Planning group designates midtown site ‘opportunity area’
The St. Louis Planning Commission took steps Wednesday to make the former Federal-Mogul plant site on Forest Park Avenue more attractive to big retailers.
Commissioners voted unanimously to amend the city’s "strategic land use plan" by designating the vacant site an "opportunity area" for redevelopment. The commission also approved a blighting study as a further step to entice redevelopment.
If the Board of Aldermen approves the steps, a developer would be granted 10-year tax abatement and the authority to acquire property by eminent domain. The "opportunity area" designation allows commercial and residential land use, but prohibits industrial use.
Barbara Geisman, the deputy mayor for development, told commissioners that no buyer for the site was in view but that the city preferred a "lifestyle" retail center there. "We want to make sure the site gets developed to its full potential," she said before the meeting.
When Federal-Mogul closed its auto-parts plant in 2007, Koman Properties said it was eyeing the 9-acre Midtown location in the 3700 block of Forest Park Avenue as part of a $150 million to $200 million development of stores, offices, residences and maybe even a hotel.
Koman’s senior vice president of development, Terry Barnes, referred questions Wednesday to company President Jim Koman, who was unavailable for comment. The Clayton-based developer’s website still shows a preliminary plan for what it calls "The Villages of Forest Park," but Geisman said the project appeared to be on hold. "We haven’t heard anything from them in, gosh, a year," she said fast cash with bad credit.
Geisman added that the widespread economic downturn and turmoil in lending markets made big retail projects difficult to pull off these days. "Those international shopping center guys aren’t doing much," she said.
Regardless, city officials want the site to be attractive for redevelopment. They said retail use made sense because the site is next to Highway 40 and close to St. Louis University, the Central West End and the growing Cortex life-sciences area.
Alderman Joe Roddy, whose 17th Ward includes the plant site, said earlier Wednesday that the city’s involvement while the tract remained in Federal-Mogul’s control was part of a new strategy to have more influence on development projects. He said property owners may no longer assume the city will grant incentives to potential redevelopers.
"If they want to change zoning or get tax abatement, we want to be partners in the selection process," Roddy said. "If you include us in the process, then we can go ahead and begin discussing what incentives we can provide."
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