Another Round of Incentives for Centene
Clayton, apparently, isn’t following my advice. According to the Post-Dispatch, the municipality is currently looking at an incentive plan for Centene Plaza. Yes, that Centene. Something tells me that tax incentives would be completely unnecessary in a town growing as quickly as Clayton. Robert Wislow, chairman and CEO of U.S. Equities of Chicago, the developer of Centene Plaza, confirms my suspicions:
Asked about the private financing, Wislow said, “We don’t think that we will have a problem with a project as well pre-leased and well-located as this.”
So, why are the tax incentives necessary again?
Is it simply a St Louis tradition? Clayton also claims that the additional 800 cars will not add significant traffic to Hanley Road during rush hour. I suspect the council is rationalizing the incentives with all those new sales tax revenues from business lunches and dinners.
Comment by Jack — July 22, 2008 @ 4:59 p.m.