Due to aging infrastructure, limited expansion potential and increased security concerns, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency West Campus Headquarters (NGA West) is currently considering four potential sites in the St. Louis region to build a new location. NGA West is currently located in South St. Louis City.
Following the draft release in August 2015 of environmental impact studies on the four sites conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, NGA West plans to choose the final site winner in the spring of 2016.
The North St. Louis city site is the top redevelopment opportunity for NGA West. Since the 1950s, North St. Louis city has been a long-neglected urban desert. In the affected area, average resident income is a little over $18,000 dollars a year. Some demographics: 85 percent of the population is African American, 57 percent percent of the population receives food stamps, 38 percent is on Medicaid, over 50 percent receive housing assistance, and the amount of prison spending is almost five times that of the St. Louis metro area.
North St. Louis city’s touch reaches from downtown, covers the failed Pruitt-Igoe housing projects and finishes in the west near the edge of Ferguson.
By building the new NGA West facility in the middle of North St. Louis city, the federal government will see the highest economic return for every dollar invested.
NGA West currently houses 3,100 jobs in St. Louis city, with a median salary of $75,000. The new NGA West facility will take $1.2 billion to construct, with a projected $1.6 billion in total development cost. With this initial federal investment, 15,000 construction jobs and 11,500 permanent jobs will be created throughout Missouri.
The estimated economic impact of putting the NGA West facility in North St. Louis city is an additional $1.4 billion annually to the Missouri economy. Of that, 11,200 jobs and $1.2 billion are expected to benefit the St. Louis metropolitan region alone. Lastly, $8.1 billion of public and private investment is expected to be generated from 2016 to 2023 by selecting North St. Louis city as the new NGA West site.
The North St. Louis city site would not only create unprecedented economic productivity, but it would also allow federal, state and local governments to save their starving budgets from the dependence of North St. Louis city residents who are currently reliant on social program funding. The other three sites are all located in rural or suburban and non-distressed socio-economic areas.
The North St. Louis city site is the only of the four sites that is simultaneously a part of the administration’s Stronger Cities and Strong Communities Initiative and the Promise Zone Program. This site would also fulfill the 1978 Executive Order 12072 which gives first priority to distressed urban areas in locating new federal facilities or consolidating or relocating existing facilities.
The North St. Louis city site is unmatched in its potential for economic urban regeneration, uplift of economic and housing opportunities for low-income minority residents, and fulfilling the mission of the NGA to protect the security of our nation.
The Obama administration’s legacy of poverty reversal and rebuilding the middle class would be cemented by choosing North St. Louis city as the selected site for the new NGA West Headquarters. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the federal government to reverse urban blight and finally harness the economic might of the entire St. Louis metropolitan region.
All data cited are from the 2015 study “NGA Western Site Relocation-Economic Impact Analysis Summary for North St. Louis City Site” and the 2013 study “Regenerating the Northside,” both authored by public policy research analysis firm Missouri Wonk. Both studies are accessible at http://mowonk.com/policy-briefings/.
Edited from remarks presented to the Obama administration.
