Lighthouse Point, a $323 million marina and waterfront development proposed for the banks of the Mississippi River, has already been granted a special district, tax abatements, and sales tax exemptions.
“The Board of Aldermen on Friday passed legislation to help finance a proposed $323 million marina complex with hotels, restaurants and an indoor waterpark on St. Louis' far northern riverfront,” reports Mark Schlinkmann for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The so-called Lighthouse Point development will transform 67 acres in an Opportunity Zone on the Mississippi River water. Nashville-based developer M2 Development Partners was still working on the project’s master plan in September, so the development is moving quickly.
The Lighthouse Point has attracted controversy over the potential of the project to create negative environmental effects on the river as well as disrupting port operations elsewhere along the river.
The project will be financed by a transportation development and community improvement district created, in effect, to charge sales taxes in the district. “The community improvement district also could add a $10-a-night hotel room charge and special assessments on some other property,” adds Schlinkmann. “A week earlier, aldermen approved a resolution recommending that the city Port Authority authorize 15 years of partial property tax abatement and a sales tax exemption for construction materials.”
A rendering of the project is available at the source article, linked below.
FULL STORY: St. Louis aldermen OK legislation to help finance waterpark/marina plan
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Journal of the American Planning Association