Cape council to consider portions of West Park Mall redevelopment; TIF, CID plans to be discussed

Cape Girardeau City Council members will consider portions of a plan to redevelop West Park Mall at their meeting Monday, Sept. 18.

The group will consider measures forming RCC Community Improvement District (CID) and approving an RCC tax increment financing (TIF) redevelopment plan proposed by River City Centre LLC.

River City Centre LLC officials have outlined a $107 million project to redevelop the mall and surrounding out-parcels, using a combination of financial incentives.

For redevelopment purposes the mall property is divided into six parcels: Redevelopment Project Area 1 (PRA1) to Redevelopment Project Area 6 (PRA6). Council members will consider adopting tax increment financing (TIF) for each parcel, though areas 1 and 2 fall under one piece of legislation. Areas 1 and 2 consist of the existing mall structure (except the JCPenney store area, which is owned separately from the rest of the mall structure) and some of the mall's parking areas. Areas 3 through 6 consist of not-yet-developed out-parcel portions of the property that are now parking and landscaped areas.

The TIF incentive for the project accounts for up to about $18 million in local property and sales tax incentives over the course of 23 years.

TIF allows developers to retain 50% of increased property and sales tax revenue up to a capped amount, with the local taxing units receiving the other 50%, plus all of the predetermined baseline tax revenue. Once the TIF period ends or the maximum approved amount is reached, the tax units receive all of the tax revenue.

Cape Girardeau TIF commissioners voted to recommend the TIF portion of the project to the city council in June.

The CID allows developers to impose a sales tax on purchases made within the boundaries of the property to fund redevelopment efforts. If approved, the mall's CID will impose a sales tax at the rate of 1% and an annual special assessment in an amount $2 per square foot of gross leasable area of each building within the district.

Those funds (up to $18.07 million) will finance and reimburse the eligible CID project costs for public improvements made, and services provided in connection with the development, operation and maintenance of the proposed property, including ongoing administrative costs of the district, property acquisition, site preparation and improvements.

The term of the proposed district shall be a maximum of 27 years from the date the City Council approves an ordinance authorizing the formation of the district.

A public hearing on the CID portion of the project was held in August.

River City Centre is a group of local real estate developers and strategic partners. The group is owned and managed by Lucas Haley, Michael Williams and Ben Ressel, with additional investment from Matthew Mills, Natalie Riley and Steve Holden, through trusts and affiliates.

Monday's meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall.

Rick Fahr provided additional reporting for this article.