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Photo by Jon Anderson.
The Hoover City Council on April 1 discusses a proposed tax incentive package for the second phase of the Stadium Trace Village development.
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Map courtesy of Broad Metro.
A map shows the Stadium Trace Village development. The section outlined in blue denotes the first phase of the development and the section outlined in yellow marks the proposed second phase.
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For the past 15 months, Hoover officials have been negotiating with the developer of Stadium Trace Village about a development plan and tax breaks for phase two of the center.
The 82-acre second phase is proposed to include a 1,000-seat performing arts center owned and operated by the city, a Golf Suites tiered golf bay entertainment center, a 120,000-square-foot furniture store with dining areas, a 25-bed surgical center, four medical office buildings and 1.5 miles of walking and bicycle trails.
Developer William Kadish of Broad Metro said negotiations were going well until October when, for some reason, things turned sour.
By March, the mayor had pulled the performing arts center out of the tax incentive proposal, saying the city may put the performing arts center elsewhere, and greatly reduced the amount of tax incentives the developer could receive.
Kadish, who already has invested more than $1 million into plans for Phase 2, said he felt he had been double-crossed and was upset with Mayor Frank Brocato. He called the mayor dishonest and said City Council President John Lyda was “the most evil, despicable person I’ve seen in local government,” though he later apologized for those remarks.
Three weeks later, in a council meeting on April 1, Lyda called out Kadish for having a felony conviction for grand larceny more than 20 years ago and would not allow Kadish to address the matter.
The City Council had a new proposal on the table from Broad Metro that was more generous than what the mayor was proposing, but the council ended up tabling it and asking Kadish to have more meetings with residents in the adjacent Trace Crossings community.
As of mid-April, Kadish was having those meetings, and the matter was slated to come up again at the May 6 council meeting.
The development plan and proposed tax incentive package have generated much buzz in the community.
There’s a tremendous amount of interest in Hoover getting a performing arts center, and many people in the arts community have rallied behind the effort to put one in the second phase of Stadium Trace Village.
Councilman Curt Posey, who is the council’s liaison to the Hoover Arts Council, said Stadium Trace Village is an ideal location because of all the restaurants and two hotels in the first phase, close proximity to Interstate 459 and the amphitheater planned in the Village Green section of the development.
Brocato and Lyda both said they support the idea of a performing arts center but have noted there are other potential sites for it, some of which are being offered to the city at no cost. Broad Metro is asking the city to pay $2.75 million, or appraised value if that’s less, for an 11-acre graded tract.
Posey said just because land is being offered for free doesn’t make it a good location.
NEIGHBOR RESPONSE
The second phase of Stadium Trace Village has generated mixed response from neighboring subdivisions in Trace Crossings.
Some residents say they like the plan and are eager to see the entertainment, retail and medical amenities close by.
Trace Crossings resident David Bannister noted there are several communities in the area for people ages 55 and older who could benefit from close proximity to an outpatient surgery center. Others have said they like the developer’s plan to add golf cart paths to connect people’s homes with the performing arts center, golf entertainment center, amphitheater and restaurants in Stadium Trace Village.
But other residents have expressed concerns about blasting, light and noise pollution, and a road that was proposed to tie into Brock’s Gap Parkway.
Numerous residents in communities off Brock’s Gap Parkway spoke against making that road connection, saying it would be in a dangerous spot and add to existing traffic problems. In response, Kadish said he doesn’t need to connect the road. In fact, it would save him $4 million not to connect it, he said.
That decision doesn’t have to be made now and can be delayed for a few years while plans continue for the new Interstate 459 Exit 9 nearby, he said.
Kadish also said there will be no blasting in areas near homes but he is willing to put up bonds to cover any damages if that occurs. He also doesn’t believe noise or lights will be a problem because of the location selected for Golf Suites and because of the 100-foot natural buffer he plans to leave in place, in addition to the 50-foot utility easement that is between Stadium Trace Village and adjacent homes. The performing arts center would be completely indoors, he said.
Some residents of the adjacent Scout Creek neighborhood have been vocal supporters of Broad Metro’s plans because Kadish and his engineers have a plan to invest $2.25 million into a stormwater drainage system along Scout Creek and constructed wetlands just above the creek to filter sediment and improve water quality for the lakes in Trace Crossings.
Residents of Scout Creek for a decade have complained about construction runoff from area developments leaving a muddy mess in their lake.
Dr. Peter DeFranco said Kadish, when he developed the first phase of Stadium Trace Village, has been the only developer in that area who has successfully kept sediment from eroding into their lake, and he’s thankful Kadish is stepping up to solve a problem that he didn’t create.
