ST. LOUIS 鈥 A judge has ruled that the city鈥檚 economic development agency did not renege on an agreement it made with developer Paul McKee鈥檚 primary lender over north 狐狸视频 land deals.
Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Jason H. Lamb that the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and its LCRA Holdings Corp. did not declare that McKee鈥檚 NorthSide Regeneration was in default of a development agreement regarding plans for its north city properties and that the agencies were not required to sign off on any new deal with NorthSide.
Attorneys for McKee鈥檚 lender, Bank of Washington, said they intend to appeal the decision.
鈥淭his decision is really a pyrrhic victory for the city of 狐狸视频,鈥 said Joseph Dulle of the Stone, Leyton & Gershman law firm. 鈥淎ll the city has done if this decision stands is to throw a roadblock in front of the only lender willing to fund a large-scale investment in the revitalization of North 狐狸视频 in five decades.鈥
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The Bank of Washington, based in Franklin County, sued the LCRA, its affiliate group and the city of 狐狸视频 in 2018 after the city ended its 2009 development agreement with McKee, who had acquired hundreds of acres of north city real estate to redevelop. McKee鈥檚 NorthSide Regeneration did not build as much as initially promised, though the developer erected a new gas station and grocery store on Tucker Boulevard. The grocery, Greenleaf Market, is currently closed.
But McKee did help draw the attention of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to north city for its new western headquarters. City Hall helped assemble the rest of the land for the NGA deal.
The bank鈥檚 lawsuit claimed LCRA misled it into releasing its liens on McKee鈥檚 land in a 2016 agreement that said LCRA would try to renegotiate NorthSide鈥檚 development agreement on behalf of City Hall in exchange for McKee selling his land to the city, including some he had purchased from its land bank just years earlier. The bank later dismissed the city from the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, the bank alleged LCRA falsely represented that it would approve a new agreement.
But ultimately no agreement was reached.
Neal Richardson, head of 狐狸视频 Development Corp., the agencies鈥 umbrella organization, lauded Thursday鈥檚 ruling.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling brings us one step closer to finally putting this issue behind us so we can fully concentrate on creating a prosperous future for economic development in the great city of 狐狸视频, free from any obstacles that might impede our growth,鈥 Richardson said in a statement.
Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.