GRAFTON – A new business district has been proposed in the Village of Grafton – one that would encompass only businesses owned by Jeff Lorton.
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This unusual proposition comes from the village's council following Lorton's current construction of a skytram in the village. Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin said the village allocated as much as $400,000 of TIF funding toward the project, and Lorton said he would pay that money back to the village. Eberlin said the village has been allocating TIF since 1995 at the benefit of several businesses, but none of them have paid it back directly like a small loan. What Lorton offered the village was a first-of-its-kind proposition.
In order for Lorton to pay back the village, the council worked with outside consultation from St. Louis and created the idea of a business district, which would include only properties owned by Lorton in Grafton. This would include Aeries Winery, the adjacent banquet center, the zipline, an office building and overnight stay place off Main Street and, of course, the skytram, which is set to open as soon as May 1.
“It would create a new business district with the boundaries being properties he owns,” Eberlin said. “It would include an additional one percent tax no other businesses would have to pay. One of the big draws for the city from this deal is it would include a flood road. Currently, that flood road is a sticky situation for the village, and every time it is brought up, it causes controversy.”
During high water, many residents of Grafton are forced to utilize a flood road located on Lorton's private property. If this deal goes through, no questions will linger over that road's public usage.
“We would have 100 percent access to everyone during times of high water,” Eberlin said. “It would also allow us to improve that flood road, improve Grove Park and help other businesses in Grafton.”
Some concerned citizens have alerted Eberlin to their fears the money paid to the village from the proposed district will return to Lorton's pockets, especially with the flood road being on his private property.
“The City of Grafton will benefit tremendously, the City of Grafton needs this,” he replied. “People are worried the money will return to his pocket, and that is absolutely not true. He will have no say where that money goes. We have an amusement tax, and that means the zipline will be assessed at an additional one percent. We have a hotel/motel tax. That's an additional one percent. He doesn't really care where the money goes, whether it does eventually return to him or go other places in the city.”
As per the skytram, it is being constructed by Sky Trans Manufacturing and SkyFare Incorporated. Lorton is the 51 percent stakeholder and the company building it has a 49 percent stake. Eberlin said he can see the construction from his window, adding people were working on the base tower Friday morning.
“This plan has been in the works for years,” Eberlin said. “I remember when I was working for the city in revenue generation, and I talked to the guy from the New Hampshire skytram place. He said it was one of the best locations they have ever scouted. He believed it could make money, and he showed us the numbers to back it up.”
In previous interviews, Lorton described the device as a “Chandola,” which is a combination of gondola chairs and open-air seating, which would look out over the river with an objectively spectacular view.
Advertising for the tram has gone overseas into Europe as well as the cruise boats traversing the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Package deals are in the works for each, as it is set to open on the first day of May 2019.
