Fenton shopping center’s debt is downgraded
Sales are up this year at the Gravois Bluffs shopping center in Fenton, but Fitch Ratings thinks the closing of the nearby Chrysler plant has made the project a riskier investment.
Fitch downgraded Gravois Bluffs’ debt today to BBB-minus, its lowest investment-grade rating, from A-minus. Fitch says the lower rating
reflects the increasingly competitive regional retail market and local economic pressures. Housing market volatility and automotive sector employment declines may make this project especially vulnerable over the longer term.
Fitch also downgraded a related Fenton TIF bond issue. Between the two bond issues, sales taxes from the shopping center support $57.5 million in debt.
On the positive side, Fitch notes that sales tax revenue at Gravois Bluffs rose 10.4 percent in the first four months of this year, partly because some new stores opened.
(No Ratings Yet)
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
