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Preserving
the Park
By Janette Lohman
The
State of Missouri has multiple tax credit programs to provide incentives
for investments and charitable contributions to approved projects.
This regular column
will feature examples of how the various Missouri state tax credit
programs benefit the State, generally, and St. Louis in particular.
Forest Park
has been the Soul of St. Louis for almost 125 years. Designed
by prominent landscape gardener Maximillian G. Kern, this magnificent
1,370-acre urban park was dedicated during our nation's centennial
celebration in 1876. Forest Park became a global tourist attraction
for St. Louis when it housed the 1904 World's Fair. Today, more
than 12 million
people visit Forest Park each year. Many love to rollerblade,
run, walk or bike along the 10K path that roughly follows the
park's circumference. Others enjoy visiting the wild and exotic
animals at the world-famous Saint Louis Zoo. Almost half a million
people attend outdoor summer theater at The Muny each year. Adults
and children, alike, study natural and physical phenomena at the
St. Louis Science Center. There is no shortage of art aficionados
who leisurely view the work of the Impressionists and other famous
classical and contemporary artists at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Forest Park has always appealed to citizens of all ages.
Fourteen
years ago, concerned St. Louisans formed Forest Park Forever,
a private, not-for-profit organization, to partner with the City
of St. Louis' Department of Parks, Recreation & Forestry in
order to ensure that Forest Park remained one of our nation's
best urban parks. Preserving Forest Park's beauty and utility
proved to be challenging, given that the roads and curbs were
crumbling, the park's facilities were antiquated and its infrastructure
was aging. Forest Park Forever and St. Louis' political and community
leaders joined forces to develop a Master Plan that would not
only restore Forest Park's beauty, but also resolve its fundamental
infrastructure weaknesses. Adopted in 1995 after two years of
intensive research and planning, the Master Plan was realistic,
thorough and inclusive, representing the latest in technology
and responsible ecology. The Master Plan provides that all major
renovations, including new roads and curbs, restored facilities,
recreational areas and landscapes and the introduction of a free-flowing
river will be completed by 2004, the 100th anniversary
of the St. Louis World's Fair.
Implementing
the Master Plan is expensive. The capital improvements and renovations
will cost approximately $86 million. The architects of the Master
Plan divided the funding responsibility evenly between public
and private sources. Forest Park Forever committed to lead the
private sector funding efforts to raise $43 million from individuals,
foundations and corporations. In 1998, the State of Missouri joined
the Forest Park public/private partnership when the Missouri Development
Finance Board allocated $6 million of Missouri infrastructure
development fund tax credits toward implementing the Master Plan.
Forest Park Forever is distributing these credits to private donors
that have made qualifying unrestricted donations that Forest Park
Forever will use to repair roads, mend curbs and make other renovations
to Forest Park's infrastructure.
Individuals,
businesses
or private
foundations that make qualifying contributions of cash, property
or services to Forest Park Forever will receive 50 cents of Missouri
tax credits for each dollar donated.
The
Missouri Development Finance Board is authorized to grant taxpayers
a Missouri tax credit equal to 50 percent of any qualifying contribution
to either the Board's Infrastructure Development Fund or two other
funds also designed to promote economic development in Missouri.
The Board earmarks donations to these funds to support pre-approved
Missouri development projects like the Forest Park Master Plan.
Forest Park Forever entered into an agreement with the Board to
reserve credit allocations for use in making infrastructure renovation
projects. Individuals, businesses or private foundations
that make qualifying contributions of cash, property or services
to Forest Park Forever will receive 50 cents of Missouri tax credits
for each dollar donated. The donors may use the Board-issued credits
to offset their Missouri income tax, franchise tax or financial
institution tax. Subject to certain restrictions, individuals
or entities that receive credits for making donations have the
ability to sell the credits to any person or entity that can use
them. This provides great leverage opportunities for private foundations
or other donors that either cannot use the tax credits or want
to increase their contributions to Forest Park. For example, if
a private foundation makes a $100,000 qualifying contribution
to the Master Plan project and receives $50,000 in tax credits,
it can sell the credits to a Missouri taxpayer. Donors may not
sell Board-issued credits for less than 75 percent nor more than
100 percent of their par value. Assuming that the private foundation
receives $40,000 for the credits, it can also contribute those
proceeds to the Master Plan project. Thus, for a $100,000 gift,
the private foundation can make a gift of $140,000.
Forest
Park Forever and the Parks Department will work closely with interested
donors to structure gifts so that the donor's benefit is maximized.
The Board-issued tax credits have proven to be a remarkable fundraising
tool and have helped Forest Park Forever raise $35 million to
date to assist in restoring Forest Park to its former glory.
Janette
Lohman is a partner with Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP and
an assistant adjunct professor of state and local taxation at
Saint Louis University School of Law.
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