ST. LOUIS — After holding up legislation preserving tech district Cortex’s 2013 incentive package for over a year, Alderman Tina Pihl has relented and plans to introduce bills for the development on Friday.
The move follows legislative maneuvering around Pihl to pass development incentives for another project in the bustling 17th Ward, which covers the Central West End and Forest Park Southeast.
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones — usually aligned politically with Pihl — has also put pressure on the progressive lawmaker to move the legislation, supporting Cortex’s request to use the remaining tax breaks in its decade-old incentive package to continue building out the employment district.
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Under St. Louis’ “aldermanic courtesy†tradition, Pihl is expected to sponsor bills for development in her ward.
As recently as last month, Pihl was still skeptical of the Cortex incentive package, despite the developer’s commitment to contribute $250,000 to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and allocate 10% of the value of incentives to a city-controlled infrastructure fund for low-income areas.
Pihl on Thursday said Cortex and its development partner have since offered to make 17 units of a planned 165-apartment building affordable for those making less than 60% of the area median income, a price point she and others say is sorely needed in parts of the city.
“There’s a lot of things that changed from the initial conversations to now to make this better for the city,†Pihl said in an interview. “None of this stuff had been done before I got involved in terms of this particular project.â€
Cortex has long enjoyed broad political support and is seen by many as a St. Louis success story. Startups, pharmaceutical firms and major tech companies such as Microsoft have opened offices employing some 6,000 people there. But Cortex has also faced headwinds since the pandemic hammered the economy and revolutionized office culture. A major office building started by developers Wexford and Ventas in 2019 remains stalled. Another residential project proposed before the pandemic hasn’t materialized.
Tishaura Jones (left), then a candidate for St. Louis mayor, takes a selfie with Tina Pihl, then an aldermanic candidate for the 17th Ward, outside the polling place at the corner of Newstead and Laclede avenues in the Central West End on April 6, 2021.Â
Pihl, elected last year on a platform that called for reining in tax incentives and more affordable housing, questioned whether Cortex still needed all the help it was promised as that area of the city became more affluent.
Cortex officials, meanwhile, face a looming deadline. In 2013, aldermen granted the nonprofit founded by area universities, hospitals and other institutions a $168 million tax increment financing package to lure developers and rebuild infrastructure. That package, and $79 million in unused TIF incentives, is set to expire in February without legislative approval to extend it.
In addition, developer Keeley Properties wanted authorization to use $4.6 million of the Cortex TIF to support a $51 million, 165-unit project at Sarah Street and Clayton Avenue. Adding residential units has been a longtime goal of Cortex leaders to support restaurants and other amenities in an area that clears out after work hours.
Cortex and the developer had agreed to the $250,000 affordable housing contribution as far back as July. At the beginning of the year, they agreed to carve out 32 units as “workforce housing†affordable for people making — $60,750 for a household of two.
The new agreement will make 17 apartments in the new building affordable for those making 60% of the area median income, or $45,600 for a household of two. That stipulation is in a loan agreement between business group Greater St. Louis Inc. and the developer.
“We have plenty of workforce housing at 80% AMI, so that is a huge win for the city at 60% AMI where we need the housing,†Pihl said. “It’s all around a better project than it was just a few weeks ago.â€
The St. Louis Development Corp. on Thursday also approved a request for proposals for a study that could help develop a citywide policy for affordable housing allocations, something Pihl said she had “been championing.â€
As the sponsor, Pihl now controls when a final vote on the Cortex bills is held. She said Cortex would “get a final vote before their deadline.â€
A Cortex spokesman declined to comment.
As Cortex officials and the Jones administration grew frustrated with the delays from Pihl, aldermen and the city’s development office in recent weeks sent a strong signal that they were willing to go around her if she didn’t move ahead with the Cortex bills.
Development incentives for the long-stalled Armory redevelopment in Pihl’s ward passed through the board Friday after neighboring Alderman Marlene Davis sponsored the bills when Pihl wouldn’t.
After Pihl criticized the maneuver last month, SLDC responded that “one alderman’s approval should not be the sole determinant for a development project to move forward.â€
On Thursday, the mayor’s office thanked Pihl for moving forward with the bill.
“Through months of negotiations on this project, Mayor Jones made clear that to receive public funds, Cortex must create community benefits,†a spokesman for the mayor said in a statement. “The mayor appreciates (Alderman) Pihl’s sponsorship of this legislation which will help create affordable housing and improve infrastructure while financing projects in disinvested neighborhoods.â€
