ST. LOUIS • A key aldermanic committee Wednesday voted to support a bill that would merge the Bottle District plan into Paul McKee's NorthSide Regeneration proposal, a move that could spark both long-stalled projects and may help McKee tap more state tax credits.
The Aldermen's Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee recommended the full board pass the bill, which would officially combine the 17-acre Bottle District site north of the Edward Jones Dome into McKee's two-square-mile NorthSide plan. The bill's supporters say it would help McKee and Bottle District owner Clayco jointly market the sites.
"This is about trying to make things happen sooner, rather than later," said Larry Chapman, a developer who's working on the Bottle District.
But critics worry that it's just a rushed grab for state tax credits, and urged patience, especially ahead of a Missouri Supreme Court hearing in just a few weeks on NorthSide's huge financing plan.
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"I'd suggest that we wait until we have a Supreme Court ruling," said Alderman Scott Oglivie, 24th Ward. "In the meantime these folks can proceed with the Bottle District in whatever way they choose."
The measure may help McKee tap roughly $1.5 million in state Distressed Areas Land Assemblage tax credits, said its sponsor, Alderman Tammika Hubbard, 5th-Ward.
The credits pay McKee back for half the cost of buying land in his NorthSide project, but only if the land is officially part of the NorthSide redevelopment area. He paid $3 million to buy the Bottle District in December. He has already collected about $30 million in credits, some of which he must repay if the project loses its lawsuit.
Several aldermen had questions about the timing of this move, and how it would affect the two projects.
When asked directly if the measure was designed to help McKee get credits, Hubbard said: "To my understanding it is."
Hubbard's father - Rodney Hubbard Sr. - is executive director of the Carr Square Tenant Association, which owns a 2.5 percent stake in NorthSide, and she has come fire for potential conflicts of interest.
The alderman kicked off her presentation on the bill by handing out a legal opinion by City Counselor Patti Hageman saying there is no conflict under current city law. Oglivie has filed a bill that would toughen conflict laws in the future.
Hubbard also raised a potential user for the Bottle District site - the Rams - saying it could be part of the broader redevelopment of the Edward Jones Dome.
Chapman said his group had offered the site to the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, which is negotiating with the team, but that its far too early to know if it will be part of St. Louis stadium solution.
"I wish it were true," he said.
Either way, the Bottle District bill will now go to the full Board of Aldermen.
Tim Logan is a business writer at the Post-Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @tlwriter.
