Crestwood Seeks Representation for Crestwood Court Project

The City of Crestwood Board of Aldermen carefully debated the ongoing project that is the existence of Tuesday night. 

A request for proposals to retain counsel who will represent the City of Crestwood throughout the Crestwood Court redevelopment went out last month. Two entities sent back their proposals: Gilmore and Bell and Thompson Coburn, who missed the deadline. Even though Thompson Coburn’s proposal was late, City Administrator Petree Eastman read over the firm's offer. She recommended last night to retain Gilmore and Bell for the service.

Some of the board members stated their surprise at early hints of a redevelopment plan, while Mayor Jeff Schlink said this was just the first baby step in a huge project that the board will be undertaking. 

Alderman Paul Duchild began the discussion saying that he was surprised the board had not been apprised earlier of a redevelopment plan.

“We did meet with the owners and developers of the mall project and we have an outline of their plans—we do not have a formal proposal,” Eastman said. “Before a formal proposal is brought to the board, I would like to hold some formal town hall meetings so the community can see the proposal. This is why I wanted to get the attorneys on it right away.”

Centrum Properties, who owns the existing property, has given multiple dates for a beginning to a redevelopment project. The city plans to professionally have "all their ducks in a row" when the project gets an official start date. 

Eastman said that it is her understanding that the mall project is not going to be a mall at all, rather a series of entertainment-based ventures, some of which are not yet confirmed. She said that there will be some retail component, but that will not be the primary focus of the mall.

As Eastman understands the non-specific request, according to preliminary pictures she’s seen, there will be quite a bit of construction done to the existing structure. The first phase will begin on the Sears side, and the second phase would include demolition of Dillard’s because of issues with the garage below.

“I wanted to start the preparations early rather than reacting,” Eastman said.

Duchild said that he wants the best possible deal for the taxpayers, so he was concerned for the rush on the motion. He said that firms were only given about two weeks to bid. Eastman reiterated that a request for proposals had went out to firms in 2009-2010 for the project, so most of the firms in this case were updating their proposals.

“I received my packet on Sunday and I was surprised that an RFP was issued,” Duchild said. “I didn’t even know it was issued in 2009-2010 in the first place. It’s my opinion that we table this at least until this board and the residents get to know what the proposal is.”

After a lengthy debate among board and community members, the request for proposals to firms will be reissued possibly as soon as tomorrow. The new due date will be Jan. 18 so a firm can be selected by the late January board meeting.

Eastman also is under the impression that Centrum is in the process of trying to secure more tenants, but the deal is complex because it doesn’t contain a large retail component. She expects something more definite toward the end of January.

Deemed by members of the board as the biggest project that has happened to Crestwood in a long time, the aldermen want to get the best deal for the residents and be as transparent to the community as possible.

Alderman Deborah Beezley said that when she’s spoken to the community, their major focus is the mall.

“They want their mall back. We want to be very professional, step out of the box sometimes and look at things in a different light so this mall becomes a major focus in our community.

Updated Dec. 14 with more information from last night’s board meeting.