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ST. LOUIS — The Board of Aldermen on Friday passed tax incentives to help fund the renovation of a deteriorating downtown hotel amid an ongoing dispute between the would-be developer and a labor union.

The board’s 9-5 vote moves the issue to Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who has yet to say if she’ll sign the measure.

Midas Hospitality wants to renovate the Oyo Hotel, known for its giant iconic World’s Fair mural, on 14th Street near Enterprise Center. The bill would abate 75% of new property tax revenue generated by the project for 10 years. That’s valued at about $2.7 million.

Unite Here Local 74, which represents hospitality and service industry workers, had pushed for aldermen to kill the bill after Midas refused to sign an agreement saying it would not interfere with unionizing efforts.

The bill’s sponsor, Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, whose ward includes part of downtown, said in an interview that the project would benefit workers because the number employed at the hotel would increase from 15 to about 100.

He said while he is pro-union, “legally we can’t legislate labor negotiations.� He added that if the project goes forward and Midas retaliated against workers trying to organize, he would “stand on the picket line with the unions.�

But Aldermanic President Megan Green, who voted against the bill, said the city in the past has played a role in such disputes.

“We have very few unionized hotels in the city, and the few that we do have got unionized through the tax incentive approval process,� she said in an interview. “I think it’s very important that we’re listening to workers during these processes.�

Asked if she would urge Jones to veto the bill, Green said she hasn’t decided.

A Midas executive has said the company doesn’t oppose unionizing but believes the union would follow up with further requests during the approval process.

Midas wants to turn the Oyo, which it says isn’t fully operational now, into a 220-room Sheraton hotel. In addition, 50 rooms are planned as Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, a new brand that features fully furnished units for both business and leisure travelers.

Residents of about 70 condominiums would continue to occupy three floors of the building. The Oyo has been in receivership for several years after its owner, Florida developer Joseph Gillespie III, filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

Another opponent, Alderwoman Sharon Tyus of the Kingsway East neighborhood, said tax abatements harm city schools and cited a recent report saying tax breaks in the metro area have disproportionately hurt Black and poor children.

Tyus also complained that the building got tax incentives previously and that “having a second bite of the apple is a mistake.�

In response, Aldridge said city schools would get a net increase in revenue, even during the abatement period. And he said the previous tax incentives were done 25 years ago when the building, an old warehouse, was first turned into a hotel.

Mayoral spokesman Conner Kerrigan said Jones is aware of both the opposition and the support for the measure and is reviewing the issue.

Updated at 4:30 p.m.