<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... 54728E">No tax break, no project, Wellston is told</A>

By STERLING LEVY

Special to the Post-Dispatch

05/12/2005



Project would create 100 lofts and more



Plans to redevelop the former Bardenheier Winery on the St. Louis-Wellston border into more than 100 lofts plus a restaurant and commercial space could be thwarted if Wellston will not grant a temporary property tax abatement, says the head of Restoration St. Louis Inc.



More than 95 percent of the site in the 1000 block of Skinker Parkway is in St. Louis' 25th Ward. The property was a well-known streetcar barn and bus repair facility for decades, and a winery through the 1990s.



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This is almost sick. A town with 5% of a development can stop it by not granting a tax abatement that will almost certainly help it in the long run. Wellston is in very bad shape, but they come across as being too proud to accept help or they can't see far enough in the future. Can the developer build a parking lot on the Wellston side?

95% of this property is in the City of St. Louis, only 5% in Wellston. For property taxes in Wellston, Wellston sets the rates and decides on its share of abatement, but the County collects the taxes first before giving Wellston its municipal share of the tax rate.



Odd rules apply when living on jurisdictional boundaries. Maplewood likely has the most split residential properties with the City. And when it comes to taxes and services, the two have memos of understanding.



For example, I believe the location of the master or majority of bedrooms determines which jurisdiction collects property taxes. Perhaps, the Gills could be creative with their floorplans if Wellston is not willing to cooperate.

Yeah I must say I fail to see that guy's logic. Wellston is starved for development. They shoudl be jumping for joy that anyone would want to invest money in their area. .. How does he figure that this deal is to Wellston's disadvantage. Its not as if they have developers lining up to develope that property; So I ask him: which would you prefer - development that pays taxes in ten years or no development at all.



Why can't politicians realize that a tax abatment is an INVESTMENT cost. A city waies a certain portion of future revenues (revenues that would NOT be there if not for the tax abatement) for the development of a larger, wealthier tax base in their area.



It's wise to invest in your tax base.

With "leadership" like that in place in Wellston, it's no wonder that city is in the shape it's in right now.

And I'm certainly not one to say that Wellston should be happy to get any kind of development - people have been saying that about the city for years. However, this is a great project by a reputable developer - seems like a no-brainer to me.

It's in WELLSTON!!!!! I've driven by it and it's going to be spectacular. The Gills are a godsend.

freakin' gills. they got to welston before me. that was my plan all along, wind powered lofts in the factories. someone else was the beauty in that area as well. good for them.

I love this development because its WAY up Delmar. Pretty risky if you ask me. They're bieng true pioneers here ...

Intriquing. Does anyone know how this location relates to Metrolink. Is it near a station?

It's not far from the Metro at all. You can get a good view of the building if you're on the train.



I've discussed the project with someone at Restoration St. Louis and he said this is going to be an amazing project. I really think this is first step towards breaking the "north of Delmar" stigma.

The site address is 6124 Horton Place, which is in the City.

Try this link for more info:



http://www.apartments-stlouis.com/looplofts/default.htm

Is that near the old bus station just off of Union?



http://www.apartments-stlouis.com/loopl ... lofts.html



Check out the design for these lofts. VERY creative. Good stuff and will give that area a nice jolt.

It is six blocks from the Loop and three from the future WashU campus, and a person would have to pass by the industrial section of U. City which could easily become more residential with eastern U. City Olive Boulevard reverberating back to a main commercial street again. I am all for redeveloping east Olive back into a residential/commercial district.

The 2.5-acre site straddles the City limits. From the Assessor's parcel map (6124 Horton), it appears that the building is almost fully within the City of St. Louis, though the western edge of the property is within Wellston, along the east side of the MetroLink tracks.

Weren't they having trouble getting TIF funds from Wellston? I guess they've worked it out.

Usually the complaint with TIF is that it can rob schools of increased property taxes-- the tax base for schools. However, when a property straddles two school districts, I think a rule reads that the location of the child's bedroom determines the school district. In the case of the Loop Lofts, however, virtually all of the building is within the City of St. Louis and St. Louis Public School District. Only the western half of a future gated parking lot (no bedrooms) is within Wellston.



Given where the property falls, I think it's nice of our City to share the taxes with our more distressed neighbor in the County. However, when it comes to TIF, Wellston Schools wouldn't even be able to have any of the future kids living in the development eligible for enrollment in their schools. Of course, since a loft project appealing to WashU students, it is unlikely that there would even be that many children living in the development anyway.



Since the 1876 limits were drawn before development reached them, there are many properties split between our City and others, creating confusion in tax collection and delivery of services. In another example, the Shrewsbury Shop'n'Save on Chippewa splits its sales taxes 50-50 between the two cities, yet the other stores within the strip center on the same parcel split fairly evenly with Shrewsbury don't share their sales taxes with the City. I guess each site straddling the limits, whether 50-50 or 90-10, require negotiation between two cities.