Officials consider turning over two city buildings in downtown Belleville to developers
Belleville City Council will soon decide whether to turn over two vacant city-owned buildings in downtown Belleville to developers who want to renovate and put businesses in them.
The city’s Economic Development and Annexation Committee gave its “blessing” to the two projects at a July 27 special meeting, according to Economic Development Director Cliff Cross.
Cross is now drawing up agreements that would need to be reviewed by the committee before a vote by aldermen.
“We’re not obligated by anything,” he said, noting the agreements represent conceptual understandings to guide further research and planning. “It’s not a done deal by any stretch.”
The two buildings are located on the same block, northwest of the Mascoutah Avenue and Lincoln Street intersection, and both are brick, but that’s where their similarities end.
One building is a two-story 1880s storefront on Mascoutah Avenue with a small vacant lot on an adjoining parcel. It has sat empty since 1996.
Avenue Realty owner Kathy Mordini and her daughter, Kinsey, want to turn the property into an event space and small-business incubator with outdoor markets. The project faced opposition at a City Council meeting in May, but subsequent efforts to find other interested developers were unsuccessful.
“I know I have a lot of support from some of the aldermen, so I’m still optimistic that this is going to go through,” Kathy Mordini said last week.
The other building is a one-story 1950s structure on Lincoln Street with a large paved parking lot. It housed three city departments until last spring. Andria Powell, owner of Belle City Fitness Collaboration and Circa Boutique + Gifts, would like to move her fitness center into it.
In both cases, the idea is to reduce the number of vacancies in downtown Belleville and increase the number of businesses that are sustainable in the long run, according to Cross.
“Anytime you get a vacant building filled and back on the tax rolls, it’s a good thing,” he said.
What’s expected of developers?
The city of Belleville decided to post requests for proposals instead of listing the two properties for sale on the market. Cross said that allows officials to be part of decision-making to ensure buildings are properly renovated and become assets to the downtown district.
“I just think it’s going to be very difficult to get what we paid for that building on Lincoln and expect someone to really bring it up to where it’s a nice sustainable anchor to the neighborhood,” he said.
“I’m not saying that somebody wouldn’t come in and buy it for $220,000, but then what do they do, put three coats of paint on it and say, ‘Here’s some good office space?’ Is that really what you want?”
The city paid $235,000 for the Lincoln Street property in 2014, according to the St. Clair County assessor’s office.
Kathy Mordini said officials have told her the agreement on the Mascoutah Avenue property, if approved, would allow her to take ownership in exchange for her commitment to do an estimated $132,000 in renovations. Cross didn’t confirm or deny this, noting that agreement details haven’t been finalized.
The 2021 appraisals on the property are $54,819 for the building and $17,652 for the vacant lot.
As for the Lincoln Street property, it’s likely that an agreement, if approved, would include a purchase price for the developer, albeit less than its appraisal, according to Cross.
“It’s obviously a property that’s got more value to it,” he said. “It’s more usable than the other one. But it needs a lot of work. Some of the alternatives could be, ‘Is she going to pay half of what it appraises at, and then we build (the agreement) around that. Or does she not pay anything?’”
The 2021 appraisal for the Lincoln Street building and parking lot is $280,335.
Former Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert, who was defeated in the April 2021 election by current Mayor Patty Gregory, was in office when the city bought the Mascoutah Avenue parcels in 2009 and 2010 and the Lincoln Street property in 2014.
Eckert said last week he doesn’t know details of the projects being considered, but he thinks the city should be adequately compensated for any building with significant value.
“The No. 1 job of the staff and particularly the mayor, who’s the CEO, is to look out for the taxpayers,” he said.
Mascoutah Avenue property
The 2,400-square-foot, two-story storefront at 127 Mascoutah Ave. was built as a saloon in 1887. It’s considered historically significant but in a deteriorated state after sitting vacant for 26 years.
St. Clair County acquired the property for back taxes, according to the county trustee’s office. The city of Belleville bought the vacant lot at 123 Mascoutah Ave. for $3,257 in 2009 and the building for $23,000 in 2010. A former owner’s plan to open a microbrewery had fallen through.
The Kern family donated the money to buy the property, Eckert said.
Officials essentially turned the building over to the Gustave Koerner House Restoration committee. Members planned to renovate it and turn it into a welcome center for the historic site, which stands on the southeast corner of Mascoutah Avenue and Lincoln Street.
“That didn’t work out,” Eckert said, noting that committee members ultimately concluded that they had to prioritize and use their limited resources to finish restoring the house.
This year, the city posted its first request for proposals for the Mascoutah Avenue property on April 14 with an April 29 deadline.
The Mordinis submitted the only proposal, outlining their concept for Abend Street Incubator & Event Space. It would host cooking classes, bike rides, parties, showers and other events, as well as outdoor markets where young entrepreneurs could sell their products.
“Let’s think of this as a small scale ‘Foundry’ recently opened in St. Louis, a successful private sector venture,” the proposal stated.
The Economic Development committee recommended the project to the City Council in May. Aldermen tabled it after some residents of Old Belleville Historic District voiced opposition, arguing that noise and traffic could disrupt the neighborhood and that homeless people might seek shelter in market kiosks.
Opponents also called the process “rushed.” Aldermen asked Cross to post another request for proposals in hopes of getting other ideas. But after a six-week submission period, the Mordinis were again the only developers to formally respond.
“I was very surprised,” Cross said, noting others had expressed interest.
Kathy Mordini said she and Kinsey have tweaked their plan to address concerns of neighborhood residents, replacing kiosks with tents that could be dismantled between markets.
“We will do some kind of motion-detector light system,” Kathy Mordini said. “So if people get on the property at night, it will brighten things up, like a floodlight or something that would deter somebody from wanting to hunker down and make it their place to stay for the night.”
Lincoln Street property
The city of Belleville bought the 5,154-square-foot, one-story building at 407 E. Lincoln St. for $235,000 in 2014. It became home to three departments: Health, Housing and Building; Economic Development, Planning and Zoning; and Engineering.
Eckert said his plan was to eventually move those departments into City Hall after the city opened its new police station and secured funding to complete City Hall renovations, then sell the Lincoln Street building and part of its parking lot.
“I told (city officials), ‘Whatever you do, if you sell that building someday, make sure you only include about 15 parking stalls. The city should keep the rest of the stalls for city parking,’” Eckert said.
“Otherwise, you’re going to be in a quandary. Businesses come and go. Parking downtown is priceless. There’s only so much. You can’t produce more land.”
In January, city officials announced that they were temporarily moving the three departments to the former Lindenwood University campus and vacating the Lincoln Street property. The city had bought the campus in 2021.
On April 14, Cross posted an initial request for proposals for the Lincoln Street property with an April 29 deadline.
Powell submitted a proposal to move Belle City Fitness Collaboration from its current location at 110 Mascoutah Ave. and to complete $112,500 worth of renovations on the Lincoln Street building in three phases.
Powell declined to comment for this story. Her proposal stated:
“I am experienced in the local business community in Belleville; able to take on remodels and rehabs of all sizes and shapes; and finally I already have an established business poised to move into the new location and draw new visitors to our local community.”
Kathy and Kinsey Mordini also submitted a proposal to open an art center in the Lincoln Street building, but they withdrew it after deciding to make room for art at the new Abend center.
Cross said he posted a second request for proposals for the Lincoln Street building with a six-week submission period after aldermen questioned the shorter period for the Mascoutah Avenue property. Powell was the only developer who formally responded.
No date has been set for the Economic Development committee or Belleville City Council to consider the two agreements.
This story was originally published August 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
