CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — A judge on Monday allowed The Staenberg Group to enter a legal dispute the developer says will determine whether its massive $2 billion redevelopment of the Chesterfield Mall into "Downtown Chesterfield" will be successful.
Department store Dillard's in December asked the St. Louis County Circuit Court to overturn public subsidies approved last year for the nearby Wildhorse Village development and Chesterfield Mall redevelopment, which includes a store it owns but closed in 2016 due to flooding. The project envisions an urban city center in Chesterfield, a suburb that has never before had a downtown.
Dillard's claimed it wasn't given proper notice of Chesterfield Tax Increment Financing Commission meetings; that the commission and its adviser, PGAV Planners, didn't do a "parcel-by-parcel determination of blight"; and that Chesterfield didn't request bids for implementation of the redevelopment project. Dillard's also said that it "wants and intends" to reopen the store "in connection with (developer The Staenberg Group's) overall redevelopment," adding that it had discussed that concept with the company for three and a half years. Dillard's said it would redevelop and reopen its store without using TIF. Chesterfield previously denied the claims, saying that "at all times, the city engaged in a process that was appropriate, fair and lawful."
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