City officials have moved to seize dozens of properties owned by longtime North St. Louis developer Paul McKee, escalating a yearslong standoff over stalled redevelopment near the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Jefferson Avenue.
Last month, Mayor Cara Spencer’s administration authorized the St. Louis Development Corporation to pursue eminent domain lawsuits against more than 80 parcels tied to McKee’s company, Northside Regeneration LLC. Eminent domain allows governments to seize private property for public purposes, with compensation at fair market value.
The following day, SLDC announced plans to file a condemnation petition for 89 properties in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood, near the NGA campus.
Deion Broxton, spokesman for the Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority, a subsidiary of SLDC, said the city also intends to begin eminent domain proceedings against 59 additional properties in Jeff-Vander-Lou and St. Louis Place.
The move follows a public dispute between SLDC and Northside Regeneration’s lender, the Bank of Washington, over the value of McKee’s holdings.
In a letter to bank CEO L.B. Eckelkamp Jr., SLDC Interim President Otis Williams said the bank’s estimate — placing some Northside-owned parcels at $116 million — far exceeded property values in some of the region’s wealthiest suburbs.
Williams said Northside’s valuation of its remaining 238 acres north of downtown was “so extreme that no amount of negotiation would be realistic.”
The bank and Northside Regeneration pushed back.
Attorney Paul Puricelli, who represents both, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that SLDC’s appraisal of about $20 million ignored the impact of the federal intelligence agency’s investment.
“If we understand the City’s position,” Puricelli said, “the presence of the NGA has reduced the value of McKee’s holdings, an unsustainable and absurd position seemingly designed to push the matter to litigation.”
McKee began assembling land in North St. Louis roughly two decades ago, years before the NGA announced in 2016 that it would build a 97-acre campus at the intersection of Jefferson and Cass avenues.
The city later granted Northside Regeneration exclusive redevelopment rights to roughly 1,500 acres and approved $43 million in Missouri tax credits, along with about $360 million in local tax incentives, for plans that promised housing, offices and green space.
Most of those projects never materialized.
During a 2018 eminent domain trial involving another property, Northside was accused of abusing the state tax credit program. The Missouri attorney general later sued the company for tax credit fraud.
The city ultimately canceled its development agreement with Northside Regeneration.
In his letter to the Bank of Washington, Williams pointed to the lack of progress.
“The only projects (NorthSide Regeneration) ever completed were a gas station, a grocery store and a three-bed hospital — two of which have since closed,” Williams wrote.
He also said tax credits were used to “inflate” property values and pay down debt with the bank, rather than to revitalize neighborhoods.
Local elected officials say the eminent domain push is aimed at clearing long-vacant land for new development.
Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, whose ward includes much of the NGA area, said residents have waited decades for change.
“Since I’ve been a kid, there (have) been these vacant buildings, dilapidated properties and parcels that individuals have been sitting on in North St. Louis,” Aldridge said at a press conference with Spencer. “I know residents have been wanting to see this happen, to see accountability when it comes to property owners that are not being good stakeholders in the neighborhood.”
Spencer said frustration from neighbors drove the city’s decision.
“St. Louis is serious about ensuring those who own properties in the city of St. Louis do right by our residents,” she said. “This is the first step and a very important process of revitalizing North St. Louis.”
Puricelli told St. Louis Magazine that his clients were “disappointed by the City’s announcement” and argued the action would expand the city’s “inventory of distressed properties” rather than speed redevelopment.
Williams said negotiations had reached a dead end.
“We went through that, and we came to an agreement that we were too far apart to be able to finalize the negotiation,” he said.
If no settlement is reached, the dispute is expected to move to circuit court.
The Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority has already sent notices to owners of 170 nearby properties — the first legal step in eminent domain proceedings — and plans to pursue additional parcels as funding becomes available, according to SLDC.
The current effort is enabled by legislation Aldridge sponsored in 2024, which created the framework for condemning McKee-linked properties.
“I am proud that this legislation is now being put into action to benefit the residents who have waited far too long for meaningful change in their neighborhoods,” Aldridge said in a statement.
“This condemnation action represents our commitment to breaking the cycle of disinvestment that has plagued North St. Louis,” he said. “By acquiring these blighted parcels, we can finally move forward with real redevelopment that serves the people who live in these neighborhoods.
“Our residents have been patient. Now it is time for action.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
The Land Clearance for Development Authority are the ones that sold almost all of these properties to McKee. Now they want to act like they are part of the solution instead of the source of problems and corruption? The law that granted McKee all these tax incentives were written to ensure ONLY MCKEE WAS ELIGIBLE to receive them. Scam. Corruption. Typical.
Congratulations on the historic move by the city. It is way overdue. I lived in both JVL and St Louis Place years ago. It was sad to see how much decay and lack of investment that was allowed to take place. Finally this will spearhead investors.