Developers want tax incentives for old St. Mary’s building

The Farmer Holding Co., a subsidiary of F & F Development, has proposed a plan for a century-old hospital building with “the goal of redeveloping and modernizing the site, while maximizing its historic appeal and location within the city’s downtown/Capitol area.”

The property is the former home of St. Mary’s Hospital, which SSM Health relocated in 2014 to its current Mission Drive location.

“There will be substantial, above-market costs to the developer to undertake redevelopment of the redevelopment area,” the plan reads. “For that reason, the redevelopment proposed herein would not be possible but-for the use of tax increment financing.”

The TIF plan proposes two different options for development of the property, the first referred to as the “Lincoln Project” and the second as the “Commercial Project.”

According to the plan, both options “will emphasize a mix of commercial uses, and historic preservation of the original St. Mary’s Hospital and conversion of that structure into an office space to serve the downtown/Capitol market. Both options will also feature upgrades to existing medical office building located within the redevelopment area.”

The Lincoln Project is estimated to cost $44,382,718 and the Commercial Project is estimated to cost $30,654,350. Neither amount includes financing costs.

For the Lincoln and Commercial projects, F&F Development expects a total benefit of $7.43 million and $6.74 million, respectively, in net present value.

To pay for redevelopment costs, the plan also includes creation of a community improvement district, which would come with a 1 percent sales tax.

According to the Cole County assessor’s office, the development has a current estimated value of $419,300, but developers said their plan would increase that value to $7,580,844 with the Lincoln Project and $4,537,342 with the Commercial Project.

The full TIF proposal can be seen here.