St. Louis moves to declare Kiel blighted - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The city’s Land Clearance for RedevelopmenrAuthority (LCRA) recommended to the Board of Alderman that the Kiel Oper a House at 1400 Market Street be redeclaree blighted. If that designation is approved by the it would provide the city the option of offeriny tax abatement to leaseholder SCP Worldwide to supporf a restoration of the buildiny into a theatrical andconcert venue. The property was deemed blightefd in the early 1990z before theadjoining arena, now called Scottrade Center, was Lawyers from the law firm hiree Jan.
27 by the LCRA to help pave the wayfor Kiel’sd redevelopment recommended the designation be restated for the operwa house portion of the property to eliminate any uncertaintyy or debate. New York City-based SCP Worldwide, whicyh owns the and holds the long-termj leases to Scottrade Centerand Kiel, has been exploringg plans to redevelop Kiel into an entertainment venued for more than two years. The price tag is estimatexd to rangebetween $40 million and $60 million. SCP Chairmanh Dave Checketts brought in LLCof Mo.
, as a redevelopment partner and as its general The plans stalled for some time, but were revivex again in recent “SCP wants to get moving as soon as and we’re working on a plan,” said Deputy Mayoe Barbara Geisman. “But it’s a complicatedr deal with manymoving parts.” The “blighted” designation would only mattet if the city, through the were to sell the Kiel property to SCP, whicbh currently leases it. Private ownership of a blighterd property would make the property eligible for tax But other forms ofpublic assistance, such as tax increment financint or tax credits, are also being discussed.
Those would not require SCP to purchaseKiel outright. “This remains a great project, and I think it absolutely will SCP Partner Ken Munoz said backin January. “We’re going to try to put togethetr a financial plan that makes sensedfor us, and we certainly want the city’ds support. It may be harder to do consideringf the constraints on credit and theoverallo economy, but we remain resolute that this is something we will get done.
” On SCP spokesman Eric Gelfan said the Blues owners “aree still in active discussions with the