Properties in Arnold’s Key West Estates subdivision are still being purchased by the Arnold Retail Corridor Transportation Development District (ARC TDD), even though the controversial Arnold Parkway project has been abandoned, City Administrator Bryan Richison said.
The ARC TDD began buying properties in that subdivision last year to pave the way for a 2-mile, two-lane road to be built to connect retail districts between Hwy. 141 and Richardson Road. After a public outcry, the project was abandoned.
Key West Estates is made up of Harrys Lane, Christy Drive, Big Bill Road, Ridge Drive and Lone Star Drive, and as of July 11, the ARC TDD had purchased 19 properties there, Richison said.
He said another 19 owners of property in that subdivision are currently interested in selling to the ARC TDD.
Richison said 13 of those properties are homes with owners living in them, and the other six properties are either rental homes or businesses. He said it is not known how much the ARC TDD will need to pay to acquire all those properties.
“We only have appraisals for a few of the homes that are waiting to be purchased,” he said. “We don’t have any idea what the commercial properties might cost to acquire.”
As of July 11, the ARC TDD had paid $5,657,000 for the 19 properties it already has purchased in the subdivision, Richison said.
The subdivision includes another 12 properties, and those owners have not contacted the city about selling their homes or buildings to the ARC TDD.
When Arnold officials announced plans for the Arnold Parkway Road project in August 2024, it was met with instant backlash due to the need to acquire 38 homes, multiple businesses and a portion of the Water Tower Place Shopping Center.
The project was abandoned that same month after some residents organized a failed attempt to force recall elections for all elected officials and after owners of the Water Tower shopping plaza filed a lawsuit to stop the project. Also in their lawsuit, the Water Tower plaza owners have asked for the ARC TDD to be dissolved.
In addition, the state Auditor’s Office also opened an audit of the city of Arnold, the ARC TDD and the old Triangle Transportation Development District.
The city had planned to use revenue from the 1-cent sales tax the ARC TDD collects, mainly from businesses in the Arnold Commons and Arnold Crossroads shopping plazas but also some from the businesses in the Water Tower shopping plaza, to fund the abandoned Arnold Parkway project.
On Oct. 3, 2024, City Council members voted 7-0 to affirm that the Arnold Parkway project had been terminated. However, on the same day, the council voted 7-0 to allow the ARC TDD to continue buying properties in the Key West Estates subdivision if those owners volunteered to sell them.
Homeowners in the area had received letters from the ARC TDD offering $225,000 for their houses before the road project was abandoned.
“The city must follow through because people want to leave,” Mayor Bill Moritz said of continuing to purchase the properties. “There are some folks who call Bryan every single week saying, ‘What now? What is the status?’ They are ready to go. I just think we need to continue doing this.”
Richison told the council during a July 10 work session that it takes about two months for the ARC TDD to generate enough sales tax revenue to purchase one residential property. He said the focus is to purchase the 13 homes that people live in first, and at the current rate of tax collection in the ARC TDD, those homes could be purchased in about 26 months.
He also said if the ARC TDD is allowed to remain and continue collecting the 1-cent sales tax after the Water Tower shopping plaza owners’ lawsuit ends and after the state audit is concluded, the timeline may speed up. If the ARC TDD remains, it would also be able to issue bonds to purchase the properties sooner.
“Otherwise, you are probably looking at two years to fully purchase from those who are interested,” he told the council. “At that point, the next step would be to start outreach to the other 12 who (haven’t contacted the city) to see if they are interested or not (in selling).”
Richison also told the council that the purchased homes eventually will be demolished, which also could slow the acquisition of property from those who want to sell.
“There is no magic number (of purchased homes), but at some point, it will make sense to start demolition of the homes that are owned,” he said. “We do monitor the situation. The Police Department is aware, and our building inspectors try to get through (to monitor the purchased properties). People in the neighborhood know to contact us if they have concerns or see anything suspicious. To date, we haven’t had any problems, but we are concerned that vacant houses raise the potential for problems.”
Richison said after the properties are purchased, the city may revisit building a connecting road from Hwy. 141 to Michigan Avenue. That project was the first one listed for the ARC TDD to fund when it was created in 2008.
“Sooner or later, that area is going to have to be redeveloped,” Moritz said. “The north end of Arnold has been on my radar forever. The area from Hwy. 141 to the (Meramec River Bridge) needs to ultimately be redeveloped.
“One of the projects the TDD was formed to build was the connecter road. It may not happen during my term, but sooner or later it is going to happen. We have to improve the north end of the city, and that might be a good stepping stone.”