On February 14, Illinois State Representative Jay C. Hoffman (D-112th), introduced a bill in the Illinois General Assembly to create a Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit for Illinois. The bill, HB 5153, takes verbatim the enacted text of the Missouri Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit Act.
Hoffman represents a district that includes the Metro East cities of Collinsville, Edwardsville, Maryville and Fairview Heights.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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8 comments:
Something like this is needed in East St. Louis, along with a reform of their property tax situation.
Blighting, condemnation, and eminent domain are also very much needed redevelopment tools.
Government by the people serves a very important role in revitalizing East St. Louis.
I wonder if East St. Louis is on Hoffman's mind, or something else.
DALATC could be made so much better especially if East St. Louis is the target. Hopefully Hoffman is more open to suggestions for changes than Missouri legislators.
Like Ron Jetton said, the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit will be a model for the entire country! Let the bulldozing commence.
How is this good for East St. Louis? It seems ESL would benefit from a state historic tax credit more than this.
Get beyond Collinsville Avenue and the Spivey Building, and you'll see that there are huge sections of ESL which are nothing more than abandoned, vacant lots, or buildings melted into the ground in need of "removal". (Note that I didn't use the term "demolition" - in many cases there ain't a building left anymore, instead an asbestos laden, charred debris pile).
Many of these properties have been purchased over the years at tax sales by speculators at rock bottom prices ($100-$200 per parcel). The owners have no plans for them other than to hold them for some indefinite time when they'd be worth something.
Eminent domain is needed to acquire these parcels from speculators holding back development, and a land assemblage tax credit would further aid the situation.
Defend the owner of one of these weed strewn, hazardous debris piles from eminent domain, and I say you're not very pragmatic/realistic/pro-urban/pro-ESL or even relevant.
Did I defend speculators? No. I defend ESL's historic buildings.
Who's to say that the Spivey, and other urban ESL buildings, wouldn't be threated?
Many buildings in St. Louis Place and JVL are coming down. Are you saying that similar consequences wouldn't occur in ESL?
Doug,
It doesn't sound like you've spent much time inside East St. Louis. The Spivey and the historic buildings along Collinsville Avenue are a lot different than most of ESL.
The town is not particulary urban. It's more small town, middle America. Density is low. There has been a tremendous amount of demolition and decay.
If you think community revitalization is difficult in the City of St. Louis, it is like a walk in the park compared to ESL.
ESL needs all the help it can get to attract investment. If the state is willing to provide a tax incentive to assemble land for redevelopment, that's a good thing.
The land assemblage credit as written is for mass holding of property for extended periods of time, demolition, and monopilization of areas larger than downtown STL. Nothing more. And no ED is creditable, anyway.
I think you want a distressed areas DEVELOPMENT credit, open to anyone willing to invest and develop, according to the communities needs/wants.
So do we.
Does anyone ever come to "Egypt" in EXTREME Southern Illinois? Like 50 miles south of Carbondale between the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers?
If you did you would find your woes to be miniscule to say the least.
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