ST. LOUIS – A social media dustup between one of St. Louis’s top businessmen and the mayor is drawing eyeballs. There are differing opinions on whether the City of St. Louis can really afford to say “no” to Clayco.
Clayco founder Bob Clark posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. … City leadership is FAILING its people.”
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones responded via a quote reply, “Hey Bob, I’m right here and my phone number hasn’t changed. You do still have it, don’t you? I’m open to a conversation anytime. But name calling and talking about me and my administration on the socials isn’t going to help you win friends or influence people.”
Clark responded, “Hey Mayor Jones, let’s have a debate in public. You pick the venue…”
The mayor answered, again via quote reply, “Again, you have my number. You can call me anytime. Be blessed.”
“I used to live in Walnut Park, so it’s personal to me,” Jones said regarding the dispute.
At issue are the 16-plus acres at Interstate 70 and Goodfellow, in the mayor’s old neighborhood. It has become part urban forest and part dump. It was once part of a complex that employed nearly 35,000 people and made billions of rounds of military ammunition that helped the United States win World War II.
It’s been vacant for 25 years. The City of St. Louis controls the site and has recently spent $2 million on demolition, cleanup, and maintenance, according to Neal Richardson, president and CEO of the St. Louis Development Corporation, the economic development agency for the City of St. Louis.
The city’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) put out a Request For Proposals (RFP) from developers for the site.
Construction and engineering firm Clayco, which recently announced a major expansion to bring 400 six-figure jobs to the St. Louis region, submitted a plan for a concrete-making plant, with a training site for construction trades and possibly a small retail development.
Richardson told the LCRA board that wasn’t enough. Clayco’s plan was rejected.
“We’ve also worked with several retailers since we’ve owned the site … the likes of Walmart, Home Depot,” Richardson said. “30 jobs (from the Clayco proposal) on a 17-acre site is really an under-utilization of what our goal is: approximately 300-500 jobs.”
“The neighborhood and the community called for retail development, not a cement plant,” Jones said. “Cement plants add to the amount of pollution that’s in the air and that effects the neighborhood and their air quality.”
However, the area around the site is more commercial than residential. There are doubts it will ever support large retail long-term.
The answer to Clayco is still “no.”
“Development has to happen ‘with’ community not ‘to’ community,” Jones said. “The RFP was specific. Unfortunately, Clayco’s proposal didn’t meet those requirements.”
There is no ‘plan B’ on the table. When the RFP went out in October, Clayco was the only company with to respond with a proposal and not the likes of Walmart or Home Depot.
