ST. LOUIS — The $210 million expansion of the downtown convention center, long delayed by political infighting and the coronavirus pandemic, is facing another hurdle just as construction prepares to start.
This time, a prominent developer, Bob Clark of design-build firm Clayco, has sent his own plan to civic and business leaders, bashing the current expansion plan as “a chopped-up addition to the already ill-conceived convention center.â€
“Just because you only get a certain amount of money doesn’t mean you should back into a bad plan,†Clark said Thursday.
Clark’s proposal comes at the 11th hour. St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission leaders have spent three years vetting the plan publicly and building consensus between city and county officials. Wrinkles have risen repeatedly: Just last year, St. Louis officials squabbled over control of the city’s bond issue to finance the work, before finally approving the sale. And now St. Louis County Council Chairwoman Rita Heard Days is holding up final passage of the county’s bond issue until she sees more detail on a north St. Louis County recreation center that convention center leaders promised two years ago.
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The current plan for the expansion of America’s Center, as it is formally called, will add 92,000 square feet of exhibit space along Cole Street, on the northern edge of downtown; a 65,000-square-foot ballroom along Ninth Street; and a new pavilion and public plaza behind the T-Rex business incubator on Washington Avenue. It will expand the complex from about 500,000 square feet to more than 650,000.
A construction contract is weeks away. The project is slated for completion in 2023.
Clark’s plan looks to demolish the entire complex, including the Dome at America’s Center, where the St. Louis Rams used to play. It envisions a new center built parallel to North Broadway that would stretch for three blocks, from Convention Plaza on the south to Carr Street on the north end. Clark argues the plan would provide better access to residents north of downtown and a better facility for visitors.
“There’s just a lot of opportunity here to rethink strategy,†Clark said.
But the sketches also indicate some of a redesigned complex would sit on land just to the north of the dome, known as the Bottle District — potentially benefiting companies and people connected to Clayco.
Almost 10 years ago, companies connected to Clayco sold the Bottle District land to Northside Regeneration, led by controversial developer Paul McKee. Northside put no money down on the sale — but the purchase still triggered the issue of over $9 million in state tax credits under a now-lapsed program. That program later drew scrutiny from the FBI and the state attorney general’s office. Northside split the tax credit proceeds with Clayco affiliates. And city records suggest those companies still hold liens on the Bottle District property.
Clark said Thursday that the Bottle District is now under contract and is slated to become a truck dealership. And he insisted that he would not profit from his plan and would recuse himself from bidding on the construction project.
“I told (former) Mayor (Lyda) Krewson that I would donate the land from the Bottle District required to build a convention center at no cost to the city,†he said. “And I would stand by that if for any reason the current people that have it under contract don’t close.â€
Clayco is now headquartered in Chicago. But Clark started the firm in St. Louis, keeps a main office and large presence here, is politically active in the region, and is often connected to some of the area’s largest developments and construction projects — such as the BJC hospital expansion and health care giant Centene’s downtown Clayton campus.
Clark said Thursday that he has spoken with several business leaders who supported his convention center ideas and sent his proposal to multiple politicians, including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and the entire County Council.
But area political leaders were largely unconvinced — or unwilling to talk about it — on Thursday.
Jones said in a statement she was “eager to move forward†with the current expansion.
Page said he was receptive to Clark’s proposal, but Page has urged the council to approve the county’s $105 million share of the convention bonds “as soon as possible.†Spokesman Doug Moore said Page is open to big ideas, but “the redesign is a second question.â€
Alderman Jack Coatar, whose ward includes the convention center, sponsored the bill that approved the current expansion plan. He still supports that plan and credited convention center leaders for rallying political support.
“That said, if there’s a bigger, better plan that’ll give us an even more world class facility, help us attract more conventions, compete with our peer cities and it’s great for downtown, I’ll look at that plan,†Coatar said. “But we need to see more details.â€
Business leaders largely demurred Thursday:
Hotelier Bob O’Loughlin, chairman and CEO of Lodging Hospitality Management, said the current expansion falls short in order to compete with Nashville and Indianapolis, whose convention centers have over a million square feet. But he said he was still looking at Clark’s ideas.
O’Loughlin’s son, Steve O’Loughlin, sits on the convention center board and did not respond to a request for comment.
Ron Kruszewski, chairman and CEO of downtown St. Louis financial firm Stifel, which is selling the convention center bonds, said he supports the current expansion plan and investment in downtown. He said Clark’s plan is worthy of discussion. He declined to comment further.
John Berglund, partner at Square co-founder Jim McKelvey’s StarWood Group, said “it is difficult to take a formal position†on Clark’s proposal “as I have not seen anything more than a concept sketch from a year and a half ago.â€
“I believe the approach taken by the CVC is solid and very much grounded in the available dollars,†Berglund said in a text. “If funds were available, with the backing of the CVC (and if there was political support at state and local levels), St. Louis would greatly benefit from a larger move that Bob has suggested.â€
Kitty Ratcliffe, president of the convention center, said Clark showed her his plan two years ago. The city went out to bid 16 months ago on its plan. Clark didn’t bid, she said. Now they’re scrambling to break ground.
“The architects and engineers have been working around the clock since last fall to make up for lost time,†she said. “The design work that has been done by the team is excellent.â€