Brentwood Awaits Word from Drury on Economic Incentives

Members of the Brentwood Redevelopment Corporation committed Tuesday to be responsive and meet as needed as plans for a new Drury hotel unfold over the coming months.

"This is, in reality, the last really major piece of property in Brentwood that is just screaming to be developed," said John Geppert, a resident and member of the organization, during the meeting at . "And I think we want to do this in the best possible fashion, and I communicated that to the Drury people. And I think that in order to do that, we have to keep in mind that when a city enters into a relationship like this, it's a partnership. And we need to respond quickly."

While Drury Development Corporation had not requested any economic development tools as of Tuesday, the city always has expected that they will request some of the assistance available to them in Missouri statute, Assistant City Administrator Ellen Rottjakob said.

The Brentwood redevelopment group will make recommendations to the Board of Aldermen about any requested incentives for the .

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission has approved the Drury group's contract for the land and several buildings on it, she said. Drury hopes to submit its plan and complete the approval process by the end of the year.

The Brentwood redevelopment group tentatively plans to meet during the week of Nov. 14 to discuss any new information it receives on the Drury project. Information also is expected to be reviewed at the November meeting of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Ward 3 Alderman Keith Robertson recounted his recent thoughts about the development to the group.

"When this is done, that whole corner is completely transformed from 15 years ago," Robertson said.

Other actions

• The group adopted revised bylaws, primarily to allow notification about meetings to be made electronically.

• The group re-elected Geppert as its president, Dan Glowski as its vice president and Shelly Williams as its assistant secretary. It also named its secretary and treasurer and Rottjakob its executive director.