Iron Works proposal in Lemay subject of public meeting

From Suburban Journals, Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Progress on the proposed Iron Works retail redevelopment at Weber Road and Interstate 55 in Lemay is the topic of a public meeting March 6.

Sponsored by state Rep. Pat Yaeger, (D-Lemay), representatives from the Missouri Department of Transportation and Pace Development will be on hand to answer questions. Also in attendance will be state Rep. Tom Villa, (D-St. Louis).

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Salvation Army Gateway Citadel, 824 Union Road. The area to be redeveloped is bounded by I-55, Weber Road, part of the Stupp Brothers Bridge property and railroad tracks. It makes up 40 acres and includes 60 residential properties on Runyon Avenue, Avenue H, Avenue F and Weber Road.

Weber Road is flanked on both sides by the county and city limits, and in a previous interview Rick Randle, project manager for Pace, said representatives of St. Louis County, the city of St. Louis, MoDOT and federal officials need to work on potential property acquisitions in the city to build a new interchange on I-55 at Weber Road.

The development will include 310,000 square feet of retail space, four "out-lots" that could include banks or restaurants, one large anchor, or "big box" tenant, and medium- to smaller-sized retailers.

The project includes $18.5 million in tax increment financing assistance, a Transportation Development District (TDD) to be funded through a half-cent sales tax on purchases made within the retail project, and a Community Improvement District (CID) which is a special-benefit district that would allow Pace to assess and tax itself for community improvement and services.

The TDD and CID assistance provides a method of funding road improvements at Weber Road, Germania Street and Carondelet Boulevard.