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ST. LOUIS — St. Louis officials have condemned downtown’s vacant Railway Exchange Building over threats to public safety, a move that could eventually clear the way for the long-awaited redevelopment of a major city landmark.

The St. Louis Building Division on Wednesday morning sent several crews to the property to board up the 1.2 million-square-foot building, which occupies an entire city block at 615 Olive Street.

“We’re going to hope that our partners at the City Counselor’s office will help us in getting this owner to either sell the property to a responsible owner or step up and be a responsible owner,� said Ed Ware, a building division manager.

The historic 21-story building — once Famous-Barr’s flagship store — is situated in the heart of St. Louis’ central business district. City officials and downtown boosters have for years said that a redevelopment of the Railway Exchange Building could give the downtown area a burst of energy and much-needed activity. The regional business group Greater St. Louis Inc. has said that a safe and vibrant downtown is critical for the metropolitan area’s success.

But the 110-year-old building has languished for nearly a decade after Macy’s department store left and developers failed to get their redevelopment plans off the ground. A water main rupture in 2017 further damaged the building while millions of dollars of unpaid bonds stacked up. The owners also have been mired in litigation with the building’s lien-holders.

Those issues have clouded the real estate title of the building and impeded new efforts to renovate or sell it.

City officials said they have long tried, unsuccessfully, to reach the building’s owners, Andrew “Avi� Greenbaum and Steven Michael of Florida-based Hudson Holdings. The city has the authority to issue fines between $100-$500 per day per violation in addition to board-up and administration costs. The owners could also be jailed for up to 90 days.

Neither Greenbaum nor Hudson Holdings’ attorney, Jeff Hunt of Rosenblum Goldenhersh, responded to a request for comment. A voicemail inbox for Michael was full and could not accept new messages.

The city has watched the building for years. And police have regularly checked it, worried homeless people were getting inside, officials said.

They grew more concerned when a local property manager contacted them to say he no longer worked for Hudson Holdings after not being paid. That manager, local developer Amos Harris, told the Post-Dispatch that he quit in mid-December.

Ware said officials did not have the legal authority to remove people who had gotten into the building and sought an emergency condemnation in order to do so. “We’re worried about people getting hurt,� he said.

Police have found nearly two dozen people in the building over the past several weeks and all of them refused help from the city’s Department of Human Services. Police removed about five on Wednesday, officials said.

There is some electricity at the property, Ware said, and Building Division employees are investigating whether there is a fire pump that powers a sprinkler system there. He was unsure whether the building had water.

“It does have a great future if somebody can come in with the right funding,� Ware said. “It’s a beautiful building. Architecturally, it’s a gem.�

The condemnation is the first real step city officials have taken to address one of St. Louis’ biggest albatrosses. Last year, city development officials floated a plan to use eminent domain to take possession of the property.

Greater St. Louis Inc. hailed the city’s condemnation and called for accountability.

“Ultimately, it is the responsibility of property owners to maintain the safety and security of their property. When those property owners are derelict in their responsibility, the city must hold them accountable, and we appreciate Mayor (Tishaura) Jones and the city for taking swift action to address the issues with Railway Exchange,� its chief downtown officer, Kurt Weigle, said in a statement.

The City Counselor’s office will decide what happens next, officials said Wednesday afternoon.

Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.