UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — University City officials say they have received the first payment of a $15 million agreement with the developer behind a $189.4 million mixed-use project.
Officials announced Thursday that it received $3 million following Novus Development's acquisition of roughly 16 acres that will be redeveloped into a Costco Wholesale store as part of Novus' Markets at Olive project at Olive Boulevard and Interstate 170.
Markets at Olive, first announced in 2018, will also include office, more retail, apartments and, potentially, a hotel. The first phase is being financed by developers Bob Clark and Larry Chapman and Cedar Rapids Iowa Bank. The city has granted Novus $70.5 million in tax increment financing for Markets at Olive.
The city is earmarking the $3 million for improvements to the city's Third Ward, where the development will be built. Novus acquired a mix of homes and businesses in the Third Ward to make way for the $189.4 million project.
Exact plans of how that $3 million will be spent has not been determined. City officials have described the Third Ward as a historically lower income neighborhood.
“Greater capital investment is needed in the Third Ward that would be a stimulus for owner-occupied homes to be renovated and provide renters a path to home ownership,” City Manager Gregory Rose said in a statement. “I will be recommending that the mayor and council consider creating a task force to work with staff in identifying the components and priorities of a housing program.”
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