TIF Subsidy Sought for $95M Cortex Project
Date Posted: November 7, 2024
Posted In: Organizations, Projects,
From St. Louis Business Journal: The Cortex Innovation District is seeking approval of up to $4 million in tax increment financing for Washington University’s redevelopment of the former Goodwill Building.
The $95.8 million project at 4140 Forest Park Ave. will be considered by the city’s TIF commission at its Nov. 13 meeting. Approval of the TIF will help the project advance and secure a commitment from an anchor tenant that would occupy nearly half of the seven-story building, according to project documents submitted to the city.
Cortex is asking the TIF Commission to adopt a resolution that recommends the Board of Alderman approval of the project. A 2013 agreement between Cortex, the innovation district in the Central West End, and the city provided up to $168 million in TIF for development covering 168 acres, in which incremental tax receipts would be used for infrastructure. A 10-year extension of Cortex’s TIF district added a clause into the amended TIF agreement that individual projects have to go through the entire process again, including a recommendation from the TIF Commission. The extension of the TIF preserved about $79 million in incentives for future development, the city said when it was extended.