Historical October 1988 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Exciting things are happening in our organization!
After months of discussion and consideration, we now have a new name—City West Business Association. Hopefully, this will solve the problem of ignoring many of the locations we serve and will open the door, expanding our membership.
Our September meeting was a great success with over 30 people in attendance.
Our speaker was Terry Farris, Director of Development for the newly formed St. Louis Economic Development Corporation.
As Terry explained, this is an umbrella-organization which consolidates six agencies: • Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority • Planned Industrial Expansion Authority • Land Reutilization Authority • Port Authority • Industrial Development Authority • Local Development Company Mr. Farris spoke about the projects that are presently in process such as the expansion of the Convention Center, Grand Center, the Arena, the General Motors Plant, Commerce Park (Pruitt Igoe), and Delmar/Hodiamont. “Despite major budget cuts, as much as 2/3 in some areas, St. Louis continues to be a pacesetter in the revitalization of the inner city,” he said. Plans are also in process to revitalize some of the residential projects north of Delmar. Tax abatement is, of course, a critical element in encouraging development.
The procedure for qualifying an area for city assistance is as follows: • Area must be declared blighted by Board of Aldermen. • Plan for area is prepared. • Advertise for developers. • Implement plan. Other programs that were discussed include a rebate program for certain areas allowing businesses to renovate building facades or purchase awnings.
There are also funds available through SLATE, an ancillary organization, to partially reimburse employers for hiring certain minorities.
The meeting was a lively one, with many questions and much discussion.
We thank Mr. Farris for his comments.
We are excited about our new members and look forward to having more people take advantage of our special membership drive which pays your dues till January, 1990. Make a note of the dates of our coming meetings.
On October 13th, a board meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Cox, Curry & Associates at 5622 Delmar.
Our regular meeting on Tuesday, October 18th will feature Anne Horner, CPA, speaking on “Tax Planning for Small Business.” The meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. in the Marlboro Community Room at 5696 Kingsbury at DeBaliviere.
The next regular meeting will be on November 10th.
We hope to see you at our meetings.
We are varying times and days to allow more of you to attend.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, October 1988.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1988_10.pdf, printed page(s) 8; PDF page(s) 8.
