Ozark city officials and potential developers agree that the city's downtown redevelopment project is moving forward, even though there's not much visible evidence.
City officials continue to negotiate with Michigan-based Plazacorp Realty Advisors Inc., - the developer chosen to spearhead the downtown redevelopment - regarding what incentives will be included in the development agreement for the Finley River Neighborhood Development District.
City Attorney Dave Collignon said Plazacorp would like to use the existing tax increment financing district to capture all property and sales taxes generated in the area, instead of all of the property taxes generated by improvements and 50 percent of the sales tax as allowed by the TIF district, which is roughly bounded by Hall Street to the north, Church Street to the south, Third Street to the east and the drainage ditch to the west.
Melissa Wagner, who represents Ward 3 on the Board of Aldermen, said she was uncomfortable with Plazacorp's requests, which also included asking the city to pledge additional funding if the sales and property taxes don't cover district improvement costs.
"In my opinion, the city was taking on all of the risk and not receiving any of the sales tax benefit from the area," she said. "It was a lopsided disbursement of risk versus benefit."
On May 18, however, the Ozark Board of Aldermen directed city staff to develop an alternative financing proposal. City Administrator Steve Childers said city staff and the developer are closing the gap between their two proposals, but there are still details to hammer out.
The most notable gap between the two sides is in the amount of public funding going toward the project for infrastructure improvements in the district. Though Collingnon said the first phase of the redevelopment project carries a total price tag of about $8.6 million, Childers declined to disclose exactly how much either side is proposing to be covered by public funding, citing the ongoing nature of the negotiations.
"There will be a certain amount of debt the public side incurs, and that's fine," Childers said. "But we have to determine what an acceptable amount of debt or risk is. Of course, both parties are saying, 'We'd rather you take on that risk than us.'"
Wagner, who was elected to the board in April, added that she's glad city staff decided to go back and come up with an alternative proposal.
"This development came up at the board meeting within the first month I was on the board, and it was going to be time immediately to make a decision," she said. "So I'm glad we're sitting down, taking another look at the issue and deliberating a little more."
Officials with Plazacorp, which has set up an office in Ozark in anticipation of working on the project, did not return calls seeking comment.
Childers said any money the city has to borrow to pay for infrastructure would likely come through bonds or traditional bank financing.
But finding a payment source for that public debt is another issue for the city.
Beyond the TIF district, which allows the city to capture funding after improvements are made, a community improvement district would enable businesses in the district to levy an additional sales tax to pay for improvements, for example.
Whatever agreement is made, Childers said it must be done quickly. If an agreement is not in place by the end of July, he said it's not likely that the anchor tenant for the development - Liberty-based B&B Theatres' eight-screen movie theater - will be ready by its projected opening date of May 2010.
"We've got a lot to do just to stay on track with the movie theater's opening deadline. So we have to get ground moving in 90 days in order to meet that deadline," Childers said.
City officials said they realize people are getting frustrated that more physical progress hasn't been made on the development, and Collignon asked area residents to be patient.
"Nobody can see bulldozers down there moving dirt, and that's what bugs the ever-loving hell out of them," Collignon said. "But all of these other steps are necessary in order to get the financing in place so a bulldozer can be brought in, foundations can be laid, buildings built and people moved in. If this preliminary work doesn't happen, this project falls flat on its face."
This isn't the first delay for the Finley River Neighborhood project. The city, through the Ozark Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, began working on redeveloping the area in 2005.
After working with Springfield firm Hagerman New Urbanism for nearly three years to put together a development plan, the two parted ways when the city said the developer was unable to find financing for the project.
Hagerman subsequently filed a lawsuit to cover the firm's work on the project; the city settled with the firm in January for more than $850,000.[[In-content Ad]]
Dame Chiropractic LLC emerged as the new name of Harshman Chiropractic Clinic LLC with the purchase of the business; Leo Kim added a second venture, Keikeu LLC, to 14 Mill Market; and Mercy Springfield Communities opened its second primary care clinic in Ozark.
