A small item in today’s Wall Street Journal should stand as a big “caution” sign for St. Louis officials as they negotiate a development deal for Ballpark Village. Cordish, the village’s developer, is also in charge of the Kansas City Power and Light District. According to the Journal, that ballyhooed downtown project is about to become a drain on Kansas City’s coffers:

Cordish said it has delivered roughly 600,000 square feet of retail, which is now about 70% occupied. But lower-than-projected retail sales per square foot and later-than-expected openings in nonrestaurant retail mean sales-tax revenue from the project will fall short of what is needed to cover the debt service on the city bonds issued to help pay for the district’s development, according to Troy Schulte, the city’s budget officer. The city expects to have to cover a $4 million budget gap on the project’s debt service for the year ending April 30.

Memo to City Hall: I know St. Louis is planning to provide tax incentives to get Ballpark Village built, but please, please, make the project stand on its own after it opens. The city should never, ever agree to be on the hook for a developer’s debt payments.