Spreading out the cost of the site’s infrastructure expense was part of the reason Yawitz decided to add the 100-plus-room hotel and a four-story, 80,000-square-foot office building to the site plans. He was also receiving inquiries for office space and a hotel site as part of the development. The garage is necessary to meet parking requirements on the 15-acre site, where Yawitz still plans to build about 60,000 square feet of retail anchored by a grocery store.

Olivette’s long-range plan also calls for denser development at the site, which serves as the eastern entrance to the municipality.

“The underlying zoning for the majority of the project actually encourages more than one-story development,” Yawitz said.

Olivette first approved the TIF package in 2017. Its TIF commission last month recommended approval of the additional $4.5 million in incentives for the added buildings. A special sales taxing district would also be established to help defray some costs. Yawitz noted that the added investment means the percent of public financing is actually smaller in the revised project than the original plan.