Senate advances Downtown Main Streets tax-credit bill after debate over scope, safeguards

The Missouri Senate on March 6 debated Senate Bill 35, a proposal to create a state tax-credit program to encourage conversion of older commercial and office buildings into housing and mixed-use projects.

Sponsor and intent: The senator from the Fifth District, the bill sponsor, framed the measure as a tool to revive downtowns and main streets across Missouri. “The Downtown Main Streets Act will provide a state tax credit to fill the gaps in the marketplace that have resulted in spaces across our state cities and towns lying dormant,” the senator from the Fifth District said, arguing the credit would “unlock private investment” and “reinvigorate our cultural centers.”

Why it matters: Supporters said the credit aims to make conversions that are otherwise too expensive viable — examples cited included the long-vacant AT&T building in downtown St. Louis — and to increase downtown residential populations that proponents say will boost local retail and street-level activity.

Major provisions and fiscal terms: Under the version debated in the chamber, the tax credit would be: - Equal to 25% of qualified conversion expenditures for a qualified converted building; a 30% credit would apply to upper-floor housing in a qualified Missouri Main Street district for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2026. The sponsor described the 25%/30% distinction and higher Main Street…