Casino funds provide Lemay a winning hand
St. Louis Business Journal
November 24, 2010
By Christopher Tritto
Barbara Hehmeyer's Lemay Development Corp. received $275,000 in casino funds.
When St. Louis County officials and Pinnacle Entertainment executives negotiated the deal that resulted in River City Casino, a benefit was included for the South County neighborhood where the facility was built. At least 75 percent of the $4 million annual land-lease payments Pinnacle would pay the county would be reinvested in the Lemay neighborhood through 2015.
The casino opened March 4, and now money is starting to flow from the St. Louis County Port Authority Community Reinvestment Fund. Lemay boosters say it is providing the district with its biggest jackpot in years.
The county opened a window for applications from Lemay businesses and non-profit organizations last spring and awarded its first fund distributions Sept. 2. The Port Authority voted on projects recommended by the St. Louis County Economic Council, and some $1.7 million was granted to support community projects.
The seven initial recipients range from the Lemay Baseball Association to the Lemay Housing Partnership to a Missouri Civil War Museum planned for grounds located at 222 Worth Road.
Applications for the second round of fund disbursements are due Dec. 1.
"It's like having a dedicated community development block grant for Lemay, but without the strings attached to federal funds, to help stabilize and improve the community," said Denny Coleman, president and chief executive of the St. Louis County Economic Council. "We think it could have a significant impact on housing, social services and community improvements that could enhance the whole living and business experience in Lemay. It is a neighborhood of very modest incomes, but it is a very stable community with a great identity. We don't want to change that, just enhance that."
Barbara Hehmeyer, executive director of both the Lemay Chamber of Commerce and the Lemay Development Corp., said this five-year program will provide the largest influx of community improvement funds the neighborhood has seen. Such improvements, combined with increased auto and pedestrian traffic because of the casino, are attracting the attention of developers who previously wouldn't have considered the area, she said.
Lemay Development Corp. received $275,000 in the first round of reinvestment fund disbursements. That money will help Hehmeyer, who is the corporation's sole employee, to hire a full-time community development professional, update a Lemay market analysis that was completed prior to the casino's construction and help establish a designated urban redevelopment area that will provide tax incentives and other economic tools to local businesses.
"The day the first grants were announced was one of the best days we have ever had in Lemay," she said. "This is something we really needed."
County Executive Charlie Dooley acknowledged in a statement that the casino represented a challenging redevelopment, but the county's new revenue stream "will enhance the quality of life while further attracting economic development, particularly in the Lemay community."
River City Casino had $14.4 million in revenue in October, keeping St. Louis-area gaming revenue from slumping for the eighth month in a row. St. Louis-area casino revenue rose 5 percent last month, according to data released by the Missouri Gaming Commission and the Illinois Gaming Board.
ithout River City's revenue last month, area gaming revenue would have dropped 11 percent to $77.7 million.
