IPG Part 2: Council Rejects Another $33m of Investment

Last week I wrote that the city had officially rejected IPG’s proposal for the city-owned East Jefferson Parking Lot. That plan would have added a 66-room boutique hotel, shopping, and a net increase of over a hundred parking spots to Downtown Kirkwood, but it was only one-half of their submission to the city. Today I want to take a quick look at the second half of IPG’s response to the city’s RFP, their plan for West Jefferson.

IPG’s West Jefferson plan called for a 180-spot Fybr-enabled underground parking garage (a net increase of 106 parking spaces over the status quo), the construction of 45 new homes in Downtown Kirkwood, six new spaces for retail tenants, and a new rooftop venue. All together, IPG estimated that their West Jefferson would have cost $33 million. City Council decided to keep it a 74-car parking lot.

The city-owned West Jefferson lot had been occupied by the historic Mel Bay Music Store and an adjacent building as recently as 2011, when the Council voted to purchase the site for $1.25 million and construct the current parking lot for an additional $95k. IPG’s plan would have brought some of that recently departed street life back in the form of six small retail spaces at street level. Much like those of the East Jefferson lot, these retail slots were designed to be modest in order to attract the most local of small businesses and preserve Kirkwood’s “hometown” feel.

On floors 2-4, IPG planned 45 new homes. Adding these homes in the heart of Downtown Kirkwood would have helped to address the affordability crisis that increasingly grips Kirkwood, providing landing pads for empty-nesters looking to downsize, adult children of current residents looking to remain in the community, and public servants —teachers, police, firefighters, and city employees— who, according to the Housing Study the city released last summer, have found themselves increasingly priced out of the community they serve. Instead, by giving prospective residents no other options, the city has decided to continue to incentivize the only available alternative: the continued tear downs of small starter homes and their replacement with the loathed McMansions.

New Downtown Kirkwood residents would also been a good deal for local businesses which would’ve stood to gain both new customers and new potential employees. Given their prime location, these residents would likely have walked to the vast majority of their Downtown Kirkwood outings, meaning the city would have enjoyed the full benefits of their spending while absorbing very little in the way of additional traffic or demand for additional parking.

The final piece of IPG’s West Jefferson plan was the construction of rooftop venue would’ve been the first of its kind in Downtown Kirkwood. IPG says that the venue would’ve “provide[d] a unique opportunity to appreciate the views of the historic Kirkwood Train Station, City Hall and Farmers Market during private and public events: This adaptable space can be creatively shaped, formed and molded to suit everything from wedding parties to pop-up events.”

IPG’s Plan by the Numbers

All told parts 1 & 2 of IPG’s proposal would have generated an additional 211 parking spots, 45 homes, a 66-room boutique hotel, 12 new retail spaces, Downtown Kirkwood’s first rooftop venue, and $62 million worth of private investment compared to the status quo. Instead, City Council decided we’d be better off with three insufficiently sized surface parking lots in the heart of Downtown Kirkwood that cost the city thousands of dollars in upkeep every year and generate $0 in tax revenue.

	Parking Spots	Homes	Hotel Rooms	Retail Spaces for New Businesses	Rooftop Venues	Taxable Private Investment
Status Quo	216	0	0	0	0	$0
IPG’s Proposals	427	45	66	12	1	$62,000,000
Net Difference	211	45	66	12	1	$62,000,000

In light of the multi-million dollar refurbishment of the Kirkwood pool complex coming due in the next few years, the fact that residents still don’t have the community center they were promised, and that the council plans to ask the city’s voters to approve a sales tax increase this November to pay for our roads and build the sort of additional parking that IPG was already to provide on its own, I think that was a mistake.