Deal in place for Pevely Dairy complex in Midtown St. Louis
The Pevely Dairy complex at the corner of Grand and Chouteau Avenues in Midtown St. Louis is under contract with a new developer, real estate brokers said this week.
Some of the 10-acre site, which owner Prairie Farms shuttered in October, will likely be converted into housing, with stores on the ground floor if the deal goes through, said Meade Summers, vice president of Hilliker Corporation, who is representing the buyers. Summers declined to identify the buyer.
“I think it’s going to be fantastic,” Summers said.
But the deal hinges on the property getting historic tax credits. If it doesn’t, Summers said, “it’s going to be just another dead dairy plant.”
The buyers will apply soon for the complex — built in the early 1920s — to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first step in the tax credit process. Summers said he expects the deal will close only after tax credits are approved, likely next year.
Summers and other brokers in the deal would not say who the buyers are, but one name being floated in development circles is Bruce Development Co., of Clayton, which helped turn an old baby carriage factory in Soulard into lofts, converted an old Days Inn on Tucker Boulevard into apartments and has done several other historic rehabs around the city.
President Brian Bruce would not confirm that his company is in contract, but did say they “have an interest” in the project and are looking at it closely.
Ok, where are all the folks who immediately jump of the sports franchises when they get tax credit for stadiums? Fair is fair, I have heard it a thousand times, if the project cannot stand alone without tax credits then it is not viable and should not be done. I’m waiting
kdunlap, have you spent any time around washington ave loft district in the past 5 years? i think that will answer your question as to what historic tax credits have done for the city of st louis and why people don’t complain.
Agreed, no more tax credits for those damn lofts. We will never have better schools in the city if everyone gets a tax credit. How do I get one. I live and run my own business based in the city? But the City of Saint Louis CHARGES
Agreed, no more tax credits for those damn lofts. We will never have better schools in the city if everyone gets a tax credit. How do I get a tax credit though? I live and run my own business based in the city. But the City of Saint Louis CHARGES me an extra 1%
We would all be better off just packing up and moving out of town! And everyone wonders why we have a Brain Drain in STL.
I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that a lot of the people complaining about this development have no problem at all with their municipalities granting tax credits to developers for shopping centers or businesses that locate in their community.
At least in the city, these tax credits are used to preserve historic buildings, and the projects may not be possible without them. In the county, suburbs routinely abuse TIF for “blighted” properties like a small yet successful mall (Des Peres’ West County Center), bluffs near a major highway intersection (Gravois Bluffs in Fenton) and floodplains (Chesterfield Commons in Chesterfield and St. Louis Mills in Hazelwood). And, since there’s very little population growth in the area, existing businesses in other suburbs suffer directly as a result. Crestwood and Sunset Hills suffer now that Fenton has Gravois Bluffs, and while Hazelwood robbed St. Ann and Bridgeton of businesses when St. Louis Mills opened, now that development is struggling after less than five years.
So, as usual on these forums, I think it amounts to an anti-city attitude. Historic preservation tax credits? Bad. Flagrant TIF abuse that results in zero-sum retail relocation and disinvestment in older suburbs? Meh…who cares. Be honest, those of you that oppose these tax credits pretty much oppose everything east of Skinker Boulevard. Fortunately, the city will be just fine without you.
the historic tax credits are from the state, so anyone in missouri can get them, so long as your property qualifies as historic. they do the exact same thing in kansas city. it’s not a tax credit on running your business, it’s a way to be able to use a building that would have been other wise torn down, further preventing the complaining of people saying the city is full of abandoned and demolished buildings.
I am surprised that SLU didn’t have any interest in the property.
“I am surprised that SLU didn’t have any interest in the property.”
Let’s be thankful they didn’t. We have enough empty grass lots surrounded by ugly fencing.