City Takes Heat Over Development Relationships
Date Posted: July 25, 2017
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Business Journal: The city’s development agency is defending its working relationship with a development lawyer who also lobbies it for subsidies.
It’s part of increased scrutiny of St. Louis Development Corp. by activists who argue the organization gives too many tax incentives to the well-connected, an assertion the agency rejects.
For years, Dave Richardson of Husch Blackwell has worked for SLDC on the downtown Ballpark Village project, helping the city navigate Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Authority (MoDESA) bonds, a key subsidy. That included helping the city negotiate with the St. Louis Cardinals and developer Cordish Cos. to reach a deal for the project’s second phase, now in line to get some $65 million in subsidies.
For 2016 through June of this year, Husch has billed SLDC $42,398, almost all for Ballpark Village work, according to information obtained through an open-records request.
At the same time, Richardson has repeatedly entered negotiations with SLDC staff over subsidies for his private clients seeking to do developments in the city. The SLDC staff makes recommendations to boards that dole out incentives, such as the Tax Increment Financing Commission.
In 2016 and so far in 2017, Richardson represented at least five clients before the TIF Commission, for example, including at its May 31 meeting. Those included the developers of the Jefferson Arms (Alterra International), Northgate office and retail at 6211 Delmar Blvd. (Pace Properties), and grocery at 6300 Clayton Ave. (Pearl Real Estate Co.). All the projects got millions of dollars in subsidies, as is typical once they proceed past SLDC staff and to the boards.