Amendment to C-Street TIF plan gets council green light

Springfield City Council last night approved an amendment to the Commercial Street tax increment financing redevelopment plan related to developer Titus Williams' work in the historic corridor.

The unanimous 9-0 vote amends the TIF by removing properties in the 17-parcel, 7.5-acre Commercial-Pacific Street Redevelopment Area, headed by Williams. It also allows the city to accept a $212,506 buyout from Williams via Commercial-Pacific Street Redevelopment Corp. to offset the subsequent reduction of future payments in lieu of taxes captured by the TIF.

Williams’ Commercial-Pacific plan, approved by council in April, aims to redevelop four areas with multifamily residential and commercial projects. The city discourages Chapter 353 partial real property tax abatement, which the redevelopment project intends to use, within approved TIFs, according to past reporting.

Prior to the vote last night, Councilmember Monica Horton expressed concerns with council's April approval of Williams' multiphase development. Council's action earlier this year gave the go-ahead to a declaration of blight and approval for all four phases, as well as a 25-year tax abatement for the first phase. It gave approval to tax abatement for the first phase, with future phases required to be approved by council as either an amendment to the redevelopment plan or as a standalone redevelopment plan, according to past reporting.

"We're at the point of no return with this whole redevelopment plan," Horton said yesterday.

At council's Nov. 4 meeting, Williams gave an update on the first of four areas to be developed, called the Pacific South Project Area, where 72 townhouse dwelling units are being built. The area is on East Pacific Street between North Jefferson and North Benton avenues.

"I believe that we are at a point right now where it's now known that the amenities for Pacific South are in a different phase of this redevelopment plan, and so therefore it wouldn't even make sense to deny any other phase of this redevelopment plan because Pacific South is directly connected with phases that are not even approved yet," Horton said last night. "If Mr. Williams is not able to successfully market the amenities that are forthcoming in phases that are not approved, Pacific South will probably not even be viable.

"We have set it up to where disapproval of any other phases wouldn't even make sense at this point."

At the Nov. 4 meeting, Williams said it took a long time to get construction documents done after the April approval by council, and now a building demolition permit has been applied for and environmental remediation is underway.

“Once we have that completed, we should be able to start moving some dirt there and start the construction,” he told council.

Williams also said at the previous council meeting that the planned development process caught him off guard because of its increased cost from bids obtained before the planned development.

“Because of that we’re going through the process of value engineering the Pacific South piece,” he said at the time.

Williams’ plan for the area extending south from East Commercial to Pacific Street includes mixed-use and townhome construction and a renovation of the Missouri Hotel.