ST. LOUIS — The Cortex tech district won a key endorsement from a city commission Wednesday in its quest to preserve the use of millions in tax breaks for future development projects before they expire in February.
But whether the 4-1 favorable vote from the St. Louis Tax Increment Financing Commission translates into legislation from the St. Louis Board of Alderman remains to be seen.
City government’s tradition of “aldermanic courtesy†requires the alderman who represents the area where a project is located to sponsor development bills, and 17th Ward Alderman Tina Pihl is not convinced Cortex needs the same level of support the city promised to it back in 2013.
In an interview Wednesday, she said it’s “possible†a board bill could be introduced in the coming months and she was “working towards that.†But she said the St. Louis Development Corp., the city’s development arm, still hasn’t released its “Economic Justice Action Plan†or its review of development incentives.
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“We can’t continue to do these projects as a one-off, we just don’t have a standardized policy,†Pihl told the Post-Dispatch. “We need to have a standardized plan to go through and look at these projects, and that’s the way we’re going to have a board bill that’s the most equitable project for the city.â€
Pihl’s hesitation is in contrast to Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ endorsement of the Cortex plan. The two are usually political allies, and after they both took office in April 2021 they asked to renegotiate tax incentive packages for Cortex and other developers in Pihl’s busy ward.
Cortex and its development partner, Keeley Properties, have since agreed to contribute $250,000 to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and a new state law passed last year will allocate 10% of TIF revenues to a city-controlled infrastructure fund earmarked for low-income areas. Jones has said the Cortex TIF amount was “agreed to well before either one of us was in office,†and she enthusiastically endorsed the project Wednesday.
“Today’s TIF board vote shows developers that to receive public funds in St. Louis, your project must create community benefits,†Jones said in a statement. “Cortex has reached out to key stakeholders around this project and produced an offer that creates affordable housing, enhances public infrastructure, and finances projects in disinvested neighborhoods — all priorities for my administration.â€
Cortex’s request is twofold: a specific ask for $4.6 million incentives to support a $51 million, 165-unit project planned by Keeley, and a request to activate two other areas of the TIF so that future projects — it is still searching for developers in those areas — can tap up to $79 million in incentives there.
Moving the package forward without Pihl’s support would shatter decades of St. Louis political norms. Asked whether it thought the board would introduce a bill, a Cortex spokesman said it was “working with the leadership at the SLDC on taking the appropriate next steps to ensure the (Board of Aldermen) approves the Cortex TIF before the deadline.â€
The city in 2013 approved the use of up to $168 million in tax breaks to spur development in the Central West End area between the and . But only $89 million has been committed to projects so far, and the agreement authorizing the remainder expires in February.
Cortex has long enjoyed broad political support and is seen by many in St. Louis as a major success story. Startups, pharmaceutical firms and major tech companies such as Microsoft have opened offices employing some 6,000 people there. But some have begun to question whether Cortex still needs all the help it was promised as that area of the city grows more affluent.
Pihl, who touts her urban planning degrees and experience, was elected last year on a progressive platform that included promises to rein in tax incentives used in her ward, which includes two of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city: The Central West End and the Grove commercial district in Forest Park Southeast.
Citing nearby apartment buildings that have not received incentives, transparency advocate and tax incentive critic Gerry Connolly told the commission the idea that Cortex wouldn't develop without incentives is “just absurd.â€
Dan Pate, who has worked with Pihl as a citizen volunteer, told the commission that the city needs to ensure the TIF commitments are repaid to ensure properties get on the tax rolls as soon as possible. Most property taxes in the city actually go to the school district, he noted.
“The city has a perverse incentive being the one that underwrites deals that take more from the school district budget,†Pate said.
Pihl also spoke and reiterated she was still in “discussions†with Cortex to ensure its incentive package returned a “public benefit†to the city. Talks were “going really well,†she said.
“However, I do really have concern,†she said, about the portions of the district seeking the use of future TIF dollars without identified projects. Plus, she said, some questions asked by board members hadn’t been answered Wednesday.
“Why are we making decisions or votes when we don’t even have all the information?†Pihl said.
Cortex CEO Sam Fiorello responded: “I don’t think that’s fair.â€
“We’ve provided every shred of information and we’ve worked with SLDC and you for 14 months,†Fiorello said. “There’s a sense of urgency now because the clock is, I mean we’re gonna run out of time.â€
Updated at 6:45 p.m.