The Cahaba River Society also wrote a letter praising the development plan.
“The staging of the work, innovative stormwater approaches and plans to reduce erosion are extensive,” wrote Cahaba River Society Executive Director Beth Stewart and River Sustainability Director Karen Bareford in a letter to the Hoover City Council. “Further, the intent to account for all disturbance in the basin and manage upstream impacts by others is noble. The fact that this will result in almost build out of the basin makes this goal even more impressive. … We believe this development has the potential to be a resource and case study to help lead an era of more responsible development in Hoover, the greater Birmingham area and beyond.”
DEVELOPER HISTORY
Lyda, the council president, has said he doesn’t want to do business with a convicted felon.
According to Florida Supreme Court records, Kadish in 2002 was convicted of grand larceny, a second-degree felony, in New York and was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $655,035. He was disbarred from practice as an attorney in New York in 2002 and in Florida in 2007, with a Florida court record citing a dishonest or selfish motive, a pattern of misconduct and multiple offenses.
Kadish admitted he has made past mistakes and made poor decisions involving gambling after being prescribed opioids for a sports injury. But he said he self-reported his offense and made restitution, and he noted that a New York judge later sealed his offense record, citing a demonstrated record of good moral character.
It’s been more than 20 years, and he has worked hard to rebuild his life, he said.
Councilman Steve McClinton said everyone has a past and deserves a chance to rebuild their life and Kadish has proven himself a solid developer.
TAX INCENTIVES
One of the biggest sticking points among city officials appears to be the amount of the tax breaks.
Brocato said discussions began with a $7 million incentive package over 15 years, with the city and developer splitting tax revenues equally, but it ballooned over time to as high as $60 million.
Records show that the city attorney, with input from the mayor’s staff and council, made a counteroffer to Broad Metro in January with tax incentives totaling $42.5 million and total incentives for the developer valued at $57 million.
According to Kadish, a later offer from the city offered incentives up to $33 million. So he was shocked to see Brocato present a proposal to the council with a cap of $22 million in tax incentives and no performing arts center on March 18, he said.
Posey and McClinton said they didn’t think it was right for the mayor to reduce incentives that much and take out the performing arts center if the developer had been offered more previously and given promises that the city would not consider other sites for the arts center while in negotiations with Broad Metro.
McClinton said he believes the mayor was trying to kill the deal with Broad Metro because the mayor is concerned that the surgery center proposed in Stadium Trace Village could hurt the city’s efforts to get a certificate of need from the state for another surgery center in the Riverwalk Village development in Riverchase.
McClinton said he wants the surgery center in Riverchase to be successful, but not at the expense of another entity that wants to do the same thing.
“Government should not pick winners and losers,” McClinton said. “Let the market dictate who wins and loses.”
Brocato said his stance on the Stadium Trace Village development and Riverwalk Village development are unrelated. “They have nothing to do with each other — nothing whatsoever,” the mayor said.
He is not trying to kill the Stadium Trace Village development, he said. “From day one, I have tried to get this deal done.”
After Brocato made his proposal offering up to $22 million in tax incentives, the council entertained a higher proposal from Broad Metro that would provide up to $28 million in tax breaks, or $30 million if the city doesn’t build a performing arts center within three years.
That proposal would give Broad Metro 75% of new sales and lodging taxes and 100% of construction-related sales taxes over 15 years for property in Stadium Trace Village Phase 2 and 100% of sales and lodging taxes over 10 years for the new parts of Stadium Trace Village Phase 1 (such as the Village Green and hotel properties), up to a maximum of $22 million.
It also would give Broad Metro up to $6 million in non-educational property tax rebates, for a total of $28 million maximum.
The city would pay Broad Metro $2.75 million for a graded 11-acre site for the performing arts center.
Brocato and Economic Development Manager Greg Knighton said the incentives being sought by Broad Metro are more than the city usually offers. Brocato said he would rather split tax revenues with Broad Metro on a 50/50 basis, which the city has done with most previous tax incentive deals.
McClinton said the city was more generous with incentive money for Riverwalk Village, with $16 million in cash payments over 10 years and sales tax rebates of 85%. The upfront payments to Broad Metro are much less, McClinton said.
Kadish concurred and said the Hoover school system will gain $3.5 million annually in additional property tax revenue from year one.
“We don’t get any additional incentives unless we’re successful and we’re generating additional taxes from this property,” Kadish said. “If I don’t do what I say and I don’t deliver, there are no incentives.”
As of the Hoover Sun’s press date, the Hoover City Council was slated to take up the incentive package again on May 6.
