The HUD committee voted to advance board bill 120, a measure intended to incentivize CI Select — a furniture company — to relocate into and build out the long-vacant Carriage Works building in the Cortex district.

Sponsor Alderman Browning said the incentive would divert half of the city’s share of sales tax generated by the project into a reimbursement account, administered by the comptroller, to reimburse the company for build-out costs up to a $1,000,000 cap. "This incentive only refers to the sales tax generated by the project; earnings tax and property taxes are not affected," said Mark Spikerman, outside counsel for the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC).

Browning told the committee the incentive will preserve the city’s earnings tax receipts and that the diverted sales-tax share is treated as "surplus" from the Cortex Redevelopment Project Area (RPA) until Cortex submits a detailed project plan that would reinstate TIF treatment.

Public commenter Dan Pate urged the committee to require a non-passive reimbursement-approval process, citing prior practices where reimbursements were administratively deemed approved after 30 days if not objected to. Spigerman and SLDC staff described the standard administrative workflow: the company submits a certificate of reimbursable project costs with invoices and lien waivers; city staff (SLDC and the comptroller's office) have 30 days to object before the claim is deemed approved.

Committee members also sought assurances on job creation, clawback language and lease terms. SLDC said the performance agreement includes a clawback that triggers if the company drops below the required job threshold; SLDC staff said they would monitor compliance and the comptroller would have a role on financial review. CI Select’s representative told the committee the company plans to remain in the city, pointed to a 10-year lease, and said the firm expects the project to reach the reimbursement cap in roughly six to eight years if sales meet projections.

Alderman Browning moved, and the committee seconded, a due-pass recommendation; the committee recorded seven aye votes and approved board bill 120 to move to the full Board of Aldermen.

The bill’s development performance agreement lists eligible reimbursable costs tied to the actual building-out of the project (architectural, engineering, legal and related costs connected to construction), and includes reporting requirements and compliance reviews to be administered by SLDC and the comptroller’s office.

Provisions referenced on the record include the redevelopment agreement for the Cortex RPA and the city's standard development-performance-agreement templates.