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Sen. Steve Roberts, D-St. Louis, outlined legislation to a Senate committee Wednesday to create a $102 million tax credit program that could help developers transform two empty downtown buildings, the massive AT&T Tower and the historic Railway Exchange building.

The program, which failed to advance in the Legislature last year, would offer incentives to developers who convert unused office space into new apartments and retail.

Roberts said reversing stagnation in his district will help the entire state.

“St. Louis is the door to the rest of Missouri,” Roberts said.

Kurt Weigle, chief downtown officer for Greater St. Louis Inc., said downtown is still recovering from work-from-home policies stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, construction costs fueled by inflation have risen, resulting in fewer building projects.

“Reversing the trend becomes more difficult over time,” Weigle said. “This is a top priority for the St. Louis business community.”

The debate before the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee came after aldermen Tuesday failed to advance any of the various plans to spend $294 million in Rams money, including one that would funnel $74 million of the largesse to help turn around downtown.

Aldermen may leave the issue simmering until after the April municipal election.

Roberts’ proposal would create a new tax credit that would reimburse developers 25% of the cost of converting office buildings into other uses, including residential and retail. The office buildings would have to be at least 25 years old to qualify, and certain “main street districts” across the state would be eligible for slightly higher 30% credit reimbursements.

Elizabeth Lauber, representing the , which assists smaller municipalities with development issues, said the proposal will help both big cities and the state’s rural communities.

“This bill tells a story of bipartisanship,” Lauber said. “This is a Missouri issue.”

Among others backing the concept was St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, who told the panel that bolstering St. Louis is important to the entire region’s future.

The legislation authorizes up to $100 million in annual tax credits for the program. Half of those credits are designed for the conversion of buildings larger than 750,000 square feet, a provision aimed at attracting developers to massive empty office buildings.

The 44-story AT&T tower at 909 Chestnut has been empty since 2017, when the telecom giant relocated employees to nearby buildings. The 21-story Railway Exchange has been largely empty since the Macy’s store there closed in 2013. Combined, the buildings have 2.6 million square feet of available space.

Supporters say bringing more residential offerings to the city core could reverse ongoing shrinkage in the downtown real estate market, where occupancy rates have fallen year-over-year from 78.1% last year to 77.4%, according to the latest data from Cushman & Wakefield.

Charles Goldman, whose Boston-based development group purchased the former AT&T headquarters in April, said the conversion of the building to a residential use will create jobs and tax revenue for the state and city.

But, under current conditions, he said the $350 million project cannot go forward without subsidies.

“We need to understand that these buildings actively harm our cities. It doesn’t have to be this way,” Goldman said.

The measure has favorable support from business and labor groups.

A vote to advance the measure to the full Senate could come as early as next week.

A has been introduced in the House by Rep. Travis Wilson, R-St. Charles.

The building tax credit plan is Sena