addxb2 wrote: ↑Jun 11, 2025
- As in the ECID would not impose any new sales or property taxes as most CIDs do.
- They could be willing to do so with (1) governor final pick of governing body, (2) money is invested not spent, (3) Private sector already committed to match for downtown. I’m sure Greater STL Inc would find the muscle for a bold vision.
- Largely driven by industrial projects on north river front and redevelopments funded by one-time federal funds. The point is that North St. Louis is on track to be legitimately vacant in our lifetime. Nothing about the last few years has moved that. An EF3 tornado didn’t help. A much more aggressive approach is required.
People are leaving North St. Louis even when they don’t want to because there are a lack of quality homes. Homes aren’t being built because the market fundamentals don’t pass investors smell test. The idea aims to remove all risk for developers, gives the community the opportunity to show demand exists and have direct control of redevelopment, and stops tax abatements which make it harder for the city and schools to run.
Oh okay I see, not that there is no sales/property tax, there is no new ones. Gotcha.
I can imagine a scenario where the private sector could come around to supporting some type of plan in North City, though just because they have said they will match downtown investment absolutely does not guarantee anything about North City.
I still don't see the state every coming around to it. Like I said, part of the reason they agreed to such a large tornado relief fund is because they wanted their Chiefs/Royals bill.
I'm also skeptical of what you mean by "invest" as opposed to "spend". To invest in North City would be to spend money on infrastructure projects, housing, and retail development. Do you mean the money put in an account to gain interest and then spend the interest but maintain the base amount?
I guess I just don't really see the need for this "ECID" to do what you're pitching or state support for it. I also am not too worried about SLPS funding as SLPS is pretty well funded as it is and things like the tax incentive reform from a couple of years ago guarantees at least 10% property tax revenue on an abated property. And I'm sure you're well aware that many of these properties do not offer much in terms of property tax as is, the hundreds owned by the city offer none. Even 10% of a redeveloped property would be better than 100% of the existing property.
What is stopping the city from spending tens of millions of the current Rams money on taking away risk from home builders to build (unfortunately) suburban style middle-class homes to rebuild bombed out neighborhoods? Also, as Chris Fuller pointed out, what mechanism would there be to ensure that developers actually follow through on their promises? And what amenities could be built to attract people to North City as opposed to South City or Central Corridor? This is one of the reasons why I think the N-S MetroLink is such an important part of any long-lasting redevelopment of North City.
Your idea is probably not bad, but it just relies on a lot of good faith from groups that have historically been very very bad faith and have actively aided the continued destruction of North City.
