Downtown

It would be a marked change for the prominent and iconic hotel site between the Gateway Arch grounds and Busch Stadium, which has sat vacant since 2014.

St. Louis had $300 million and 16,000 ideas from the public on how to spend it at the beginning of this legislative session. A year later, the Board of Aldermen has made no progress.

Legislation from Alderwoman Cara Spencer would establish a mechanism for the city to reimburse 85% of Anders’ payroll, earnings and net profit taxes on new hires at the firm.

Members of the board’s Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee voted 5-2, with Anne Schweitzer and Michael Browning voting no.

It comes in a Commissioners’ Report filed Friday as part of the eminent domain case involving the prominent and long-vacant downtown building.

The firm had acquired the property earlier in the year and had been working on the right fit for the space.

The Downtown North Community Improvement District would formalize some of the actions taken by individual property owners to promote the area of downtown as an emerging geospatial and entrepreneurial hub.

The Staenberg Group has plans to redevelop the site into a “Downtown Chesterfield” with housing, retail spaces, restaurants and more. Developers expect it to be four years before people can start moving into new residential units.

The region is already set to host the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey finals 2025 and the first and second rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball championship in 2026.

The 28-story, 780-room hotel closed in 2014. The foundation plans to work with the city, Greater St. Louis Inc. and the St. Louis Development Corporation on a plan to redevelop the site.