The St. Louis Board of Alderman passed BB 182 26-0 which outlines tax assurance for the proposed building at 2800 S Jefferson at Lynch St in the Benton Park neighborhood. The property taxes will be set at $572 per residential unit with 2% increases for ten years. This equates to about a 75% tax abatement. $572 in taxes equals about $7,000 in assessed value per apartment. With 42 units the assessed value of residential is $295k or $790k per acre (I’m checking on the commercial pace). The currently LRA-owned property will join the tax rolls.
The developer of the $8.5M building is Flyover Fund with architect JEMA. The building is 4 stories with brick façade facing Jefferson and Lynch and 42 apartments (36 1-bedroom, 6 2-bedroom), a 1559 square foot retail space, and 42 parking spaces. Amenities include balconies for almost every unit, bike storage, a dog wash, and a gym.
The 42 parking spaces meets the city’s parking minimum of at least 1 space per unit. This begs the question but for the city’s parking mandate how many spaces would there be? Perhaps there would be another retail bay, thus offering another opportunity for a business and thus more economic activity for the neighborhood and tax base for the city. The additional commercial rent through fewer square feet devoted to an unproductive use might have meant lower rents for tenants. #Parkingsmartstl
