“Nouveau-urban”
is in style on Washington Avenue
By Scott Hall
The State of Missouri has multiple tax credit programs to
provide incentives for investments and charitable contributions.
This regular column features examples of how the various Missouri
state tax credit programs benefit the state and the st. louis
region.
Boston? Maybe San Francisco? Denver? When Tom Reeves imagines
all of these things he stays right here in St. Louis. For years,
visitors and residents alike have complained about St. Louis’
late night dormancy, but Reeves understands the City’s potential
and as Executive Director of Downtown Now!, he has the power
to help make this dream a reality.
While development can currently be found throughout the City’s
central business district, it is the progress of Washington
Ave. that is creating the biggest buzz. It is here that Reeves
envisions much of the cosmopolitan activity that many St. Louisans
are craving. With the help of the powerful Missouri State Historic
Tax Credits, the Washington Ave. corridor will soon be booming
with commercial tenants and high-end residential condominiums
making it the city’s most lively urban neighborhood.
For more than one hundred years, Washington Ave. has been a
home to St. Louis business. The City’s garment district during
its most vibrant years, Washington Ave. was once a center of
activity. However, as the garment industry changed, so did Washington
Avenue. Many of the companies headquartered along its streets
went out of business and what was once a jewel in the city’s
crown, became urban decay. Buildings rotted, tenants left, and
there seemed to be little happening along Washington Avenue,
but that is changing. Under the guidance of civic leaders like
Reeves, his Downtown Now! partners, and a number of St. Louis
developers, Washington Ave. may once again be a blossoming attraction.
There is perhaps no better example of the exciting things that
are happening along Washington Avenue than the development being
done by the McGowan Bros. Company. Tim, Kevin, Sean, Seamus,
Kathleen, and Bill McGowan are epitomizing “family business”
while taking on multiple projects along the Washington Ave.
corridor. McGowan Bros. is currently working on seven buildings
along Washington Ave. and they are betting heavily that it will
soon be one of the city’s hottest spots. Already home to several
St. Louis nightclubs, the McGowans and fellow developers are
converting many of the street’s old garment buildings into offices
and condominiums. Among these is the old Fall-Out Building,
which is being converted into mixed-use commercial and residential
condominiums to be called the Grace Lofts.
Renovating the eight-story building into three floors of commercial
space and 20 apartment condominiums, McGowan Bros. thinks that
the Washington Ave. area will soon be alive with activity. In
addition to the appeal of the apartments’ nouveau-urban style,
the spectacular view of Lucas Park and the City Library are
attracting more than just young professionals. McGowan Bros.
has found the appeal of Washington Ave. to transcend generations,
bringing in St. Louis’ young urbanites as well as its empty-nesters.
They also think that buying along Washington Ave. right now
is a smart investment. Similar development in Denver, Houston
and Chicago all point to eventual success.
Attracted to the area for more than just its central location,
the McGowan Bros. Company understands that it may be the area’s
high-tech compatibility that will make it prosper. Currently
the Washington Avenue area is being wired with fiber-optic equipment
that will make it state of the art. This connectivity will hopefully
attract more high-tech companies. The area’s new fiber optic
equipment will make large-scale data transfers much easier.
What might have previously taken hours to download might now
only take moments. “The difference between having an office
in Clayton as opposed to along Washington Ave. may be a day
of downloading,” McGowan says.
An integral partner in the development along Washington Ave.
has been the State of Missouri. When the late Gov. Mel Carnahan
signed legislation creating the Missouri historic rehabilitation
program, he gave neighborhoods like Washington Ave. new life.
As a part of this program the Governer and the State Legislature
created the Missouri State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit,
which awards 25 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs where
they exceed 50 percent of total cost basis for certified historic
structures or structures within certain certified districts.
This allows developers to take on otherwise impossible projects.
One additionally favorable aspect of Missouri’s Historic Rehabilitation
Credits is that they can be transferred, sold, or assigned to
other people with Missouri State Tax liability. The Missouri
Tax Credit Clearinghouse, a division of Firstar’s Community
Development Corporation, specializes in finding buyers and sellers
for these credits. Thus, developers like Tim McGowan can sell
their excess State tax credits to the Clearinghouse and make
positive improvement in St. Louis.
Reeves’ dream for Washington Avenue is grand. “My ultimate vision
is that Washington Ave. will be the most vibrant, exciting,
and popular downtown district in the Midwest in the next five
years,” Reeves says. He is not alone. Tim McGowan and fellow
developers agree investing a great deal of time and money into
their projects. McGowan points out, “With the help of Firstar
and other partners, we will personally have private investment
of $23 million directly on Washington Avenue.” With the partnership
of Missouri State tax credits and some of the city’s brightest
minds, it is likely that Reeves’ dream will soon be a reality.
Scott Hall is an associate of DFC Group, Inc., tax credit
consultants to the Firstar Tax Credit Clearinghouse.
