ST. LOUIS — St. Louis has its vacancy light on.
A map of vacant buildings and lots created by the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative visualizes the vast amount of empty areas throughout the city. To the north, numerous empty lots. To the south, a spattering of vacant buildings.
A new bill introduced to the Missouri Senate is looking to turn a portion of the vacancy issue into a vacancy opportunity, both in St. Louis and other metro areas across the state. Senate Bill 792, introduced by Democrat Sen. Steven Roberts who represents part of St. Louis City, proposes the state to offer tax credits to developers looking to convert empty offices into residential, retail or other commercial uses spaces.
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The bill would allow developers to claim tax credits equal to 25% of the cost for conversion, or 30% the cost of the cost of conversion if they're converting the space to housing attached to or contained in the same building as commercial property. Developers wouldn't be able to receive more than $50 million in tax credits per year under the bill.
Numerous buildings in Downtown St. Louis are still causing issues for both city officials and developers. The city's largest skyscraper, formerly known as AT&T Tower, has been put to auction multiple times and still sits vacant. City officials have said they've considered using eminent domain on the vacant Railway Exchange Building downtown after multiple trespassing incidents. Striking photos from an urban explorer showed the extent of decay and neglect of the city's vacant Millennium Hotel.
Before the bill was introduced, city officials started a path to try and remediate the vacancy issues. The city's Community Development Administration (CDA) announced last August a Vacancy Strategy Initiative, which focuses on "vacant property prevention, maintenance, stabilization, beautification, and reuse."
"Not just understanding what property is vacant, but how the city wants to use its resources to address this property," Tom Nagel, CDA's public information officer, previously told 5 On Your Side. "Some buildings really need to just come down yesterday. Some buildings are beautiful and have great bones."
Read the full bill here:
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