Booming Chesterfield dissolves TIF district 10 years early

By Sophia Tarlas
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Dec. 05 2007

Chesterfield — The City Council has voted to dissolve the Chesterfield Valley
Tax Increment Financing District 10 years ahead of schedule and after $72
million in bonds have been paid off.

The district was created to replace the Monarch Levee along the Missouri River
and rebuild Chesterfield Valley, which was submerged by the Flood of 1993.

Chesterfield will now receive a tax revenue increase of about $3 million from
businesses in the valley, according to city officials. Rockwood School District
will receive about $6.6 million, and St. Louis County about $3.3 million.

The number of businesses in the valley after the construction of the new levee
has grown to 840 compared with 240 before the flood, and the assessed value of
property there has gone from $18 million before the flood to about $176
million.

Mayor John Nations, who was on the committee that established TIF district,
said that 10 years ago, the projected amount of retail and commercial square
footage from the TIF project was about 100,000 feet by 2007. The valley
currently has about 2 million square feet of space.

"The Chesterfield Valley TIF is one of the most successful public and private
partnerships in the country, which will create long-lasting benefits for
residents in Chesterfield and St. Louis County," he said. "The success has
exceeded all projections."