St. Louis County is moving forward with a plan to redevelop the now-blighted Jamestown Mall, and that plan means taking action with or without the cooperation of all the property owners.
Jamestown Mall is in bad shape. A sinkhole in the parking lot is just one example of the blight.
It's been vacant for two years, and the county is trying to buy up the property from several owners. But there's one hold-out, and now the county said it may have to exercise eminent domain to get what it wants.
When Stephen Arnold looks from his house and across Lindbergh, all he sees is, “Bigtime ghost town, yeah. It's sad really.”
The once vibrant mall he remembers sits in shambles.
Arnold said, “A vacant place like that just going to draw too many, too much trouble, I think eventually.”
The nearly 145 acres was once split up between five owners. St. Louis County bought out three and is about to complete a deal with the fourth, but the county can't come to terms with the last owner, the New-York based Carlyle Development Group, which owns the land where Dillard’s once was.
“In order to move forward in this process, something had to be done,” said County Executive Steve Stenger.
So, the county had a blight study done with the goal of the county council eventually condemning the property.
Stenger said he believes, with the county owning the entire mall property, it can sell to a developer who can breathe new life into the area.
“It can be viewed as aggressive move and I think in fact this is a time to be aggressive because this property has sat dormant for so long with really inaction,” said Stenger.
The president of Carlyle Development tells Five on Your Side the county has been trying to strong-arm him into selling for far below market value. He says eminent domain will give him a more fair price, but says the county could save on legal fees if it negotiated fairly from the start.
But from Arnold's viewpoint, eminent domain is the way to go.
“I think it's fantastic. Have them go for it. Because, you know, they ain't going to do nothing, you know, if they don't get pushed,” said Arnold.
A county spokesperson said they do not comment on negotiations.
If the county gets its way and sells to a developer, Stenger envisions a mixed-use area with shops, services, restaurants and homes.
The county is holding a public hearing on the issue on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 4 p.m.
It will take place in the county chambers on South Central Avenue in Clayton.
