It appears that St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger may have found a way around the stall in the St. Louis County Council over who controls what happens at Jamestown Mall. By unanimous vote on Friday, Feb. 10, the St. Louis County Port Authority passed a resolution at the request of County Executive Steve Stenger to advance the acquisition of the remaining property not already owned by the County at Jamestown Mall, his spokesperson Cordell Whitlock stated.
“Upon acquisition of the abandoned mall site, the Port Authority will use its powers under state law to have the site cleared. This is a necessary step as the County moves forward toward returning the Jamestown site to productive use.”
In a February 9 letter to the St. Louis County Port Authority, Stenger asked Sheila M. Sweeny, the Port Authority’s executive director and CEO of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, to “expeditiously utilize its statutory power to acquire the remaining parcels and immediately thereafter seek proposals for clearing the entire site.” The authority already owns a significant portion of the site, which has fallen into decay and disrepair after shuttering in 2014.
Before going into a closed session on Friday, the Port Authority heard from two speakers, Dustin Allison, general counsel of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and John Brancaglione, vice president of PGAV Planners. The Authority may seek condemnation of the property, rather than the blight designation previously sought through the County Council by the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority, or LCRA.
In response, Sweeney said, in part, “with this approval by the Port Authority Board today, we can move quickly to secure ownership of the remaining parcels. We will finally eliminate this dangerous eyesore and fulfill the community’s wishes to live in a safe environment.”
A 2013 Missouri Supreme Court decision unanimously agreed that a Port Authority cannot condemn land solely for economic development purposes.
In his letter, Stenger emphasized the importance of completing the Jamestown Mall project “in as timely a manner as is legally and practically possible.”
“The site is an eyesore and safety risk in the community,” Stenger stated in his letter. “It has sat dormant for far too long.”
The mall is located in District 4, represented by Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray, who proposed a substitute bill voted down last week that would have given authority to the Council rather than the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority.
The LCRA, the St. Louis County Port Authority and several other business, industrial, economic and redevelopment agencies all fall under the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, which operates in St. Louis City and County. On its website, the Partnership is described as “part public entity and part private sector, the Economic Council was created to drive growth and prosperity in St. Louis County and the region.”
Without making any specific promises, in his letter, Stenger does make note of one of Walton Gray’s concerns – minority inclusion. It reads in part:
“Any request for proposal should provide that bona fide minority general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers have full and equal opportunity to compete in the solicitation process, and participate in performance of the work under subcontracts and purchase orders by the general contractor and other subcontractors under the general construction contract and other construction contracts let by the Port Authority.”
