A measure to extend a blight determination for the St. Louis Cortex district was rejected by the Board of Aldermen on Friday, marking an impending end to almost 20 years of blight in the district.
Board Bill 68 sought to renew a blight determination originally made in 2006 on the Cortex Innovation District in the Central West End. The bill failed to receive a two-thirds majority approval, collecting seven yes votes when it needed eight. Five board members voted against the measure.
The bill would have renewed the determination for the area surrounding the district in the Central West End and effectively renewed ordinances that allow the Cortex West Redevelopment Corp. to use eminent domain and a taxing district as part of a plan to redevelop the area.
Bodies of government typically make blight determinations in areas where properties are in a state of decline or decay.
Ward 12 Alderwoman Sharon Tyus spoke against the bill. She said she originally voted against the 2006 blight determination because it gave a nongovernment entity the power to use eminent domain.
“I do not agree with giving it out to private entities, not for profits or anything like that,” Tyus said. “I think that is a misuse of the public trust in government, and for that reason, I voted against it, and I will be voting against it again.”
The board last renewed the blighting determination in February 2021. The determination must be renewed every five years after its initial 15-year term.
The failed bill can be reconsidered in coming weeks.
At a previous committee meeting, James Fister, a senior planner in the city’s Urban Design Agency, said extending the blighting determination would allow Cortex to wrap up its work redeveloping the area.
“The plan is not yet finished, the dream is not fully realized. There's still a little bit of work left to do. So that's what we're trying to unlock today,” Fister said.
The city initially determined the area as blighted in 2005. The Board of Aldermen approved the redevelopment plan in 2006, creating the redevelopment corporation through the Missouri Chapter 353 urban redevelopment corporations law.
The city has used the law several times to create development corporations in an effort to incentivize private developers to bring new development to blighted areas.
Over the years, Cortex development spurred new construction on Duncan Street, including Shriners Children's Hospital, the Cortex MetroLink stop, the Ikea store and most recently the new Washington University Neuroscience Research building.
"As of today, the Cortex district has led to $1.33 billion in development in the area. Those are real dollars invested in our community, and they're for buildings and public infrastructure and public realm improvements,” Sam Fiorello, president and CEO of Cortex, said in a presentation before the committee vote.
