My finance view

BRIDGETON — A new Walmart Supercenter would produce an estimated $7 million a year in sales and property tax revenue beginning in 2012, the developer’s proposal says.

Bridgeton Rock Development LLC will present the number Tuesday to a government-appointed TIF Commission as part of the company’s application for up to $8 million in TIF financial benefits.

The $7 million in sales and property taxes is based on projected sales of $82.5 million and would be split among Bridgeton, the state, county and several other taxing jurisdictions. The terms of any TIF arrangement would determine how the money is allocated.

While Bridgeton officials embrace the idea, the proposal has stirred opposition in neighboring St. Ann. Officials there say a supercenter would mean the closing of a smaller, older Walmart on the border of St. Ann and Bridgeton. Ten percent or less of that store is in St. Ann, but it is St. Ann’s second-biggest source of revenue, behind a Shop ‘n Save.

St. Ann’s finances, already staggered by the decline of the Northwest Plaza, cannot take another hit, said city manager Matt Conley. He predicted layoffs of city employees would result, including a loss of police officers.

CHANGE IN TIF LAW

For years, local governments doled out tax-increment financing as a tool to encourage developers to locate in their cities. In 2007, the Missouri Legislature changed the law, taking some authority from the cities and adopting a regional countywide approach. That — combined with the downward spiral of the economy — put a lid on TIF requests.

Walmart’s proposal is only the second in St. Louis County to be considered under the new TIF law, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2008. University City recently approved a mixed-use residential and retail project.

Bridgeton officials say the amount of revenue their city would receive from the supercenter clearly would exceed the amount now realized from the current Walmart, at 10835 St. Charles Rock Road. That store originally was built entirely inside Bridgeton, but was expanded with a garden center that crossed over into St. Ann.

Bridgeton Mayor Conrad Bowers said it was safe to assume his city would gain in sales tax. "The store is going be larger, and have many more products, and the sales will be higher," he said.

Bridgeton Rock Development, an affiliate of THF Realty Inc., will make a formal presentation Tuesday to the Tax-Increment Financing Commission, made up of representatives of St. Louis County, the city and other jurisdictions.

TIF is a tax incentive that allows the developer to divert some funds that would go to taxes initially for development costs.

The developer is proposing to build a 159,000-square-foot Supercenter on about 13 acres on the south side of St guaranteed high risk personal loans. Charles Rock Road at Harmony Lane. The existing store, built in 1988, is almost 120,000 square feet — or about 40,000 square feet smaller.

THF said in a written proposal to the city that it was prepared to move immediately after getting approval. THF said it hoped to have title by this summer and open the Supercenter in the fall of 2011.

In addition to construction jobs, THF said the Supercenter would employ about 300 workers.

In September, Walmart closed another older, smaller store in Town and Country and opened a larger supercenter one mile away in neighboring Manchester. In St. Louis, a Sam’s Club was closed at the MarketPlace and reopened in adjacent Maplewood. Sam’s Club is a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

NO SET POLICY

Wal-Mart officials say the company does not have a policy of closing older stores and rebuilding. In fact, the company is engaged in a large-scale remodeling program it calls "Project Impact."

Ryan Horn, senior manager of public affairs for Wal-Mart, said that Project Impact would fully remodel 80 percent of the Walmart stores in the U.S. in the next five years.

At the same time, the company’s other business strategy is to build new supercenter in some communities to modernize.

In Bridgeton, he said, the Supercenter would allow the company to "add full retail-grocery service and make it a modern Walmart. That’s the crux of it. There’s a real need for it in the Bridgeton-St. Ann area and it’s a way of better servicing our customers."

He said Wal-Mart had no intention of tearing down the existing Walmart in St. Ann and would put it on the market.

"We have a very good track record of marketing our buildings," he said.

Even if the TIF Commission recommends against the TIF request, the Bridgeton City Council could overrule it if six of eight council members agreed.

Bowers added: "In my judgment, I think that it (the supercenter) will happen because I really believe it’s good for the area, it’s good for the county. It’s not like we’re stealing this from another area; the store is in Bridgeton."

Bowers said no major development would occur at the now vacant site — formerly a Grandpa Pigeon’s and then a Value City — without financial assistance in part because of the demolition costs.

"The point is Wal-Mart is going to build a Supercenter and I’m pleased they want to be in Bridgeton and at a site that needs to be redeveloped," Bowers said. "As far as I’m concerned it’s the correct use of a TIF."

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