Developers propose downtown project

One of the projects would include residential space.

By Andrew Denney

Published April 14, 2009

A proposed development project in downtown Columbia could expand the number of residents in the area while increasing revenue for businesses in the area.

But a controversy could arise among Columbia residents over the possibility of using funds from tax increment financing to pay for the project.

On April 9, Columbia's Tax Increment Financing Commission, which was formed last year after the city passed legislation that allows developers to apply for TIF dollars to fund projects, heard reports from two developers who seek access to the money.

One of the proposed projects is an eight-story multi-use building that would include residential and retail space, and would be built on the northwest corner of the intersection of Tenth and Locust streets, where century-old residential property now stands.

Brad Wright, an architect with Peckham and Wright Architects, hired to design the project, said the 58 residential units planned for the building will include two- and four-bedroom units with two bathrooms. The units will be intended for retirees living downtown, professionals who work in the area and people associated with the city's three universities.

Wright said students are not excluded from this group.

Nathan Odle, a member of Trittenbach Development, the company that will develop the project and own and manage the property after construction is complete, said the rent for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units in the building would be in the $1,200 per month range.

The development company developed and owns Brookside Townhomes on Old Plank Road in southwest Columbia and the Columbia Medical Plaza at 303 Keene St.

Wright said the bottom floor of the building would be designed to accommodate retail outlets and a specialty grocery store and the top four would hold residential units.

According to a report submitted to the TIF Commission, the building will cost an estimated $17.2 million. The city's laws regarding TIF funds state developers applying for the funds must demonstrate that their proposed project would create new jobs or retain old ones, eliminate urban blight and show a benefit to the entire community. If approved, the tax collection rate for a property in which a developer seeks to redevelop would be fixed for the property's value at the time of the start of development.

When the property becomes more valuable because of redevelopment, the extra revenue that would have gone to the city's coffers would instead go to developers to pay for the projects. Developers could receive up to 20 percent of their production costs, and the developers for this project have requested $3.2 million.

Odle said downtown businesses would see increased patronage from more residents living in the area. He said there are about 300 residents living downtown.

"If you want to have a healthy stable environment downtown, it is important not to just have businesses," Odle said.

The use of TIF funds for building projects became more controversial when the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, a forum made up of elected leaders from Missouri and Illinois counties in the St. Louis area, released a report in January stating that, from 1987-2008, Missouri counties in the St. Louis area had collected $560 million from businesses that used TIF for development, but taxpayers had committed $1.3 billion to the program.

Tom Schauwecker, the Boone County assessor and a member of the TIF Commission, said it was premature to say if use of TIF funds for the project would be beneficial for Columbia.

"This is uncharted waters for all of us," Schauwecker said.

The only projects for which the city has received TIF requests are this project and a proposed redevelopment of the Tiger Hotel. The TIF will hold a meeting on the issue April 28. A public comment session on the issue is scheduled for June 4.