Sikeston Council extends development agreement

Business Today

SIKESTON - The Sikeston City Council approved an extension of a Tax Increment Funding agreement to June 30 for Novus Development, current owners of the former state Department of Transportation building at Main and Malone, to facilitate an alternate redevelopment plan.

Novus representatives updated city officials during a recent special City Council meeting on their progress seeking a redevelopment project for the property.

On April 5, 1999, the city entered into a redevelopment agreement with Novus Development by which Novus was to develop the former MoDOT site with a retail grocery store there.

The original TIF agreement had an initial expiration date of June 30, 2000, later extended twice in six-months increments. In June 2001, Novus assigned its development rights at the site to Main and Malone Development, a corporation established by Memphis developer Sandy Thomason who at the time was working with the Kroger grocery store chain on a potential store in Sikeston.

When Kroger abandoned its plans for a Sikeston store, Thomason returned development rights to Novus.

Jonathan Brown, president of Novus Development, said while a retail grocery store would be "the highest and best use for that site," he predicted "there will not be a grocery store there ... in the foreseeable future" since Wal-Mart expanded to sell retail groceries.

Brown said a drugstore replacing a retail grocery store as anchor for the strip center would be the next best use for the site. "Walgreens has always expressed an interest in the site," said Brown. He said the drug store was left out of previous plans because grocery stores didn't want to compete with Walgreens.

Novus will wait to hear the results of Walgreens' site visit slated for February, according to Brown.

Brown said the new proposed development could also possibly include a Steak and Shake restaurant.