UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — University City's TIF Commission passed a resolution 10-2 to allow a publicly-financed development to proceed at Olive Boulevard and Interstate 170 Thursday night.

Glenn Powers, who voted no, told Patch an analysis by the St. Louis Development Corporation's Jonathan Ferry was not shared with the commission prior to the vote. Ferry has previously worked on projects in St. Louis City, and typically scores projects based on how reasonable the amount of public assistance is when compared to the expected return.

Powers said he believed the TIF was "too rich" for the developer. The development is strongly rumored to include a Costco as its anchor tenant, though the wholesale club's involvement is something of an open secret. The entire project, which includes space for retail outlets, offices and a luxury apartment building, will cost about $200 million, with taxpayers footing more than a third of that.

The city hopes to reap a $10 million windfall to reinvest into the city's Third Ward and another $5 million for the Olive Business Corridor, but some citizens have criticized the city's outreach to residents and business owners. Others have accused the city of Sunshine Law violations, an allegation the Attorney General's office is investigating. Some, who say the city's promises sound good in principle, have demanded those promises in writing in the form of a legally-binding Community Benefits Agreement. The city, though, has expressed little interest. Gregory Rose, the city manager, said at a neighborhood meeting August 17 that a CBA is unneeded and unlikely to happen.

Patricia Washington speaks to protesters before tonight's public hearing in University City. #UCityTIF #UCityCBA pic.twitter.com/BDoBWS9XSd

— J. Ryne Danielson (@RyneDanielson) August 23, 2018 Nonetheless, activists have put their demands in writing, saying they may try to negotiate directly with Novus Development if the city continues to stonewall them. Some of the things they are asking for include affordable housing, job training, local hiring quotas, scholarships for local students, "ban the box" fair hiring practices for all tenants, and clawback provisions spelling out exactly what happens if the developer violates the agreement.

Some of those things may end up in the city's redevelopment agreement, but enforcing them will depend on the political will of city officials who may come and go over the 23-year life of the TIF, activists say. "The City is checking its boxes in terms of their due diligence but that does not tell the complete story nor does it illustrate the deep, deep resentment among a significant portion of this community regarding how this process has been managed," said CBA-advocate Patricia Washington in an email to TIF Commission members Wednesday. "If you approve the project and it is successful, there will be members of this community who will rejoice. There will be others who will never forget, just as they will never forget Meacham Park, Evans Place or Hadley Township South. I would hate for that kind of rift to be part of our city's history and for your names to be associated with it." Some community members participated in a protest at the high school before the TIF Commission got underway Thursday night. State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and former progressive Congressional candidate Cori Bush were both in attendance.