?

Novus says space will be available by 2022, that's quite a bit slower than what they have previously said. At what point will the homeowners become antsy? Frankly, I highly doubt the plan in its current iteration will get built.

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/I-70-Oli ... /13216382/

qwerty112 wrote:but now they pissed off the Catholic clergy

LOL "pissed off the Catholic clergy" LOL Good one!!!!!!

Anyone know how the CBA is coming along? The next meeting is right around the corner.

^Well, the group that's trying to put the CBA together are less than forthcoming. There have been many discussions on NextDoor about it, but few answers. The most recent thread was abruptly shut down the same day as the meeting they were hosting (yesterday), and as yet, no news.

FWIW, this was posted on a Facebook group connected with the CBA folks:



"University City Faith Leaders invite you to a public forum on the importance of a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). We are proud to serve faith communities in University City, proud of the rich diversity here. We believe U City should aspire to set the standard for our region for justice and community involvement as we negotiate Tax Increment Financing (TIF).

At this forum on Thursday 8/16 at 7pm, we will answer questions from the community about why a Community Benefits Agreement is morally necessary. The CBA should be independently negotiated and enforceable by the community, and finalized prior to TIF approval.

The CBA forum is scheduled to occur in between the community meetings to be held with Council Members Clay and Smotherson, and prior to the next meeting of the TIF commission. As a reminder, these are the meetings being hosted by the city:
-- Weds., August 8 at 6pm, Heman Park Community Center - 3rd Ward Neighborhood Meeting with Mayor Crow, Council Member Clay, and Council Member Smotherson
-- Friday, August 17 at 6pm, Heman Park Community Center - 3rd Ward Neighborhood Meeting with Mayor Crow, Council Member Clay, and Council Member Smotherson
-- Thursday, August 23rd at 6pm, University City High School - TIF Commission Public Meeting

See you at those public meetings ---- and especially on Thursday, August 16th at 7pm at City of Life Christian Church (8333 Fullerton Ave, St. Louis, MO 63132)!"

Seems like it didn't go so great

https://patch.com/missouri/universityci ... ng-tonight

Where does the assumption that a big box strip mall seas of parking that everyone drives to will raise residential property values nearby come from?

I think the worry is that a lot of other places like the rest of University City and the cities to the west and south have had large increases in home values. The third ward during this time was stagnate, so the people who might've looked in those areas will look in the third ward instead.

Don't believe there is, and U City can't implement it because they only receive a fraction of the property taxes.

^FWIW, word on the street is that the Scientologists are about to ask U City for permission to build a new building on Delmar.

What about their old one? I wonder if these two messes will get "combined?" I also wonder why the clergy felt the need to include the Scientologists to begin with.

The TIF passed.

I don't know anything else about the Scientologist building; no formal plans have been presented yet.

What a shame. The region really needs more subsidized auto-oriented retail. And we wonder why we're going broke.

Yep. Like one of the speakers at the meeting said last night:

U City's slogan used to be 'University City: Neighborhood to the World'. Now it may as well be 'University City: What a Costco!'.

I'd imagine the U City council will try to expedite the process as quickly as they can. It appears the biggest roadblock that Novus doesn't have all the land under contract and they are going to try to either strong arm the property owners via eminent domain or just eminent domain it.

Man I hope they reconsider the design- can't believe we will end up with a sea of new parking in front of faceless buildings...

Strong Towns - A Missouri City Sells Out Minority Small Businesses for Big Box Promises

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/201 ... x-promises

^Nice find. I'll be spreading that around the U City e-community.