City of St. Louis Files Petition to Acquire Railway Exchange Building & Parcels Through Eminent Domain

City of St. Louis Files Petition to Acquire Railway Exchange Building & Parcels Through Eminent Domain

St. Louis, MO (October 4, 2024) - To eliminate blight and facilitate redevelopment into more productive mixed uses as allowable by Ordinance 71755, on October 3, the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St. Louis (LCRA), a development board staffed by St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), filed a petition in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of St. Louis, Mo., to acquire property through Eminent Domain in the Locust St./ North 6th St./ Pine St./ North 7th St. Redevelopment Area.

"If you're an absentee property owner, neglect is no longer welcome in the City of St. Louis," said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. "I'm grateful to the LCRA and SLDC for their tireless work to help us hold absentee landlords accountable through eminent domain."

On June 25, 2024 the Board of Commissioners of LCRA adopted Resolution 24-LCRA-10862E, which declared the real property located within the Redevelopment Area was blighted and in need of redevelopment and further approved the use of eminent domain to acquire the Railway Exchange Building and associated parcels in the Locust St./North 6th St./Pine St./North 7th St. Redevelopment Area, with the exception of the partially occupied building at 622 Olive Street.

Prior to filing the petition, on June 28, LCRA provided at least 60 days' notice to the owner(s) of record of LCRA's intended acquisition of parcels within the Redevelopment Area. On August 20, the City - through LCRA - sent an offer letter to the property owners of the Railway Exchange Building and associated parcels to purchase the property. As of the date of filing this petition, LCRA and the owners of record of the parcels in the Redevelopment Area have been unable to agree upon the just compensation to be paid for the parcels and LCRA has been unable to acquire the parcels by contract or deed.

"We have been moving aggressively to accelerate the process of securing Railway Exchange with the ultimate goal of stabilizing it for future redevelopment," said SLDC's President & CEO, Neal Richardson. "Exercising Eminent Domain will allow us to take possession of these problem properties that have been blighting the core of our central business district in Downtown for far too long. Bringing Railway Exchange under local control will be a huge step in ensuring future redevelopment plans align with the community's best interests."